Huge boot time differences with same hardware

[w0D1n]

Hi,

 

I get boot times of 17 to 18 seconds and sometimes about 11 seconds.. That with same hardware without any bios/os changes. 

 

Hardware:

- Asus Zenith II extreme alpha (CMS is off, Fast boot is enabled, Wait time is set to 0)

- AMD Threadripper 3960X

- 4x 16GB G.Skill Trident Z Neo 3600Mhz C16 (FCLK Freq: 1800)

- Nvidia 2080 Super

- 2x Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB

 

Nothing is attached to usb ports exept for a keyboard, mouse and webcam

 

Can anyone explain why there is so much difference in boot times?

 

[B1ueskycomp1ex]

If fast startup is on in the windows 10 power options, that could cause inconsistent boot times, depending on what you have opening at startup.

[fordy_rounds]

1 minute ago, B1ueskycomp1ex said:

If fast startup is on in the windows 10 power options, that could cause inconsistent boot times, depending on what you have opening at startup.

This. If you do Shut Down then power on, you get fast boot. If you use Windows' Restart option, you don't get fast boot.

This is by design. Shut Down (unless you change it) saves its state, similar to hibernating/sleep, so that it can power on again quickly without having to complete reload the OS. Restart doesn't, because it's often used as part of troubleshooting, driver installs, or (in a multi-boot setup) OS switching, where a saved state can be a problem.

 

OP hasn't said how they're measuring/timing their boot times, so this might not be the entire difference, but it's a good start.

And really, 18 seconds isn't terrible. I've had computers (thanks to crappy HDDs) take minutes to boot.

[Intergalacticbits]

39 minutes ago, fordy_rounds said:

And really, 18 seconds isn't terrible. I've had computers (thanks to crappy HDDs) take minutes to boot.

I wish these computers just snapped on instantly. 

 

What I find weird about shutdown and restart is that the windows spyware fighting type updates don't seem to really install when I do a normal shutdown. Even though they show themselves in windows update as installing?

 

I find that I often have to restart the laptop myself to get them to actually do something about the spyware bugs type stuff.

If you know what I'm trying to say. 

That and the slow boot time is so frustrating. 

 

I'm definitely putting a ssd or nvme boot drive in my next desktop. If I ever get it up and going.  

[fordy_rounds]

1 hour ago, Intergalacticbits said:

What I find weird about shutdown and restart is that the windows spyware fighting type updates don't seem to really install when I do a normal shutdown. Even though they show themselves in windows update as installing?

 

I find that I often have to restart the laptop myself to get them to actually do something about the spyware bugs type stuff.

That's likely because they require the full shutdown, rather than the partial shutdown. You can disable fast boot to get them install each time, but then you slow down your normal boot time.

Quote

I'm definitely putting a ssd or nvme boot drive in my next desktop. If I ever get it up and going.

I recently upgraded an old desktop to a sata SSD. Even though it's still limited to Sata 2 (300 Mbps) by the MB, it's amazing how much of a difference it made to the speed, both on boot and in general use. If you go with sata, there's no reason to wait for the next desktop. SATA SSDs are plug-and-play replacements (with either an OS re-install or a drive clone) for SATA hard drives, in both desktops and laptops (with the caveat that some old desktops only have 3.5" mounts, so you might need some double-stick tape to mount it). I highly recommend it.

[w0D1n]

Thank you for the answers,

 

As you can see i use pcie 3.0 nvme ssd's. 18 seconds is not bad i agree. I was just wondering why it fluctuated and that has been answered. Thanks