Long startup w/ GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 and OCZ Agility 3 120gb SSD.. Help?

[Klubhead]

Hello everyone.  I recently put together a new build. Here are the current specs:

-Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor (OC to 4.3Ghz)
-GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
-OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
-Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB HDD
-(x2) GIGABYTE GV-N560OC-1GI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
-CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
-Thermaltake Frio
-COUGAR CMX 1000 COUGAR-1000CMX 1000W
-COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
-Windows 7 Ultimate 64

I installed the OS, Adobe Suite and Firefox to SSD, everything else is on the Western Digital 1TB HDD. I left the Windows temp files on SSD and did some normal tweaks, for example: http://www.tech-forums.net/pc/f128/ssd-tweak-guide-236563/ .

My SSD is on the current firmware (2.15) and I made sure of that before OS install.  I used the Gigabyte drivers disk that came w/ the mobo after OS install, then proceeded to update bios and drivers to most current through gigabytes support/downloads. I also made sure my SSD was set to AHCI before OS install.

So now the problem, about 99% of the time I start from a cold boot, startup will hang at "Loading Operating System...".  It will always boot, but usually takes MUCH longer than it should. What I don't understand, is every now and then it boots extremely quick, around 10-15 seconds to log in screen.

I'm sure there is more information I can provide, I just don't know exactly what you need or exactly how to get it.

Here is a video I took of the problem occurring: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp0Jdhp_gBY

Any help is greatly appreciated!! Thank you!

(I was going to post this in the OC section, but it seems to be more of a motherboard problem.  Using this setup without an SSD worked normally, ruling out the OC'd CPU)

EDIT - Also, I'm using a regular sata 3 port for the SSD, not a gsata port.  If anything else comes to mind I'll be sure to update.

[Gloup_Gloup]

Hi Klubhead,  

I have estimated time before appears Session Windows (Password bar) at 1min50 sec, on Video....

Very long time.... ahum....

Have you tried with only one graphics card only? What is the difference?

Have you intalled Intel drivers ( IRST) ?

Have you a Swapfile ( pagefile.sys ) ? How big is it? Where is it? On  SSD or Sata Drive?

The ram is ok? Check in Bios.... ?

Make a change in Bios ...for parameters about Full Screen Show Logo Disabled. I repeat Disabled.

What is your Bios Version?

Gloup_Gloup

[Klubhead]

Hi Klubhead, 

I have estimated time before appears Session Windows (Password bar) at 1min50 sec, on Video....

Very long time.... ahum....

Have you tried with only one graphics card only? What is the difference?

Have you intalled Intel drivers ( IRST) ?

Have you a Swapfile ( pagefile.sys ) ? How big is it? Where is it? On  SSD or Sata Drive?

The ram is ok? Check in Bios.... ?

Make a change in Bios ...for parameters about Full Screen Show Logo Disabled. I repeat Disabled.

What is your Bios Version?

Gloup_Gloup

Thanks for the reply!!

Here's what I got:

1. Tried 1 graphics card, same result.
2. IRST WAS installed, but it was causing my CPU to run at full speed from the moment windows loaded.  Not knowing what was causing that constant CPU usage, I looked at current running processes and CPU usage and found it to be IRST.  After searching online I found it's a known bug, so I disabled and uninstalled.  If this is the problem I'll surely get it back.
3. I left my Swapfile completely alone, it is defaulted to the SSD and here are the details I'm seeing at the bottom:

Total paging file size for all drives
Minimum allowed: 16MB
Recommended: 12262MB
Currently allocated: 8175MB

4. All my RAM is being read correctly in BIOS.
5. "Full Screen Show Logo" : This was Enabled, I set it to Disabled.  Booted and it was very quick, restarted, same result.  Did a full power down, cold boot, very quick again (about 10-15 seconds), this may have been the culprit.
6.BIOs version is F10, which is the latest version according to Gigs website.


It seems like the full screen logo may have been causing this hang.  Or it just might feel like working properly for a few boots lol.  I'll have to further test to be sure, but it seems to be working great right now.

I'm curious why the "full screen" setting may be the reasoning behind this?  Is that a known setting to change using gigabyte boards or some sort of SSD bug?

Thanks a lot for the help so far!!!

[Gloup_Gloup]

Hi Klubhead,  

Pfiew, you find a posible source of problem... special bug... hum....

You write : ''Currently allocated: 8175MB'' ... So is not good for you....

Try more less MB... Like 512 MB...

If you have a problem... Pass to 512 to Up... gradualy... 1024.

Windows is stupid : if Ram are 8192 (8x1024MB), windows allocate a pagefile of 8175....
Conclusion : Windows use a HDD or SDD once too often.

Gloup_Gloup

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

2. IRST WAS installed, but it was causing my CPU to run at full speed from the moment windows loaded.  Not knowing what was causing that constant CPU usage, I looked at current running processes and CPU usage and found it to be IRST.  After searching online I found it's a known bug, so I disabled and uninstalled.  If this is the problem I'll surely get it back.

3. I left my Swapfile completely alone, it is defaulted to the SSD and here are the details I'm seeing at the bottom:

IRST is Intel Rapid Storage Technology and is certainly not a bug. It is what has taken over from the Matrix Storage previously and is faster and more efficient.

Your swapfile might have defaulted to the SSD but that is not a good idea to let it stay there. SSDs, unlike magnetic drives, do have a limited number of times they can be written to and so each time your Windows OS uses the SSD for the swapfile it is shortening it's life. If you have at least 8GB of memory then you can safely disable the swapfile altogether otherwise move it onto a standard magnetic drive instead. 1 - 2GB should be ample anyway.

[Klubhead]

So after a cold boot this morning, the problem persists.  Still over a minute to boot up 

IRST is Intel Rapid Storage Technology anmd is certainly not a bug. It is what has taken over from the Matrix Storage previously and is faster and more efficient.

Your swapfile might have defaulted to the SSD but that is not a good idea to let it stay there. SSDs, unlike magnetic drives, do have a limited number of times they can be written to and so each time your Windows OS uses the SSD for the swapfile it is shortening it's life. If you have at least 8GB of memory then you can safely disable the swapfile altogether otherwise move it onto a standard magnetic drive instead. 1 - 2GB should be ample anyway.

Should I look into reinstalling IRST?

Hi Klubhead, 

Pfiew, you find a posible source of problem... special bug... hum....

You write : ''Currently allocated: 8175MB'' ... So is not good for you....

Try more less MB... Like 512 MB...

If you have a problem... Pass to 512 to Up... gradualy... 1024.

Windows is stupid : if Ram are 8192 (8x1024MB), windows allocate a pagefile of 8175....
Conclusion : Windows use a HDD or SDD once too often.

Gloup_Gloup

I changed the swapfile from my SSD to HDD, I also left it at 8192 for now. Does swapping drives make a difference other than preserving the life of the SSD? Or should I leave it on SSD and just change the size?

[Dark Mantis]

I take it that you have the port the SSD is attached to in AHCI mode ?

A large swapfile can actually make the system slightly slower as there is more to manage. Apart from that and the life expectancy of the SSD I don't think it would make a lot of difference by moving it to a magnetic drive.

[Klubhead]

I take it that you have the port the SSD is attached to in AHCI mode ?

A large swapfile can actually make the system slightly slower as there is more to manage. Apart from that and the life expectancy of the SSD I don't think it would make a lot of difference by moving it to a magnetic drive.

Sounds good. I moved it to the HDD, and yes the SSD's port is AHCI.

Should I leave IRST uninstalled for now and see if the pagefile makes a difference? Or do you think I should reinstall it?

[Dark Mantis]

By all means leave it uninstalled for now, there is plenty of time later to reinstall it. Have you done a Secure Erase on the drive to make sure that it is in top condition ?

[Klubhead]

By all means leave it uninstalled for now, there is plenty of time later to reinstall it. Have you done a Secure Erase on the drive to make sure that it is in top condition ?

Yes, I did a Secure Erase prior to OS installation.  Normally, when I get home from work and start from a cold boot I always get the long startup.  Though tonight it booted right up in around 10-15 seconds.  The only changes as of now is the Fullscreen Boot and PageFile.  Hopefully this fixed the problem.

Thank you both again for all the help!!