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Multi boot question

#1 User is offline   bruinator 

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Posted 15 March 2009 - 06:08 PM

I first installed XP on my PC. I then took an exact image of it with acronis true image 2009. After that I installed win 7 using a quick format as it was installed.

Would this cause my PC to take 4 minutes to bootup from the moment I power on my PC until I finally get to my desktop?

thoughts?

thx

#2 User is offline   bruinator 

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Posted 16 March 2009 - 10:59 AM

Is there any chance getting any help with this plz?

thx

#3 User is offline   usasma 

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Posted 16 March 2009 - 04:09 PM

We'll need a bit more info. From what you've stated it appears that you formatted the drive before installing Windows 7. At what point does Windows Vista come into this (this is the Vista forum)? Did you format before installing Windows Vista?

FWIW - if this is a Windows 7 question, then you'll get more help over in the Windows 7 forum ( http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum167.html ). Also, Windows 7 has some very good built in tools for troubleshooting this sort of startup issue - have you tried them?
- John
**If you need a more detailed explanation, please ask for it. I have the Knack. **

#4 User is offline   bruinator 

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Posted 16 March 2009 - 07:42 PM

Sorry, I forgot to add that I added vista after XP and I am back to getting the 4 min wait until complete bootup and I am wondering if the quick format instead of a full format could be the cause? This is all part of a tri-boot PC.

This post has been edited by bruinator: 16 March 2009 - 07:44 PM

#5 User is offline   usasma 

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Posted 17 March 2009 - 06:12 AM

The type of format won't cause the issue - although some boot managers can slow things down a bit.

There's a period of time between pushing the button and when you select the OS - how long is that?
Then there's the period of time between selecting the OS and the Desktop being usable - how long is that for...
- XP
- Vista
- Win7

We'll need the approximate times for each as it's a part of the troubleshooting process. For example, if all 3 OS's are slow, then we may suspect a problem with the hard drive. If not, then we'd suggest running a fix on the slowest OS to see if that helps.
- John
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#6 User is offline   bruinator 

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Posted 17 March 2009 - 04:55 PM

View Postusasma, on Mar 17 2009, 07:12 AM, said:

The type of format won't cause the issue - although some boot managers can slow things down a bit.

There's a period of time between pushing the button and when you select the OS - how long is that?
Then there's the period of time between selecting the OS and the Desktop being usable - how long is that for...
- XP
- Vista
- Win7

We'll need the approximate times for each as it's a part of the troubleshooting process. For example, if all 3 OS's are slow, then we may suspect a problem with the hard drive. If not, then we'd suggest running a fix on the slowest OS to see if that helps.


When I turn my PC on and when it comes to selecting an OS is roughly 3.5 minutes. The times it takes to select an OS and see my desktop is 20 to 30 seconds. When I had win 7 on my PC only it took the full amount of time. After I took an image of win 7 with aconis, I put XP on my PC with no other OS on it and it took within a minute from power on till desktop. Then when I added Vista to it, it started to have the above issue again, I then added Win 7 to my PC and the problem still occurs.

thx

#7 User is offline   usasma 

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Posted 17 March 2009 - 07:24 PM

This sounds like an issue with your hardware, most likely with your hard drive. It's unusual in that it doesn't happen with XP, but does happen with the other OS's. Try running a bootable diagnostic from the hard drive manufacturer to test your hard drive. There's links to the most common one's in this topic: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic28744.html
- John
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#8 User is offline   bruinator 

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Posted 17 March 2009 - 09:19 PM

The hard drive that Vista and XP are on is less than a week old so I tend to doubt it is that. It started to do it on the HD which win 7 is on which is about 3 YO.

This post has been edited by bruinator: 17 March 2009 - 09:20 PM

#9 User is offline   usasma 

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Posted 18 March 2009 - 03:06 PM

OK, you know best - good luck!
- John
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Posted 18 March 2009 - 04:19 PM

OK, OK, I am running the seagate scan on both HD's as we speak. I will let you know the results when they are done.

thx

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Posted 19 March 2009 - 04:39 PM

Did full tests on both HD's and they passed all tests. Now, when can I try plz?

thx

#12 User is offline   usasma 

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Posted 19 March 2009 - 05:53 PM

If you tested both drives in 20 minutes, you've likely done the quick/short test. This is not adequate to determine if the hard drive is dying. You must do the long/complete/advanced test in order to scan the entire drive for problems. As I recall, SeaTools may also allow you to scan the file system and the hard drive controllers - if so, then do that also.
- John
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Posted 19 March 2009 - 06:46 PM

I did use seatools and I have done long complete tests as they were run all night long so I do not know where you came up with 20 minutes. Next step plz?

thx

#14 User is offline   usasma 

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Posted 19 March 2009 - 06:56 PM

Sorry, it was my eye problems (your previous posts were 1 day and 20 minutes apart). :huh:

Try the Windows Memory Diagnostic ( http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/using-vista-windows-memory-diagnostics-tool/ )

Then you'll have to start delving deep into the Vista performance logs.
To start, go to Start and type in "perfmon /report" (without the quotes) and press Enter.
- after the report generates, let us know what items of interest that it shows.
Next, go to Start and type in "compmgmt.msc" (without the quotes) and press Enter
- first expand the Reliability and Performance heading, then on Monitoring Tools, then on Reliability Monitor and let us know any issues that show up there.
- next expand the Event Viewer heading, then the Windows Logs, and check the System and Application log files for errors during startup. Let us know what you find there also.
- John
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#15 User is offline   usasma 

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Posted 19 March 2009 - 06:58 PM

Since you're viewing the topic, I've added this reply (rather than editing my previous post).

I'd suggest that you try running Startup Repair with your Windows 7 DVD (here's the Vista instructions, Windows 7 is very similar: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/repair-windows-with-windows-startup-repair/ )

It can't hurt things, and it may just help. Good luck!
- John
**If you need a more detailed explanation, please ask for it. I have the Knack. **

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