BIOS slowdown

[Guest]

For some reason my bios started loading slower than usual.Abotu 10x slower. Have flashed it or changed any settings.any idea where to start pursueing this problem.

[redwudz]

Kinda depends on what part of the BIOS setup the slowdown occurs. If it's towards the end it may be loading drivers and setup for the OS. You could try using F8(? can't remember. But you have a option to load each step after you OK it.) to step though the load one step at a time and you would see what is loading and how long it takes. If the problem is early in BIOS, then that sounds like a slow transfer into memory.

[808smokey]

I like the Pic Dr.Gee 8)

[Jayhawk]

Dr.Gee, when you say your bios started loading slower are you sure it's the bios (or rather, what makes you think it's the bios). redwudz is absolutely correct that it may NOT be the bios but rather Windows loading that's slower. Are you referring to the whole boot process right up until WIndows is loaded and ready to go or are you talking about the load process before Windows starts loading. If that's the case, it could be anything from a new program or process added, a virus, corrupt cache or pagefile (any crashes lately).

Can you give us more specifics.

[Guest]

Dr.Gee, when you say your bios started loading slower are you sure it's the bios (or rather, what makes you think it's the bios). redwudz is absolutely correct that it may NOT be the bios but rather Windows loading that's slower. Are you referring to the whole boot process right up until WIndows is loaded and ready to go or are you talking about the load process before Windows starts loading. If that's the case, it could be anything from a new program or process added, a virus, corrupt cache or pagefile (any crashes lately).

Can you give us more specifics.

Hangs up at "detecting ide drives". Device manager indicates no problems in this area. Windows proper, boots fine. No viruses or spyware.And yes,I did have several crashes before this happened. Ran disc doctor though.

When can I check for the corrupt cache/page file?

Thanks

[flaninacupboard]

go into bios, check what drives are listed. most bioses these days have an autodetection on boot up. i get it to scan and find my drives, then set any spare IDE channels to none or not present - this should stop the autodetect and avoids any pauses while it's looking for drives that aren't there...

[Guest]

go into bios, check what drives are listed. most bioses these days have an autodetection on boot up. i get it to scan and find my drives, then set any spare IDE channels to none or not present - this should stop the autodetect and avoids any pauses while it's looking for drives that aren't there...

So,will I have to reopen these if I add more drives.Or will this happen automatically?

[flaninacupboard]

you will then have to switch them back on in BIOS, but that's no big deal - how often do you swap drives round?

[Guest]

you will then have to switch them back on in BIOS, but that's no big deal - how often do you swap drives round?

Not to often. Only when the Feds are at the door.

Thanks for the info.
I switched my auto detect to none on my primary slave.The bios now hangs up on the memory check. I get "123121 kb oK" then the hang up for several minutes. Then the drive check kicks in. So fast you can barely catch it. I flashed my bios as well.

[Jayhawk]

When can I check for the corrupt cache/page file?

The disk cache should re-initialize itself each time you boot up. The page file does not but can be forced to rebuild. Go into My Computer / Performance / Virtual Memory and set it to no swap file. Reboot. Run Defrag. Go back into My Computer and uncheck the box. Rebbot and Windows will re-create the swap file.

[Guest]

When can I check for the corrupt cache/page file?

The disk cache should re-initialize itself each time you boot up. The page file does not but can be forced to rebuild. Go into My Computer / Performance / Virtual Memory and set it to no swap file. Reboot. Run Defrag. Go back into My Computer and uncheck the box. Rebbot and Windows will re-create the swap file.

The only thing I can find is "no paging file". I am assuming this is the no swap file option u speak of.

[flaninacupboard]

paging file, swap file, virtual memory. same thing.

[Guest]

Thanks for the info. I tried everything as suggested but to no avail.

I unplugged my usb compactflash reader. Problem solved.Any ideas why this happened? I'm assuming it was having problems detecting it as a drive. However, after it booted,I could see and use it with no problems.

[Jayhawk]

They are very slow especially if they are large AND USB 1.0 or 1.1. Could also be a problem with your USB drivers (sometime motherboard dependent (actuall chipset dependent). Windows XP should handle the Intel chipsets OK, not sure about VIA and some of the others. Might want to check the Intel,Microsoft, and your montherboard site for USB driver updates. Of course, you could leave it unplugged.

[flaninacupboard]

have a look in your bios and verify if USB is switched on (usually in the integrated peripherals section) and whether DOS support is on and if pendrive is on. if pendrive is on it may be trying to boot from your CF card. also check your boot sequence, once my OS is installed i set mine up to boot from drive C only, and not try any other options - again this makes boot up a few seconds quicker.