Computer takes hours to startup. No-signal until then.

Hi Ben,

For us to identify the cause of the issue, we suggest that you perform a clean boot to disable non-Microsoft services and check if the issue persists. For steps on how to perform a clean boot, click here. After troubleshooting, refer to How to reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting found in the same article. We also suggest to start the PC in safe mode and update us if there will be any changes. For steps on how to start your PC in safe mode in Windows 10, click here.

Looking forward to your response.

Does it really take hours?

If you don't hibernate - just normal shutdown does it still take hours?

The more RAM you have the longer it will take a system to come out of hibernation.

It gets to a point where it might not be worth hibernating if coming out of hibernation takes longer than a cold boot.

I quit hibernating years ago with XP after I got to 4GB RAM and never hibernate anymore - takes too long to start up.

Yes, hours. It generally consumes my entire workday. It probably takes even longer when I restart with various different setups to try to get it to move forward. Eventually I leave it to sit and it randomly comes on later in the day.

It only happens when I shut down and restart the computer. Waking up the computer from sleep takes only a moment or two. Starting from the login screen takes only a short time as well. Only the initial startup is delayed.

When my computer finally reconnected again, it actually was displaying a Microsoft update stuck at 100%. The mouse was spinning endlessly and it still took awhile for it to finally startup. By that point I'd gone to sleep and only confirmed that it had finished when I woke up. Considering that I discovered the problem in the morning, that means it took the entire day to startup.

Configuring Windows updates

100% complete

Do not turn off your computer.

Curiously enough, this brings my guess back to where I started: there is some issue with the update procedure. I know for certain that two of the three slow restarts I've noticed were related to this. The first, if I recall, was an automatic restart triggered by Windows when I happened not to be around to tell it to wait. This time I restarted to find updates trying to install.

Right now I'm waiting for the weekend when I can afford to lose access to my computer again before I try rebooting. Performing a clean boot is one thing I want to try, as is running chkdsk (which requires restarting). I'd also like to disable Avira and Avast to make sure they aren't blocking the process. Last, I need to double check my startup applications to remove at least one thing from there.

It's also possible that I need to tap my keyboard like fifty times more than usual to get it to wake up. At the time it finally came on, I was idly drumming away on the modifier keys as I'd tried to do several times throughout the day. It's a pretty random hope but I should at least try it.

The very last thing I'm hoping to do in the near or distant future is upgrading to Windows 10 to make sure I have access to the latest support (7 isn't getting younger). I need to swap out my default C: drive before I do that though.

Anyway, restarting is a potentially time consuming thing to try. If clean booting doesn't work, I stand to lose more days of work waiting for things to turn on. There's always the potential that it won't turn on at all, too, which could lose me even longer. I'll try to update if/when I see results.

Hi Ben,

It is possible that the system’s data store and the download folder got desynchronized, resulting in your Windows Updates not working properly. Let's try clearing the Software Distribution folder where all of the updates are stored. Doing so will force Windows Update to download fresh. There’s nothing vital here. Windows Update will recreate what it needs the next time you run it. Please note that doing this will also result in losing your Update history. Moreover, the next time you run Windows Update, it will result in a longer detection time.

First, you'll need to stop the Windows Update related services by following these steps:

1. Click on the Start menu and select All Programs > Accessories.
2. You will now see a shortcut labeled Command Prompt. Right-click on it and select Run as administrator.
3. Type the following command one after the other and hit Enter:

net stop wuauserv

net stop cryptSvcnet stop bits

net stop msiserver

Then, follow these steps to empty the Software Distribution folder:

1. Go to: C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download
2. Delete everything within the folder. Do NOT delete the folder itself.
3. Restart your computer and give Windows Update another try to see if the issue still exists.

Now, let’s restart the Windows Update related services by typing the following commands one after the other and hitting on Enter in Command Prompt (Admin):

net start wuauserv

net start cryptSvc

net start bits

net start msiserver

                 
To close the Command Prompt (Admin), type Exit and hit on Enter. Restart the computer.

Let us know how it goes.