10 seconds of black screen before login screen

lochmarf

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 4, 2020
Posts
77
Location
Asia
This is the sequence of things when I turn on my laptop
  • Manufacturer's logo -about 5 seconds
  • Black screen - 10-15 seconds
  • Login screen
I have an SSD so the whole boot up process is still very fast but that black screen is bothering me. I didn't have it when Windows 10 was newly installed. I can't really tell when it started happening but I started noticing it last month (I think). I'm also not sure if it's related to an update.

I was curious so I made some experiments.
  • Main account - many apps, some too heavy for my old cpu I guess, are set to start on login
  • Second account - only a few 3rd-party apps on startup
Normal boot
  • Main - the black screen appears after the manufacturer's logo
  • Second - no black screen, manufacturer's logo (5 seconds) -> Welcome screen (2-3 seconds) -> desktop
Clean boot
  • Main - same as with normal boot
  • Second - haven't tried clean booting using this account
Safe mode
  • Main - same as with normal and clean boot
  • Second - same as with normal boot
It seems that Windows automatically loads the last used user account along with all the programs and services set to start on login even if you actually haven't signed it yet. I thought that was the reason for the black screen but why does it still appear even in clean boot and safe mode?

And then, I noticed while playing around with Windows Performance Analyzer (I don't know what I'm doing lol) that Windows generates a log file for Windows Update whenever I sign in to any profile. Is this normal? Windows only started doing it last August 21. I installed (it's a reinstall actually) Windows 10 back in July.

windows performance analyzer windowsupdate log 2.png

windowsupdate logs.png

My Windows version is 21H1 OS Build 19043.1165.
Task manager usually reports 2.8 seconds of BIOS time.
 
I was curious so I made some experiments.
  • Main account - many apps, some too heavy for my old cpu I guess, are set to start on login
  • Second account - only a few 3rd-party apps on startup
Normal boot
  • Main - the black screen appears after the manufacturer's logo
  • Second - no black screen, manufacturer's logo (5 seconds) -> Welcome screen (2-3 seconds) -> desktop
"Too heavy" for the CPU is not accurate. This would be particularly true if the problem only recently started.

I recommend you review what you have starting with Windows, and only have those programs you use every time you sit down at your computer.

Make sure all your installed programs, Windows and your drivers are current.

What are you using for security?

How much free disk space do you have?

What are your computer specs to include how much RAM is installed?

Does the computer run fine once boot is complete?
 
Hi @lochmarf !

This is really not an answer but a relay of my experience.

A few of the computers I manage does this as well. It's never been a problem so I never researched it.

It is however perfectly fine to be curious.




Try the following if you're comfortable.


As always, use caution when editing the Windows registry, if you edit the wrong thing, your machine may become unbootable.

To use enable verbose status messages by editing the registry, follow these steps:

Click Start > Run.

In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.

Locate and then click the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.

Type verbosestatus, and then press ENTER.

Double-click the new key that you created, type 1 in the Value data box, and then click OK.

Quit Registry Editor.

This will let you see the boot process and what modules are loading. You can turn it off by replacing the 1 with a 0.

SOURCE

Thanks,

Rob
 
Hi @lochmarf !

This is really not an answer but a relay of my experience.

A few of the computers I manage does this as well. It's never been a problem so I never researched it.

It is however perfectly fine to be curious.




Try the following if you're comfortable.


As always, use caution when editing the Windows registry, if you edit the wrong thing, your machine may become unbootable.

To use enable verbose status messages by editing the registry, follow these steps:

Click Start > Run.

In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.

Locate and then click the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.

Type verbosestatus, and then press ENTER.

Double-click the new key that you created, type 1 in the Value data box, and then click OK.

Quit Registry Editor.

This will let you see the boot process and what modules are loading. You can turn it off by replacing the 1 with a 0.

SOURCE

Thanks,

Rob

The black screen is now replaced with text that describes what Windows is doing. It looks and feels more responsive from an end-user's perspective. Thanks to that!
 
I personally like having Verbose Status turned on simply because it allows you to know that things are still moving along rather than sitting on a "generic boot message" for a long period of time, like, "Preparing Windows."

However, this mattered more when I was using machines with HDDs rather than SSDs. Machines with SSDs "fly through" the boot process relative to those with HDDs.
 
I made some videos about how the boot process looks like with verbose and without it. Does the one without verbose look "normal"? By normal, does it not look like something's wrong with Windows or my laptop?

With verbose enabled


With verbose disabled


I see some people say that their boot time is just 5 or 10 seconds. In my case with a grub2 installed, where do I start counting time to determine my boot time?
 
All I'll say is that I think you're making way too much of this. Once you start throwing grub into the equation it will slow things down.

I don't see anything in your videos as far as boot times go that would give me any real concern.
 
All I'll say is that I think you're making way too much of this.
This is true. I just want to satisfy my curiosity.

Once you start throwing grub into the equation it will slow things down.
But why is the boot process for the second account more instantaneous? There's no black screen or whatever. The login screen just shows up immediately after the Lenovo logo. I've tried booting both accounts both in clean boot mode and safe mode but the results were all the same. My main account has some delay before the login screen shows up.
 
But why is the boot process for the second account more instantaneous?

I don't know. There are so many possibilities from the startup programs for each user being different to some sort of corruption in the user profile that causes a short hang and the list goes on and on.

I say the following without a trace of snark or intended nastiness: Given what I see, I don't really care. You do not have anything I have not seen, many times before, as far as an SSD boot time. It may not be as fast as it once was, it may not be as brief as for another user account, but it is, undeniably, what is called in both medicine and statistics, "within normal limits."

Something has to be clearly outside those before I start getting concerned in any way.
 
I see some people say that their boot time is just 5 or 10 seconds.
I doubt that - even with a quick SSD - at least not with typical user setups.

It is possible, but generally it means disabling almost everything from starting with Windows. That's fine if the fastest boot time possible is your goal, but how often do you boot your computer? I often go 2 or 3 weeks or even longer between boots - only rebooting when some Windows or major security program update requires it. I last booted this computer yesterday morning, only because we had a 4 hour power outage and my UPS will only hold my system in shutdown/standby mode (if I quickly power off my monitors) for a maximum of 128 minutes.

So I just let my computers go to sleep. This is a better option anyway because it allows Windows to run Windows Update and other "housekeeping" chores (including rebooting to apply critical updates) when I am not using my computer - a good thing.

So that 5 - 10 seconds could happen if the computer and Windows is configured for that, none of the default settings in the BIOS Setup Menu have been changed, if it is using a fast CPU, fast DDR4 RAM and a fast SSD, and it came from a stand-by/sleep or shutdown state (which is really a stand-by or sleep state too) and not a full off or "cold" boot state.

What's a cold boot? It is important to remember that the ATX Form Factor standard requires all ATX compliant PC power supplies maintain +5Vsb standby power across several points on the motherboard when the computer is "shutdown". This +5Vsb provides for several functions. First, it allows the front panel power button to start the computer since that is really a remote button switch (it just momentarily shorts two pins - one carrying that +5V - on the motherboard). That +5Vsb voltage also allows keyboards, mice, and even remote network commands via the LAN to wake the computer (depending on BIOS Setup Menu settings). And if you have DDR4 RAM installed, it even keeps important systems data "alive" in RAM (in a "low-voltage" state). This special DDR4 feature is specifically designed for and used to expedite boot times from a standby state. DDR3 RAM does not have this capability.

A "cold" boot happens when the computer is shutdown AND that +5Vsb voltage is removed too. And that only happens when the computer's power supply is unplugged from the wall, or (if it has one), the power supply's master power switch on the back of the supply is flipped to "Off" or "0". That is the only time the computer is actually, totally "off" and drawing no power from the wall. In other words, it is now in a "cold" state.

Where am I going with this? Well, don't you want your security to boot with Windows? I sure do! I also want my UPS monitoring software, my graphics card control panel, and my hardware (CPU temp) monitoring program to run EVERY TIME I use my computer too. But I don't want to start those programs manually every time I start my computer. So they "Startup" with Windows. Yes, those programs loading and configuring during boot add to the boot time. But they don't add (at least not anything significant) to my wake times.

So I have to wait an extra 15 seconds or so every few days (or weeks!) when booting from a cold state. But but all other days (and several times throughout each day) I don't. And I like that.

If your computer with a SSD is taking minutes to boot from a "cold" start, that is a problem - especially if you see any errors. But if under a minute, no errors, AND it is working fine after the boot process is complete, I would not worry about it.

If you still want to trim your boot time a bit, look in Task Manager > Startup and see what is starting with Windows. If you (or Windows) don't need it EVERY time you use your computer, disable it. For example, I don't use Cortana or Skype. So I disabled them.
 
Nice thread, just my .50 cents, how "much" RAM ???
Know users with 8Gb RAM and Windows take 'some time' to boot!
Windows is a great "consumer of resources"!!!
 
Windows is a great "consumer of resources"!!!

As is any other modern operating system.

The designs have changed, intentionally, to make them exploit every bit of the on-board resources, like RAM, that they can at any given moment for what's going on. This makes perfect sense, as RAM is the fastest thing to interact with outside the CPU and unused RAM is a dead asset.

I'm amazed at just how impatient the world has become with computers as far as expecting each and every moment to have instantaneous response. That never has been, and never will be, the case depending on what the actual demands of the moment are versus the capacities available. And given that booting always involves disk access (I don't count Fast Startup as an actual boot, but even it has disk access) it's always going to be one of the "slower" things.

@Digerati is correct in his incredulity of 5 to 10 second boot times. I seldom see anything even approaching that quick on brand new machines loaded with RAM and sporting an SSD.
 
Boot up Windows 98 on a Pentium 233 Mghz with 128kb RAM,5200rpm HDD, then call me about boot times. :p

Oh and then wait for the handshake on a 14400K modem and load up Prodigy, Compuserve, AOL, then download a weather channel radar graphic (3 frames). Better yet, download the new version of Internet Explorer.
 
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Boot up Windows 98 on a Pentium 233 Mghz with 128kb RAM,5200rpm HDD, then call me about boot times. :p

Oh and then wait for the handshake on a 14400K modem and load up Prodigy, Compuserve, AOL, then download a weather channel radar graphic (3 frames). Better yet, download the new version of Internet Explorer.

Lean, mean, killing machine! :-)
 
People want booting at the speed of light... :)
Then just let the computer go to sleep.

Know users with 8Gb RAM and Windows take 'some time' to boot!
Windows is a great "consumer of resources"!!!
8GB of RAM? Compared to what? 8GB would be faster than 4GB - especially with a hard drive instead of a SSD. But more than 8GB will provide very little, if any noticeable improvement. And frankly, much of the time consumed during boot is done so by the hardware drivers loading and configuring - especially graphics. Configuring security takes time too. I don't think it fair to blame the OS for either of those delays.

Plus, once Windows (or any OS) becomes fully booted and ready for the user, much of the resources used during the boot and configuration process are released back into the resource pool.

Then of course, a lot of the time consumed during boot occurs during the initial stages and POST (power on self-test) before the boot drive is even touched. So the OS has not even become a factor yet.

Windows does consume a lot of resources, but the latest versions of Windows are also great managers of those resources. This is exactly why it for us "normal" users (that is the 98% of us in the middle of all users), it is best to just let Windows manage our virtual memory (RAM + Page File) resources. Contrary to what many believe and want everyone else to believe, (1) they are NOT experts at managing virtual memory and (2) the developers at Microsoft are!

If you dig around with Resource Monitor, it is easy to see the applications running on our systems (browsers, security, and other apps) are by far, much bigger resource hogs than the OS itself.

That said, let's not let the OP's thread drift OT.
 
I rarely shut my machine down so I've never really taken note of boot times until a Windows update forces me to reboot.

I use SSD's on my machine and it takes around about ~30 seconds to present me with the login option, including the pauses before Windows even starts to boot. I consider that normal and have found that if I do not log into Windows right away as soon as I'm able, I get a very responsive desktop "much" quicker than if I do log in as soon as I'm able. Most of the things that I would normally wait for and watch loading will load in the background while I still haven't logged in. For that reason, I've developed a habit that when I need to reboot my system, I'll go and make a coffee. By the time I come back and sit down, enter my password, I get a responsive and fully-loaded desktop in about 10 seconds. I see no problem here that needs fixing.
 

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