Windows 10: Why has addition of 3rd external drive dramatically slowed boot time?

Recently I added a 3rd USB3 external drive to my PC. Prior to this, with two USB3 external drives, Windows booted very quickly, it got past the motherboard logo screen after 2 seconds then onto the login. Now that the 3rd drive is added, the motherboard logo screen takes a good 10 to 20 seconds to get past, so Windows boot time has gone from maybe 5 seconds to maybe 25 seconds. This is not long, but it's a substantial percentage increase, and is a daily annoyance.

All 3 external drives are USB3 as mentioned, and plugged into USB3 ports. Why should the addition of the 3rd slow down boot time so much?

The two older external drives are 2Tb and 4Tb, the new one is 8Tb. Is the size of this maybe the issue? Is there a resolution to this to bring back the old startup speeds? Fast boot is enabled. Windows 10 Pro, 1809, 250Gb SSD M.2 for Windows/Programs, 16Gb ram.

As an aside, maybe, I've read about updating the UEFI(?)/Bios for the motherboard to the latest, could this be a factor? I'm still on the version the motherboard came with nearly a year ago.

Apologies if I'm rambling, I'm trying to cover the bases with as much relevant info.

submitted by /u/RedOrange7
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:)

 

Help! Insanely Slow Boot Time!

I know when I have my external 2TB drive plugged in, sometimes my boot time slows down. To fix that problem I went into the BIOS and told it to ignore the drive.
You might want to check in your BIOS to see how they have set the boot devices...
But honestly 5-10 minutes probably means something else is slowing it up. At what stage during the boot process does it stall at?

 

Help! Insanely Slow Boot Time!

It usually stalls at the Gigabyte screen, and I can't access the BIOS because it does nothing when I press the required key.

 

Extreme slow boot time since eSATA HDD addition

Hi all,

My system uses a SSD drive and Fast Boot option in Windows (Hibernate = YES).
Also, my BIOS is set to Fast Boot option.

1. Usually, from cold boot it will log in within 8 seconds on average.
2. For a PC restart, it takes about 15~20 seconds to login. Pretty manageable.

It's worth noting that cold boot uses the hiber.sys file when fast boot option is enabled in windows.
This file is not being used for PC restart.

Since I added a HDD eSATA enclosure that can host two HDDs, I've experienced slow boot times.
With 1 HDD it would take about 20 seconds to login from PC restart, but with the additional 2nd HDD it got to about 60+ seconds to login.

Things I've done:

1. I've disabled some none windows, none crucial startup services to no avail.
2. My motherboard is quite old - Asus P8Z77-V-Deluxe.
   It uses Asmedia 106x SATA Controller. The eSata drivers for it are from 21/08/2017 version 3.2.3.0.
   I've installed this driver after I experienced the slow boot time in the hope to achieve better results, but it didn't improve anything.
3. Removed BitDefender to no avail. Installed back.
4. In group policy, I've enabled Windows Boot Performance Diagnostics but I've yet to gather meaningful data.
5. Lastly, disconnected the eSATA HDD enclosure - Windows boots in 8 seconds. Clearly this has to do with the eSATA connection or HDD's.

My questions are:

1. Is there a dedicated diagnostic tool for windows boot time that can point what's holding up to boot process?
2. Do you think it's better to use USB 3.0 instead of the eSATA to improve on the time? or is it the enclosure controller that holds windows boot time?

That's the eSATA HDD enclosure I'm using:
Vantec NexStar MX Dual 3.5 SATA to USB 3.0 and eSATA W/JBOD/RAID 0/1 Enclosure 690000346712 | eBay