Computer taking forever to boot

dartgande

In Runtime
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Hey guys, I'm having serious boot issues. It's been going on for about three months now. I have Windows 8.1. The issue is that my computer has been taking increasingly extended periods of time to boot. I have an ASRock Extreme4 z87 mobo. This build is about two years old. It started taking a few hours to boot, and now it hasn't booted it days. The boot times have seemed to increase exponentially over time. I simply cannot figure out the issue, but some forums I read stated that it's possible the bios needs to be updated. My frustration is at a peak and any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
At what stage is is taking forever to boot up?

Does the BIOS splash load quickly? Does it freeze up on the Windows loading screen?

Updating the BIOS doesn't sound like a likely cause - I'd point either toward the HDD or possibly RAM.

If you can get into Windows to run a disk check, do the following:
Start -> type 'cmd' (without quotes) -> right click -> run as admin -> in the console window that pops up type:
chkdsk C: /f /r
Press Enter and it will say it cannot lock the current drive and to run on next reboot. Type Y and hit Enter -> Reboot your computer and let it run through the check (it may take some time, depending on how big your HDD is).

If you can't get into Windows, then you'll have to boot off of your Windows install disc, click the "Repair my computer" link in the bottom left of the installer screen, and choose the Command Prompt option to launch a command prompt and enter in same commands as above.
 
I will probably have to use the Windows disc as it doesn't even boot to anything. Just keeps giving me various errors on the mobo
 
What do you mean by "various errors on the motherboard" ? You'll need to give more details so we can help you.

I'd start out running the disk check, though.
 
Have you tried booting into safe mode? Or using a live CD of something to see if it can boot into a stand-alone/diskless environment?
 
So I unplugged all hdd and just used cd Rom, but it's still not booting.

The error messages displayed move fast, but I get 03, 15, 19 3b, and 55, on the tiny digital display that is on the motherboard
 
Well I tried using my Windows cd in the cd rom, with the ssd and hard drive unplugged to no avail, rather.
 
Tried looking in your motherboard's user manual..but I didn't see a section on what the codes mean (or even that a digital display existed). You're sure that's your motherboard model?
 
Yes sir. Asrock Z87 Extreme4. I'm staring at it while I type this.

Last time, I did a lot of research and the closest issue I found to mine is that the Bios may be so severely dated that it would cause some boot issues, but I doubt that it would be to this level. I did notice the display would fixate only on RAM error codes if I change the slots around. The error codes seem to coordinate with bad RAM, and maybe a bad MOBO. I've not really had experienced good RAM randomly dying before, though. If I had another gamer friend in the nearby area, I would be able to trade out parts and pinpoint the issue, but I don't know anyone with anything comparable.
 
Interesting. Just removed CMOS battery and put it back in slot. Computer won't power on at all now. Bad battery, perhaps?
 
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