So, I'm having a random issue that affects about 7 out of 10 windows bootups

[Mysticpuma]

I figured it would be easy to show a video of the issue, but a brief summary is;

Computer boots up, gets to main screen. Lately that's as good as it gets.

Double clicking anything to open/launch it, can take 10-20 seconds before anything happens (see video).

I haven't installed any new software apart from updating my Nvidia driver. This has been happening for the last few weeks, however sometimes I'll get a 'normal' boot and everything launches/opens as expected. My system was above average on 2016 and apart from this issue, works fine. So when I get a 'normal' boot everything runs lag free, 4K, no issues. When I get this boot, everything runs lag free, 4K, no issues....but it's just the delay for it to launch.

I like to think I am pretty good when it comes to problem solving on a computer, but this sporadic (but more common than a normal boot), is really frustrating me now.

Anyone got any fault finding/problem solving ideas?

 

[Aapje]

The recent Nvidia drivers are known for having many issues, so unless you own a 50-series, I would start by downloading version 566.36, then removing the current driver using DDU, and then installing 566.36.

 

If that doesn't help, then it can be very hard to figure it out, because Windows is not exactly transparent. If you've had the same Windows install since 2016, a fresh install may be required.

[Mysticpuma]

@Aapje thanks for the reply.

It's a new install of Windows 10 in March 2025. 👍

[69th_Panp]

? do you have any external drives attached to usb or usb c 

I had a ssd  on a usb c that would cause a hang or long boot on my system.

I found out it was causing the issue while trouble shooting the system.

when disconnected system would boot just fine.

[Mysticpuma]

8 hours ago, 69th_Panp said:

? do you have any external drives attached to usb or usb c 

I had a ssd  on a usb c that would cause a hang or long boot on my system.

I found out it was causing the issue while trouble shooting the system.

when disconnected system would boot just fine.

Hi, I don't.

The boot itself is not the issue, it boots fast, but once up and running, I then get the slow opening of any file or program, which makes me think it's a software conflict somewhere

Edited May 1 by Mysticpuma

[69th_Panp]

Puma

open task manager and look at the performance tab and see what you cpu is doing 

if its at idle   then try to open a file and see what the cpu is doing. normal usage should be around 3 to 5 %

also look at what GHz it's running at. if it's real high, then you have something that is using up your cpu cycles. could be a corrupt program or file that is hanging or possible malware.

 

[AtomicP]

On 4/30/2025 at 4:56 AM, Mysticpuma said:

I figured it would be easy to show a video of the issue, but a brief summary is;

Computer boots up, gets to main screen. Lately that's as good as it gets.

Double clicking anything to open/launch it, can take 10-20 seconds before anything happens (see video).

I haven't installed any new software apart from updating my Nvidia driver. This has been happening for the last few weeks, however sometimes I'll get a 'normal' boot and everything launches/opens as expected. My system was above average on 2016 and apart from this issue, works fine. So when I get a 'normal' boot everything runs lag free, 4K, no issues. When I get this boot, everything runs lag free, 4K, no issues....but it's just the delay for it to launch.

I like to think I am pretty good when it comes to problem solving on a computer, but this sporadic (but more common than a normal boot), is really frustrating me now.

Anyone got any fault finding/problem solving ideas?

 

Do you have OneDrive set up for your system? The 'sync pending' when you hover over the icon makes me think OneDrive is a potential culprit here.

[czech693]

Have you run sfc to see if you have any corrupt windows files?