Windows 11 Lengthy Boot

I will not do a clean install as I have too many very complicated third party apps and huge amounts of data that would require an enormous amount of work to re-install and configure. I'd rather live with the problem than go through that perilous and time consuming work, with somewhat low odds that it would fix anything.

I also replaced the CPU and RAM, and ran manufacture provided diagnostics on my SSDs . I disconnected my SATA drives. So I've done virtually everything you could possibly do hardware and driver wise except replace the motherboard and power supply. But yesterday somehow I was able to get the problem to go away with some combination of msconfig and TM startup parameters. I cannot duplicate that today. But with the msconfig and TM testing I did this morning this implies that it is system software related. But since I did a multiple Windows upgrade and/or repairs I don't see how that is possible. The mystery continues.

I'm back. Dog on a bone. Over the last several weeks have replaced the video card, uninstalled the NVIDIA driver then reinstalled the latest version, updated the BIOS firmware to latest version, checked and updated all drivers if necessary., and upgraded from Windows 10 to 11, first using the MS update process which downloads stuff, then a repair/upgrade from an ISO image.

I have confirmed that using msconfig to disable all non-MS services, and no loading of startup apps, and disabling all startup apps in Task Manager that the problem persists. So it's not a third party app.

The problem becomes more noticeable as the cpu load increases. It also becomes more noticeable as the GPU utilization rate increases. So the GPU utilization is affected by the CPU which makes sense anyway, but some process is spiking several of the CPU threads, which then dramatically affects GPU utilization. Most of the threads are not affected.

I'm at a loss of how to proceed. Hopefully you are not.

So you did try another video card?

If so then The Display driver is so important here that merely updating it is sometimes not enough. So let's try everything possible to get it working correctly:

First make sure you have updated the Display driver from the PC or Display adapter maker's Support Downloads web page for your exact model number, HP Serial Number or Dell Service Tag - from the sticker on the PC.

While there check also for newer chipset, BIOS/UEFI firmware (very important), network, sound, USB3 and other drivers, comparing to the ones presently installed in Device Manager reached by right clicking the Start Menu.

Remove the old driver using DDU https://www.wagnardsoft.com/content/ddu-guide-t... if necessary installing in Safe Mode with Networking (so you have internet), or Safe Mode, accessed by one of these methods: https://winaero.com/how-to-boot-windows-11-in-s...

If this doesn't give you the latest or ideal driver for what you need, compare it to the driver offered by the Intel driver update Utility here: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support...

or the Nvidia GeForce scanner here: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Scan.aspx?lang=e...

or the AMD autodect utility here: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/P...

For Display issues one fix that is working is to Roll back or Uninstall the Driver on the Display Device > Driver tab, restart PC to reinstall driver. You can also try older drivers in Device Manager > Display device > Driver tab > Update Driver > Browse > Let Me Pick.

Then you will know you've tried everything in addition to Windows Update drivers.

Adjust the screen resolution until it fits and looks best at Settings > System > Display.

Then expedite all WIndows Updates including Optional to see if it pushes Monitor or other enabling drivers.

Check for a monitor driver by expediting Windows Updates (including Optional Updates) in Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for Updates to install all Updates until no more are offered.

I'll be back tomorrow late morning EST.

One last comment before I let this go for a bit. This is not a system wide freeze. It primarily affects the graphics card functionality. So either the graphics card is waiting for something that unexpectedly isn’t happening in a timely fashion, or some stem level app or process is not supplying it with the data it needs to function for that time. I don’t know if that’s particularly useful for troubleshooting but the obvious things like swapping out the card, removing and reinstalling the driver and refreshing the OS didn’t help. I’m going now..