Inspiron 660, slow startup after BIOS and Windows 10 update

Reboot and immediately press F12. Look for option to run Diagnostics and run them. Copy error message(s), if any...

It sounds like there's an issue with at least one of the hardware drivers. Did you update the drivers from here, after selecting Win 10, 64-bit on the dropdown list?

There are other threads on this forum about other PC models where certain AMD video drivers are having trouble with Win 10 leading to long boots times. Assuming you have an AMD card, you may want to look at that driver first.

One thread said pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del when PC is taking too long to boot gets it going again, but that's only a work-around, which may or not work for you.

And you probably want to disable Hibernation on the Additional Settings screen for the active Windows Power plan and only let it Sleep, or maybe just set the plan to turn off the hard drive and monitor after X minutes, rather than letting it go to sleep.

After you 'cold' boot the PC with a long delay, if you do a Restart, does it take as long or is it only delayed at a cold boot?

What "sfuff" is loading in the background at boot up? Do you have Dell SupportAssist or Dell Update installed? You might want to disable them and everything else that starts during a normal boot. Open Task Manager and click Startup tab. Uncheck everything except  your antimalware suite and then shut down normally. (If you decide to disable the antimalware for this test, you probably should disconnect your internet connection too so you don't risk an attack.)

Wait a few after powering off and then boot up. If the delay is gone, go back to the Startup tab and re-check one or few of those apps at a time to see if you can ID the offender...

Already had tried the F12 diagnostics with no problems detected. Already had updated the drivers from the site you suggested. Have Intel video card. Could the motherboard be the problem even though it doesn't show up as a problem on diagnostics?

Long delay (4-10 minutes) with cold start or restart. Haven't loaded any programs other than anti-spyware and anti-virus since I did a computer reset so nothing other than those are running at startup. Disabled those but didn't help.

You're not making this easy...  :TongueTied:

What peripherals are connected, aside from monitor and keyboard? Have you tried disconnecting everything else?

I'll ping my Dell tech contacts. Stay tuned...

I meant you should disconnect everything except  mouse and keyboard. :Wink:

Disconnecting those could cause other problems and that complicates things. So try again but leave both keyboard and mouse connected to rear USB2 ports, and disable WiFi to the printer too.

My Dell tech contact wants to know exactly which version of BIOS is running now and which build of Windows 10, eg Build 1803. You can check by right-clicking Start and selecting Run. Type in: msinfo32.exe and click OK. Post the requested info here...

Windows 10 pro.  10.0.17134 Build 17134

Bios A12,

Not sure if my reply was posted so I am repeating it.

Windows 10.0.17134 Build 17134

Bios Dell Inc. A12

Build 17134 ??

Are you part of Microsoft's Windows Insider Preview program? Build 17134 is an unofficial, unreleased beta test version of Win 10, so all bets are off here, and you should report this problem through Microsoft's feedback for their Preview program.

The current "RTM" (released to market) version is Build 1803.

I'll relay your info to my Dell tech contact, but I don't expect any solutions to fix problems with a preview version of Windows.

You probably want to revert to the previously installed build, if that's still possible, but back up your personal files on external media first, to be safe. :Idea:

I'm not a member of Microsoft insider preview program. Don't know how I got the beta version on my computer. Trying to send feedback but having trouble getting to where I can do that but Ill keep trying. Can't get back to an earlier version.

To try to revert:

• Open Settings
• Click Update & security
• Click Recovery
• Under "Go back to the previous version of Windows 10," click Get started
• Select reason you're going back to previous version
• Check for updates? Click No Thanks
• Click Next
• Click Next
• Click Go back to earlier build

Be sure to back up your data first and be aware that some apps may have to be reinstalled so make sure you have all the product keys for those apps, eg MS Office etc.

When that's all done, you need to make sure you're not going to any more Insider Previews. This may or not be visible, depending on whether your previous build was an official release, or a previous Insider Preview:

1. Open Settings
2. Click Update & security
3. Click Stop Insider Preview Builds button
4. Select Keep giving me builds until the next Windows release and choose your response
5. Click Confirm
6. Click Restart Now

If you can't revert, you may have to live with this issue until the next official release (~Dec'18) or you probably will have to install Win 10 Build 1803. You can do that by creating a bootable USB stick with the ISO file you can download for free from Microsoft. And again, back up your data and find your product keys first.

Couldn't go back to previous install. When I tried got message we ran into a problem and won't be able to take you back to a previous version. Think I'll try to load 1803 build from an iso

Created a bootable iso file on a dvd but when I booted with it I couldn't install the new Windows 10 because I didn't have the key for it. I tried to use it after I had started up the computer normally but the newly installed Windows 10 is the same 17134 build.

Did this PC come with Win 10 or an earlier version?

You have to boot directly from the Win 10 DVD you created. Put the bootable disk in the drive and close the drawer. Then press the power button to restart the PC. Immediately  press F12 and look for the option to boot from the optical drive.

If the installer asks for a product key, click  "I don't have one". If that option isn't offered,  just click Next. After the installation is completed, Windows will check on line and should automatically activate itself.