XPS 17 9710, Windows 11, RealTek driver, slow boot

Yes, this is Windows 11. It came with the machine.

I started the timer when on the black screen with the DELL logo and spinning dots. I stop it when that screen disappears. 

I've tried uninstalling the RealTek drivers and reinstalling them. I get that error message that's attached on my first post at the end.

Before this post, I deleted the 4-5 Realtek mentions under Device Manager and rebooted to let Windows reinstall and the problem is still there.

Is this Windows-11 ?

So, when do you start the timer, and when do you end it?

Have you examined Task Manager/Startup/BIOS-Time?

Have you tried:
- uninstalling all that (there are 2 places to check now ... Settings/Apps and Control-Panel)
- Reboot to clean-up
- Delete Realtek audio-device from Device Manger
- Reboot and let Realtek audio-device re-auto-detect (remember Plug-and-Play ?)
- Use the driver that Microsoft/Windows-Update tosses you. 

Observe if audio still works and if it boots faster (and closer to your expectations).

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@pn720 wrote:

1. Yes, this is Windows 11. It came with the machine.

2. I started the timer when on the black screen with the DELL logo and spinning dots. I stop it when that screen disappears. 

 

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1. ok

2. Wow, really? That's only a small part of the whole boot.

So, about 60 seconds from power on to the Windows Login-In screen huh? Yeah, that's pretty slow. Last time I checked, both of my recent-model XPS laptops do that part in under 15 seconds.

As for troubleshooting and your Realtek issues ... trying reading my previous post carefully. Do those things and then post about that ... less about what you did before. 

Hi, yes, if I uninstall the RealTek audio driver, I get 15s on that screen, which is normal to me.  But then, I have no sound.

After searching this forum, it sounds like this was an issue on previous Dell XPS models too with the RealTek driver.  I'm afraid that this problem will only be solved by a fresh install of Windows and starting all over again.

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@pn720 wrote:

I started the timer when on the black screen with the DELL logo and spinning dots. I stop it when that screen disappears. 

Just timed that part with my XPS-15 (9520). I got 7 seconds.

I'm guessing most/all of that time is considered "BIOS Time" since my Last BIOS Time = 6.3 seconds.

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@pn720 wrote:

 

After searching this forum, it sounds like this was an issue on previous Dell XPS models too with the RealTek driver.  I'm afraid that this problem will only be solved by a fresh install of Windows and starting all over again.

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The XPS models and have been using Intel chipset motherboards with Realtek audio chips (a leader in the industry) since like forever. It would make sense you found a few threads. That does not mean that XPS Realtek drivers are inherently bad.

The ones in my XPS-13 (9310) and XPS-15 (9520) are fine ... as are many other owners with similar XPS xx10 laptops..

I already posted my suggestion on how to fix it. You might want to try that before clean-installing Windows.

So, I just did a full Reset and reinstall of Win 11. After all the Windows updates were done, I installed DELL's SupportAssist tool and it identified only 2 drivers to install, the Wifi driver and the RealTek audio driver. I installed both of them and rebooted.  

I timed the DELL logo spinning screen and it was back to 60s.

So, I went back to Device Manager, removed all 4 RealTek devices and selected to remove the driver as well. Rebooted and Windows added them back with driver versions from 08/2021.  Rebooted again and now the DELL logo spinning screen is taking 30s.

So, it did get better. I'm not sure if I'm completely happy with this workaround so may still return the laptop.

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@pn720 wrote:

1. So, I just did a full Reset and reinstall of Win 11. After all the Windows updates were done, I installed DELL's SupportAssist tool and it identified only 2 drivers to install, the Wifi driver and the RealTek audio driver. I installed both of them and rebooted.  

2. I timed the DELL logo spinning screen and it was back to 60s.

3. So, I went back to Device Manager, removed all 4 RealTek devices and selected to remove the driver as well. Rebooted and Windows added them back with driver versions from 08/2021. 

4. Rebooted again and now the DELL logo spinning screen is taking 30s.

5. So, it did get better. I'm not sure if I'm completely happy with this workaround so may still return the laptop.

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1. I would have instead clean-installed perfect Microsoft Windows-11 (as I described earlier). Definitely would have skipped installing Support-Assist or anything Dell. Just get your drivers from Windows and Windows-Update. After doing all normally presented Windows-Updates, some final drivers might have been in:

Settings/Windows-Update/Advanced-Options/Optional-Updates/Driver-Updates

 2. That is expected (the way you ended-up doing it) as you just re-installed the question-able Dell Realtek drivers. 

3. This is sorta the way I suggested. But it would have been better if it had been done as I described in #1 above (get the working/leaner Microsoft-supplied drivers on there from the beginning).

4. Right. You could keep trouble-shooting from here (maybe one-other similar issue exists). Or, it might have been more like 10 seconds if it had been done like #1 above. I see you are still not documenting and/or posting your "Last BIOS Times" as I requested.

5. It's not really a work-around. It's just installing perfect Windows-11 (as Microsoft designed it). 

To go through all the trouble of ordering and receiving this laptop. Then working on this issue (which is apparently very important to you) ... and still considering returning it. I get this feeling you don't like it for other reasons and/or are having "buyers remorse" about the purchase. 

If you don't like it, by all means ... you should return it (as it's a lot of money to spend on something you don't like). However, I think it would be better if you work directly with Dell Technical Support now. Let them help you before you make that final decision.

Sorry I could not have been more help.

Removing the Realtek audio drivers and letting plug-n-play reinstall them worked perfectly.  Thank you.

can you measure time of hour glass on re-boot.
i measure 50-60 seconds, with disable sound in bios or device manager i have 10 seconds.
i found that cold boot is faster then reboot.

Try turning-off Fast Startup.

Why?

a. By design, it increases shut-down time.

b. With a bootable NVMe-SSD, it is not required.

i already played with Fast Startup. but that was not my qestion.
i want to know if there is somebody out there, with good re-boot times.
the hour glass is shown for 10 seconds with disabled sound. and 50-60 seconds with enabled sound.
is that all we can get from dell?

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@onursen wrote:

i already played with Fast Startup. but that was not my qestion.
i want to know if there is somebody out there, with good re-boot times.
the hour glass is shown for 10 seconds with disabled sound. and 50-60 seconds with enabled sound.
is that all we can get from dell?

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Does ePSA pass 100% good? If so, there is a 95% chance your hardware is good and you have a driver, BIOS setting, or compatibility issue.

Be sure you have the latest BIOS-Firmware. Apply any and all missing ones in order and make sure all sub-components update each time. I have written-up the suggested procedure a couple of times now.

I have access to several recent XPS 9x00 9x10, and 9x20 models, but no actual XPS-17 (9710).   When running a (non Experimental) released BIOS, I've never seen your issue here. If you only want to hear from XPS-17 (9710) owners, I suggest you start your own thread.

my HW is good. i have 2 Precision notebooks with this problem (on second i checked boot times in delivery condition).
i think this problem is on every new XPS or Precision notebook with thunderbold ports only (maybe it is Thunderbold related).
i have testet every bios relaeases since 8 month. i have testet alle driver relases i found.

 onursen,

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