My PC usually boots in about 30 seconds, but sometimes it takes anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. This has been happening for nearly two years, and I still haven't found a reliable fix. During the unusually long startup, the motherboard's DRAM indicator stays yellow and the CPU indicator stays red. The system uses an MSI motherboard, DDR5 memory, an AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, and an NVIDIA RTX 4070 Super.
2 Answers
You can still test the RAM with a bootable memory diagnostic, preferably one module at a time, but the motherboard LEDs make this look more like a POST or memory-training problem than a Windows startup issue. A failing storage drive would generally cause problems after POST—slow loading, freezes, or crashes—not usually a DRAM and CPU light during hardware initialization.
The symptoms sound a lot like the motherboard repeatedly training the DDR5 memory. In the BIOS, try enabling Memory Context Restore and Power Down Enable so it can reuse the previous memory-training results instead of starting over every time. If that causes instability, turn either setting back off. Also update the motherboard BIOS, since newer versions often improve DDR5 compatibility. If the problem continues, try replacing the CMOS battery with a CR2032, then test the RAM sticks individually. At that point, a faulty memory kit, CPU, or motherboard becomes more likely.
Exactly. Startup programs in Windows won’t explain a delay that happens while the DRAM and CPU diagnostic lights are active. I’d focus on BIOS settings, BIOS updates, memory seating, and testing each DIMM before investigating drives or startup applications.