A315-23 long booting and Sometimes the system would freeze right after the logo appeared.

uraniumBoy
uraniumBoy Member Posts: 10

Tinkerer

edited February 26 in Aspire Laptops

For the past few weeks, I've been having an issue with my laptop taking a long time to boot up. It can take up to a minute before the logo appears on the screen and the fans start running. Sometimes the system would freeze right after the logo appeared, displaying a blue screen with DPC Watchdog Violation error, requiring a system restart. I've run chkdsk, sfc, toggled the quick start option on and off, but it hasn't made any difference. The disk driver and system have the latest updates. What could be causing this?

[Edited the thread to add issue detail]

«1

Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,862 Trailblazer

    > >It can take up to a minute before the logo appears > >

    Shut laptop off normally. Wait ~5 mins. Then turn it back on. Does the logo seem to appear about as fast as it used to? Try it again a few more times. Does the logo still appear about as fast each time? Report back with results.

    Jack E/NJ

  • Puraw
    Puraw ACE, Member Posts: 12,870 Trailblazer

    Boot to Safe Mode and check the boot time, if the same 1-minute time to Acer logo you may have an SSD issue if that is your boot drive. If the "spinner" HDD is your boot drive, consider replacing that with a 2.5" Sata-3 SSD like the Samsung 870 EVO plus 1TB.

  • uraniumBoy
    uraniumBoy Member Posts: 10

    Tinkerer

    I tried turning the computer on and off 7 times and nothing changed. The average time between pressing the power button and the appearance of the Windows welcome screen is 90 seconds (60 seconds to display the Acer logo), and the blue screen appeared 3 times.

    I have an SSD. I checked it and booting into safe mode or after a BSOD is much faster.

  • Puraw
    Puraw ACE, Member Posts: 12,870 Trailblazer

    So, you have a rogue driver that slows down the booting, BTW 90 seconds to the Windows screen is still OK. You have a NVMe Gen3 SSD, Ryzen 5-3500U and 8GB-2400 MHz total RAM? If you have 4+8GB=12GB total RAM the system will run in Single Channel mode (much slower). To find the driver that causes the BSOD and slows booting you can disable, then one-by-one enable the non-Windows services (drivers) with MSconfig.exe, starting with the AMD display adapter (which I suspect causes the BSODs): https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-troubleshoot-your-windows-with-the-msconfig-utility/ If this is too complicated you can just Reset the system without losing your files, type Reset in the Search bar.

  • @uraniumBoy

    Here are some of the steps to speed up your computer.  

    Try windows + r -  on the run window - type msconfig  - click ok  
    click on services
    check - hide all microsoft services 
    click on disable all
    click on startup 
    disable all the startup items 
    click on apply - ok  - restart the computer.     Loading process will be very fast now..

    Note: You can always enable the services and startup items later or set it to normal startup from selective startup later on the General tab  

    Try windows + r - on the run window - type appwiz.cpl  - click ok  
    it will show you the list of programs
    remove all the unwanted third party programs. 
    Please don’t remove any drivers.  
    If you are not sure , please don’t remove it.  

    Try windows + r - on the run window type temp - click ok -  it will show you the bunch of files -  try ctrl + a - select all files - press the shift key and click on delete files 

    Try windows + r - on the run window type  %temp%  - click ok  - It will show you the bunch of files -  try ctrl + a - select all files - press the shift key and click on delete files 

    If you are not able to remove some files - click on skip and then click click on continue.. 

    Try windows + r  - on the run window - type cleanmgr - click ok
    click on all the boxes except recycle bin and thumnail
    Delete the items which are checked 

    Try windows x - on the menu - chose command prompt admin or power shell admin 
    click on yes 
    on the blue or black window  type sfc /scannow 
    It will be running till 100 %

    Try to do a chrome reset 
    open chrome
    click on three dots on top right corner 
    click on settings
    Scroll down - go to advanced
    click on restore setting to default
    you will see reset settings - cancel
    click on reset settings 
    Open chrome 
    it will work faster now

    If it is still not working then we have to do a refresh and reset

    click on start - settings - update and security - recovery - reset this pc - get started 

    or 

    on start - type here to search - type reset this pc - click on reset this pc on the top  - click on get started 

    or

    Try windows + r using keyboard
    on run window - type systemreset

    It will show you keep my files and remove everything
    chose keep my files 
    chose the account - type the password - click on local reinstall - click on reset 
    It will be in progress.. 
    login to computer and start using the computer. 
    If it is still not working 

    click on start - settings - update and security - recovery - reset this pc - get started 
    chose remove everything 
    click on local reinstall - just remove my files - click on reset
    It will be in progress

    Note:

    If you do refresh ( keep my files ) -  all your personal files like pictures, music , documents , videos  will still be intact.   Only the applications will be lost

    If you do reset  ( remove everything )  - you are doing a factory default.   It will become like a day one computer.    It will wipe out everything and take your computer to day one like a new computer. 

    You can also do the recovery in an alternative way..

    There are two alt keys on the keyboard.  If you look at the bottom row of keyboard you can see the one on the left side of space bar and the other on the right side of space bar.  The alt key on the right side will be looking like alt, alt gr or alt car.  Turn off the computer.  Hold the alt key on the left and tap f10 continuously.   It will go to repair mode. It will show you chose an option, continue, troubleshoot.   If it is not going to repair mode, turn off the computer.  Turn on the computer.  Hold the right alt key ( alt gr or alt car or alt )  and then tap f10 continuously.  It will go to chose an option continue and troubleshoot..

    It will show you chose an option, continue, troubleshoot
    Go to troubleshoot  -  click on reset this pc
    click on keep my files  ( only applications will be lost )   chose your account and type your password   - click on local reinstall  - click on reset
    It will be in progress 

    If the keep my files option is not working 

    Go to troubleshoot  -  click on reset this pc – click on remove everything – click on local reinstall – just remove my files – click on reset 
    It will reinstall windows. 

    If the just remove my files is not working..

    Go to troubleshoot  -  click on reset this pc – click on remove everything – click on local reinstall – Fully clean the drive – click on reset 
    It will reinstall windows. 

    Note: You can also go to chose an option , continue , troubleshoot by holding the alt key + tapping f10  or alt gr + tapping f10 on the keyboard while turning on the computer.    Once you see the troubleshoot option, you can stop tapping the f10 and stop holding the alt key.    Then you can try the keep my files and remove everything ( just remove by files and fully clean the drive ) by following the steps which was mentioned above. 

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful 

    Click on "Yes" if it answers your question.


    Please click YES if I answered your question

    I am not an ACER employee
    B  Thank you and have a BLESSED AND HAPPY DAY  B


                                         ★★ WILLIAM - MRK ★★

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,862 Trailblazer

    > >(60 seconds to display the Acer logo)> >

    This is far too long. Suggests one of the basic input/output devices has a problem. The boot drive is most likely.

    Turn laptop off. Turn it back on and immediately start tapping the F2 key until the BIOS menu appear.

    Please post a phone photo of the BIOS INFORMATION section/tab if possible.

    Jack E/NJ

  • uraniumBoy
    uraniumBoy Member Posts: 10

    Tinkerer

    I analyzed the dump files using windbg and it seems that the errors are caused by the amdgpio driver. But I don't know what to do about it because I think my version 2.2.0.130 is already up to date.

  • uraniumBoy
    uraniumBoy Member Posts: 10

    Tinkerer

    edited February 26

    Please post a phone photo of the BIOS INFORMATION section/tab if possible.

    [Edited the content to hide sensitive information]

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,862 Trailblazer

    That boot drive is over 5yo. Go to this link , download, install and run CrystalDiskInfo to see if it can find any issues with the drive. Especially its hidden EFI partition if possible. This partition is what the BIOS tries to read before it presents the logo and hands off to the Windows operating system.

    Jack E/NJ

  • uraniumBoy
    uraniumBoy Member Posts: 10

    Tinkerer

    edited February 25

    @JackE

    It doesn't seem to find a problem with the disk. Should I update UEFI?

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,862 Trailblazer

    > >Should I update UEFI?> >

    Hold off for now. Because it's usually the last thing you want to do if/when all else fails. Mainly due to the risk of causing other irreversible issues that may be even worse. Firmware updates are much riskier than Device Driver updates.

    So the question now is, do you recall if this slow BIOS response —- "> >(60 seconds to display the Acer logo)> > —- happened suddenly for no apparent reason?

    Jack E/NJ

  • Puraw
    Puraw ACE, Member Posts: 12,870 Trailblazer

    Install DDU and uninstall the AMD display driver with DDU in Safe Mode, just reboot, Widows11 will install the best drivers: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000091878/graphics.html

  • uraniumBoy
    uraniumBoy Member Posts: 10

    Tinkerer

    @Puraw I uninstalled the drivers as you suggested, but it didn't solve the problem; I got the blue screen again. I'll try to look into the dmp files again tomorrow to find something.

    @JackE It probably won't be useful information, but I can't remember when this problem started. It must have happened gradually; initially, I had occasional blue screen issues upon startup, but I thought it might be due to a faulty update and would be fixed in subsequent ones, so I didn't pay much attention to it. However, over time, the computer's startup became significantly slower. I didn't make any changes to the settings during this time, and I don't recall it being related to any newly installed applications either.

    I don't know what to do now. Should I try reset the laptop to the factory settings? Or take it to the service to have it checked?

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,862 Trailblazer

    > >Should I try reset the laptop to the factory settings?> >

    This is a good option. You should back up your personal files. An erase-everything factory reset is preferred. It should re-fresh the hidden EFI partition if it somehow got corrupted. I think the BIOS is having trouble reading this partition and might explain why it takes so long for the logo to appear. Use the Acer Care Center recovery section or the Alt+F10 cold boot method to reset.

    Jack E/NJ

  • uraniumBoy
    uraniumBoy Member Posts: 10

    Tinkerer

    @JackE I reinstalled the system to factory settings without keeping any files on the disk. It didn't help at all with booting time, but I no longer get blue screens.

  • uraniumBoy
    uraniumBoy Member Posts: 10

    Tinkerer

    Would it make any difference if I formatted the entire disk including ESP and reinstalled the system from a bootable USB?

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,862 Trailblazer

    > >Would it make any difference if I formatted the entire disk including ESP and reinstalled the system from a bootable USB?> >

    It might be worth a shot. If it was mine, I'd first try to make a USB image of the whole drive as-is using Acer Care Center or one of the full disk image backup/recovery freeware tools. The reason being that the original factory recovery partition should then be preserved —- at least theoretically. 😮 Then if the old disk is failing, a new disk could be prepared from the original factory image —- theoretically again.

    Jack E/NJ

  • CRABBITold_70
    CRABBITold_70 Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer

    Long shot, try admin PowerShell with Dism /Online / Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, if no luck, a new 2.5 drive might be best bet.

  • uraniumBoy
    uraniumBoy Member Posts: 10

    Tinkerer

    @JackE I formatted the disk and reinstalled a clean version of Windows, but it didn't help at all. I wonder if the slow boot time may be related to faulty AMD drivers. I found that the problem with BSODs occurred again when I noticed a security warning in Windows Defender saying that memory integrity is disabled. However, enabling this feature results in blue screens (again) caused by amdgpio2.sys driver indicating the driver's incompatibility. Additionally, before displaying the Acer logo, the screen backlight flickers on and off multiple times, as if the BIOS is having trouble initializing the graphical interface.

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,862 Trailblazer

    > >Additionally, before displaying the Acer logo, the screen backlight flickers on and off multiple times, as if the BIOS is having trouble initializing the graphical interface. > >

    BIOS is more likely having trouble reading the boot drive's EFI partition. New boot drives are super cheap these days. So if it was mine, I'd try replacing the drive.

    Jack E/NJ