3 replies to this topic

[gbpackcdr]

I have a Mac Mini Server (mid 2011) and I have used bootcamp to dual boot a 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate OS.  When I had originally set up dual boot system when I hit option on the keyboard it only took 5-10 seconds for the different hard drives to show up.  It started to take over a minute of me holding the option key to show the different partitions so I decided to download rEFIt, hoping it would speed up the process or at least not force me to hold option the entire time.

What is the normal time after a restart it should take rEFIt to load and allow me to chose my OS?  Is there anyway to speed up the process or is over a minute a normal time to show rEFIt (doesn't include the OS bootup time)?

[3.14r2]

rEFIt will not help to solve the problem and <1min is not the good time. IMO the HDD is to blame. Try checking it for errors/bad sectors (both with Disk Utility and disk manufacturer provided tools).

[gbpackcdr]

Using the Mac OS Disk Utility I hit repair disk and it didn't seem to improve anything.  I also timed it and once I hear the restart sound it took 107 seconds for the rEFIt screen to pop up which allows me to chose an OS.  Is there any other solutions?

[gbpackcdr]

I had a USB attached them seemed to be slowing down the boot process.