Win XP freezes on boot w/ flash drive

[Raaben]

I use a flash drive to store most of my documents, pictures, etc. for when I need to move them to a different computer, especially for school. Occasionally when Windows boots with the drive is plugged in, it will take forever to boot up. It takes ten minutes just to reach the desktop (No icons or menu yet). If I unplug the drive while it is hung up, it will immediately resume at normal speed.

I would just dismiss it as a 'don't boot up with it in' case, but this only happens occasionally. Windows will hang every time I reboot for a day or two or three, then boot up just fine with the drive plugged in after that. Is there a way to fix this? It isn't a major problem, but it is annoying.

[punisher]

The intermittent nature throws me.

Check boot order in BIOS, remove USB device if listed. Check FAQs with MOBO or system manufacturer, chances are someone else might have run into a similar problem. Maybe there is a BIOS update to correct the problem.

I ran into a similar problem long ago on an Epox board, hanging during boot if any memory/storage device was plugged in to USB. Tried everything but a sledgehammer. A helpful Epox engie finally sent me a beta BIOS to fix the concern.

Good luck, intermittent glitches are some of the toughest to fix.

[Raaben]

Ah, BIOS. I always underestimate what it can do... thanks, I will see if an update fixes it.