New HDD, Slower Start-Up Times, What Gives?

[illram]

Hi all,

I just put together a new PC and noticed its startup (Win7) times are actually slower than my old PC.

New PC:
i5-2400
8GB RAM
1TB Samsung Spinpoint HDD @7200
ASRock H67 Mobo
Win 7 (fully updated)
MSI 6850

Old PC:
E6600
4GB RAM
500 GB WD @7200
Asus P5B-E
Win 7
Radeon 5670

Any ideas? I would think the new PC load times would be at least the same, but they're not. Both getting to the password entry screen and getting to the desktop take noticeably longer with the HDD really chugging through it and continuing to work for about 20 seconds once everything is accessible. Everything is seated properly, all the RAM shows up, all cores are showing, etc. etc.

I installed everything on the ASrock install disk and then removed some of the bloatware (Norton, AIWI, etc.) but still get slow load times. I am hesitant to mess with the Intel Rapid Storage Program as I am not quite sure what it does, and from what I can gather this program is supposed to make things faster, not slower! Does anyone think this program is the culprit?

One other weird thing: the HDD LED on the case (Lian Li Q11) constantly pulses every second, but I think this has something to do with the LED somehow referencing the SATA ODD and not the HDD actually working... at least that's the conclusion I came to based on a google search and reading other posts on the topic. This happens at idle constantly, every second. Not sure if it is related...

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[drescherjm]

I think its the HD actually working. My bet is the system is either indexing or running a virus scan or processing .NET assemblies. Have you left it on overnight at least 1 time since updating windows?

 

[cyclone3d]

Install the latest chipset and hard drive controller drivers form Intel.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=20462&ProdId=3336&lang=eng

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=20181&ProdId=3336&lang=eng

I can pretty much guarantee that the drivers that came on the disk are older versions.

You will also want to make sure that you have the latest BIOS for your motherboard.

 

[Aesma]

Yeah, the only use of the CD is if you have no internet connection (or need the network chip driver to get the connection), all other things should be taken on the manufacturer's website, or OEM of the chips (chipset, graphic card, etc.).

 

[illram]

Thanks for the suggestions; I'll give some of this a try tonight or tomorrow and we'll see what happens. I had to install the drivers on the mobo CD to connect to the internet, and I was being lazy and just clicked install all...

The intel downloads say they're only "valid" for Intel branded mobos... since these are chipset and controller drivers (which are intel on all h67 boards, regardless of manufacturer, correct?) is it still OK to install these?