Bootup prior to Vista status screen very slow

Hey guys,

Recently my computer has been having incredibly slow start ups. the first initial screen that pops up (the ASUS one) stays there for about 30 sec (usually only stays there for 1sec), goes to the second screen where you can select to go into the bios, stays there for about 30 sec. then it goes to a blank screen for about 3 min, heads into the Vista status screen for 1 min then finally enters windows.During the startup, memory usage is around 70-80% for around 2-3 minutes where it usually drops to 50% within 1 minute.

I've read that if bootup previous to the Vista screen takes a while, there could be hardware failure going on so i checked my HDD and memory and they all seem fine (used EVEREST for my HDD and memtest86 for my memory.

Setup:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
BIOS: American Megatrends 0414
ASUS P5K
2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 6400
Nvidia 6800 GS
Seagate 300GB HDD

thanks

Checked and said there was no update required. I have the ST3320620AS 7200.10 HDD. I couldn't find the links on the bottom of the page but i used this site to check for the update:
https://apps1.seagate.com/rms_af_srl_chk/

Seems that my BIOS is quite dated so I'll update that, maybe that's the problem

Only do a BIOS update if you thinkg it'll solve the problem. Only use an update from DOS/floppy or inside the BIOS - don't use a routine within Windows.

Yes, I'd make notes or a backup copy of your current BIOS settings - at least go in and get familar with anything you changed, like SmartDrive on or voltage/memory settings. Then reset the BIOS to Optimal Defaults or similar setting, you want the BIOS reset completely so it isn't confused or delayed by some strange setting.

Boot a couple of times after that and see how it's doing.

Try disconnecting any USB device while system is turned fully off - unplugged. Boot and test.

Disconnect all drives and test.

You're trying to narrow down the possible conflicts causing the problem.

Well, I would suspect things within Vista, config, startup files and malware like trojans but for the long delay during POST the user describes. That really points to a problem the BIOS is having with a hardware device - mainly RAM or harddrive. The BIOS does that when it's having trouble identifying something or its internally confused about a setting. Hopefully clearing the BIOS settings will fix the problem...