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aaronhead14

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 9, 2009
1,261
5,386
Hello, I just bought the 2.4 ghz Core i5 MacBook Pro from the Apple Online Refurbished store. I love it and haven't had any problems except for on thing: the boot time seemed slow to me. So just now I decided to time it, and it took 1 minute and 26 seconds to boot! What is up with that?! Is that normal? It can't be! Anyways, thanks for any help.
 
wow, seriously? no responses.... well... i guess its only been like twenty minutes, but i just keep seeing a billion responses come in on other threads. has anyone else experienced this issue? 1 and a half minutes is quite long for a MBP boot, isn't it?
 
go get it checked out at an apple store if you are worried, impatient one.
 
wow, seriously? no responses.... well... i guess its only been like twenty minutes, but i just keep seeing a billion responses come in on other threads. has anyone else experienced this issue? 1 and a half minutes is quite long for a MBP boot, isn't it?

If you are experiencing any issues with load times etc… reinstalling OS X i.e. a "CLEAN INSTALL" seems to do the trick. If it is still slow I would say purchasing an SSD would give you the single BEST improvement for boot times.

-Nate
 
Maybe, the reason why your MBP 15 Core i5 is slow because it's "REFURBISHED" (i dont think so)? Did you do a clean install the day you got your MBP? I know I would. Try to reinstall OSX Snow Leopard (do a backup first). Hopefully, it will do the trick. You can upgrade the RAM, that should help booting your MBP faster.

I have a MBP 13inch C2D (Mid 2010 model) I upgraded the RAM to 8GB and the Hard drive from 250GB to 500GB seagate momentus xt, Now my MBP boots up like 15 seconds. Almost as fast as the latest Macbook Air (about 10-12 seconds boot time). I wouldn't trade my 13inch MBP right now and i'm loving it. I guess I can say that my MBP is like a Macbook Air in MBP body.

Happy Holidays!!!!:apple::apple::apple:
 
90 seconds is kinda slow but not out of the ordinary, if you want a faster boot time get a faster HDD or SSD.
 
As previously stated, your disk will be a primary contributor to boot times. If your MBP came with a 5400rpm HDD, you'll likely see a mild improvement by upgrading to a 7200rpm, and a significant improvement by upgrading to an SSD.

I just got my 17" MBP, which is running an SSD, and I boot from cold to ready-to-use in about 10 seconds or so. In my opinion, the SSD is an absolutely worthwhile investment.
 
Go to system preferences / startup disk ... is the Mac drive already selected?
 
It might be right, depending on what all you have installed on the drive that starts when the computer is booted.

If you feel that something is wrong, though, reinstall OSX with the CD you got. That'll probably correct it.
 
thanks a ton guys for your insights. haha, and sorry for being anxious, i guess i'm just being paranoid! i didn't do a fresh install after i got it. that might be why. didn't know i needed to since it was a fresh install from apple, right. but i'll have to try that. and i wish i could afford a ssd that's a decent size! haha, thanks again guys

--Aaron
 
thanks a ton guys for your insights. haha, and sorry for being anxious, i guess i'm just being paranoid! i didn't do a fresh install after i got it. that might be why. didn't know i needed to since it was a fresh install from apple, right. but i'll have to try that. and i wish i could afford a ssd that's a decent size! haha, thanks again guys

--Aaron

Before you nuke the OS, did you look at the startup disk suggestion I made?
 
it took me EXACTLY that much time to boot up my 15" i5 with a 5400 RPM HDD.

My Solution:
OCZ VERTEX 2, 120GB SSD

Result:
15-20 Second Boot Time

Conclusion:
What you are getting as a boot time is normal for a 5400 RPM HDD.
 
My bootup time is about 27 secs and that's me with a base 15" and a 7200 rpm HD. Not sure why a 5400 rpm HD is a minute slower though.:confused:
 
Conclusion:
What you are getting as a boot time is normal for a 5400 RPM HDD.

Guys, before you sell him a SSD, something isn't right with his setup. Check the video, he should be getting right ~30s on a clean machine even with the 5400 drive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0Jb7t6Cl5s

That is an i7 with the stock 5400 drive timed from the bong startup in ~23s so add maybe 5s more for the stuff that happens before the bong and maybe a few more seconds for i7 > i5.

You shouldn't have to do a clean re-install since it was refurbished, but I would give it a shot.
 
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Some of you guys crack me up. A 90 second boot time is not normal and your solution is to throw money at it via SSD. :D

It isn't the 5400RPM drive either.

OP: How much RAM is installed? What are your log-in items (system preferences: accounts)
 
Something's not right. My boot up time with the OEM 5400 HDD was 40 sec flat (stop watch), out of the box.
 
Zap the PRAM

Press power to boot and immediately hold down the Command-Option-P-R keys

Release the keys after you hear the second chime sound.
 
Do you have several items/apps running at login? Maybe those are the culprits.
Also, try repairing disk permissions (don't know the exact science behind this, but it did speed up my boot times a tad bit)
 
Some of you guys crack me up. A 90 second boot time is not normal and your solution is to throw money at it via SSD. :D

It isn't the 5400RPM drive either.

OP: How much RAM is installed? What are your log-in items (system preferences: accounts)

Yeah i must admit I didn't really try to optimize my boot time when i got the 1 minute+ boots on my 5400 RPM HDD. But thats normal if you don't optimize your boot.

Suggestion: Go to Sys Prefs > Accounts > My Account > Login Items > pres the (-) on all unnecessary items.

I was getting 1minute+ while trying to load up upon login: Steam, Skype, Air Video Server, BowTie, iTunesHelper, and iTeleport

Of course now that i have my SSD i don't worry about all that, but you shouldn't have to get a SSD to get under a minute boot, just some optimization on your part.
 
Okay, so I repaired disk permissions and that did the trick! it brought the time down from 90 seconds to 29! thanks for the help guys. HUGE difference. :)

--Aaron
 
Wow! 90 seconds is a lot!

My old 2007 Dell Inspiron still boots up in under 40 seconds :cool:

Somethings clearly not right.
 
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