Mac Pro 2010, 6core, 5870, 32GB, 2x SSD - Boot Camp Issue

[freshface]

I'VE MADE A VIDEO OF THIS ISSUE, SEE IT HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twO5yvZhzME

My setup:

Mac Pro 6core
32GB RAM
2x OWC SSD RE - one for Mac OSX and one for Windows


Details about my setup:

OSX Home folder has been relocated to another SSD.
One of the two OSX installs has Parallels 6 installed.
I have a regular HDD (downloads folder only) in a second optical bay, connected to the cable that was already there (works fine though).


Boot names as seen on the vid:

Boot = my main (default) OSX install
Macintosh HD = another OSX Install
Windows = Win7 Install
Windows = another Win7 Install


Issues:

SLOW booting times.
The Bios Setting Utility v1.1 (blue scree) is the worst slowdown - I want to get rid of it and I don't even know why it shows up?! Happens only when booting into ANY Windows install. Worked fine for like a month, ten suddenly it shows up - not sure what caused it - absolutely no idea.


What works fine:

Booting into the default boot Mac OSX without going into the boot manager (by holding the alt key) is quite fast without any issues - but I think it could be even faster considering the SSD factor - I think it checks all the hard drives (there are 5 of them inside) which slows it a little bit - any fix?

 

[JustSomeDude]

Do you have a rocketraid card? Apple support forums shows some possible issue with rocketraid cards that brings up The Bios Setting Utility v1.1. If so, it might be fixable via updates : http://discussions.info.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=10165097

 

[Transporteur]

I don't really understand your hard drive setup.

2 SSD's, one dedicated for OS X, one for Windows, so far so good.

But where do the two OS X and Windows (4 native OSes ) come from?
You might wanna elaborate here to get a pointer on your issue.

Any RAID cards or separate SATA controllers installed?

 

[TennisandMusic]

I have the same issue with my 2010 Mac Pro. I use standard drives, but on a dedicated Windows box getting into Windows 7 is blazing fast, and once you hit the desktop you are ready. My Mac takes awhile to just get to the desktop, then it's about ten minutes before it's truly responsive. I think the issue is just that the Macs are not what some make them out to be. Ever since the iOS mobile push, the quality of the desktops have been dropping without question.

 

[Transporteur]

I have the same issue with my 2010 Mac Pro. I use standard drives, but on a dedicated Windows box getting into Windows 7 is blazing fast, and once you hit the desktop you are ready. My Mac takes awhile to just get to the desktop, then it's about ten minutes before it's truly responsive. I think the issue is just that the Macs are not what some make them out to be. Ever since the iOS mobile push, the quality of the desktops have been dropping without question.

I wouldn't say the quality has been dropped, rather than Apple's desktop never were quality machines (at least back to when the G5's where introduced).

Anyway, I really can't comprehend your problem here. I've got Windows 7 on a dedicated disc in my 2009 Pro, and starting is incredibly fast, even though it is a 500GB WD Green drive, which really isn't the fastest pony in the stall.

How did you guys install Windows? Via BC assistant?

 

[goMac]

I think the issue is just that the Macs are not what some make them out to be. Ever since the iOS mobile push, the quality of the desktops have been dropping without question.

Apparently you haven't been using Macs very long.

This sounds like a software issue to me though (i.e. Windows issue) rather than a hardware issue. I've never had issues with Windows on a Mac Pro, so it sounds like Windows is unhappy with one of your aftermarket components.

 

[freshface]

Thanks for your replies guys, appreciate it.

My drive setup - screenshot from Disk Utility: (WD GREEN HD is in second optical bay)

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3795579/Screenshot2011-01-31at2.20.35.png

Yes, I forgot to mention I also have this:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer Technology/MXPCIE6GRS/

It's inside MP, but no drives are hooked through it at the moment - never were. (but will be soon).

My issue started few weeks ago when booting into Windows. (that could be the same timeframe I got that newertech card, but I can't remember, damn) Few days back, I've wiped my scratch SSDs and made a clean Win7 install there just to find out the issue won't go away - it's still there even on this separate install... Yes, I've used Boot Camp assistant for all my installs.

I have two OSX installs because one is my old and the other one is new. I just didn't want to erase it before installing new one on a separate drive and now I don't have the need to erase it (lazy), so it's just there, hanging in the wind.

Anyway, all Windows installs will cause me this boot issue I believe, no matter what drives they are on etc...

I will try to open the MP and get rid of that newertech card and/or install latest drivers for it. (both in Win and OSX)