[solved] Slow startup speed with MacPro due to flash card/reader

[Limey2]

I have a two year old Mac Pro ( 2GB memory and 2GB RAM) which up until now has worked very well... extremely well really.
Alas for some inexplicable reason it has decided to takes it's time coming out of the starting gate. It has gone from around 15 seconds to around 5 minutes.

So far I have eliminated apps which I have not been using as well as a few startup items that I didn't really need.I have cleaned up my desktop so that there is only one Icon on it.I have also de-fragged my startup drive.I have used Disk Utility which tells me that the disc is fine, and it seems to be working just fine when it is up and running..I have also unplugged my firewire and USB connections.I have run my cron scripts deleted all rotated log files and repaired disc permissions....Maybe I didn't need to, but heck...who knows....I am no expert.
Maybe a reinstall may solve the problem or resetting the Pram may work... I don't really know for sure but I'll try anything just in case.
So...while I am fiddling around with the PRAM idea I thought I would post this thread to see if anyone else has experienced this problem . Hopefully they might have a few suggestions that will help me solve this irritating issue.I would appreciate any ideas....

Thanks
Limey

 

[JediMeister]

PRAM doesn't affect any files that would cause slow startup. You should be looking more in the direction of system caches or startup/login items. Clearing system caches is easily done by starting the computer in Safe Boot (left shift on startup until the gray screen with Apple/gear). To check for startup/login items, check your account preferences, and also navigate to Macintosh HD/Library/StartupItems. Post back what's in there before you remove something vital like Parallels

 

[Limey2]

Thank you for your speedy reply....You are right of course...PRAM didn't affect a thing as far as curing a slow startup problem.I'll try the Safe Boot option a little later on this afternoon, I have to send out a very large file urgently and that will tie up my computer for a while.
I have also been wondering if the problem might be caused by my battery running out of juice....does that seem like a possibility...?
Limey

 

[JediMeister]

Definitely not the battery either. Battery issues would cause the computer to shut off as soon as you disconnect it from the MagSafe adapter, or an X in the battery menu bar, but not system slowness.

 

[Limey2]

You were right about the battery, as things turned out that couldn't have been the source of the problem.

...I tried the Safe Boot recommendation but after 20 minutes holding down the shift without any startup I gave up with aching digits, bit the bullet and went for a reinstall.It was a bit of a tussle but, surprise, the problem seems to have been mitigated and things are almost back to normal.
The startup is not what it was though, even if it is "almost" as fast as it used to be.I am using two monitors and startup always involved the two simultaneously.Now one of them, my old 21" CRT, seems to have taken over the initial startup because there is a delayed signal getting to the LCD monitor.That signal is kicking in late which now makes me suspect that the LCD monitor itself might be the cause of the previous slow startup.The general performance of the computer has not been affected and now ,if anything, the performance, when it is up and running, is better than it was.
If there was a driver for the LCD that I could reinstall I would do that too, but there isn't one.
Is there anything in the Mac system that would allow me to more closely control the LCD which is obviously right up front in the startup process?....I can't find anything except "displays" and that doesn't offer me much.

 

[JediMeister]

Not that I'm aware of...I suppose anything can be changed in Terminal/single-user mode but we're gonna need someone with knowledge of that to join in the 2-person conversation we've been having

 

[Limey2]

I can hardly believe it......even though there was a slight improvement after doing a reinstall,a safe boot and a host of other things, the improvement didn't last and my slow startup got progressively slower.Painfully slower...
Then in a moment of acute frustration verging on despair, I noticed something that immediately made me realize the cause of the problem. I had left a flash card in my flash reader.This is something I have never done before because when my images are downloaded the flash card has always been removed and returned to my camera....mostly in case I forget it when I run off to take more pictures of course.
I removed the flash card and restarted the computer.It sprang to life in an instant....In seconds it was fully booted as if no problem had ever existed.I was amazed that such a simple oversight could have created such a problem although it seems natural now.
Well one lives and learns I guess....In all my research I had not read a single thing that describes such an event.The closest thing was disconnecting firewire connections that have caused problems.I tried that and overlooked the USB connection to my Flash reader.
I hope this posting may eventually help someone with the same startup issue.
Thanks Jedi Meister for participating though, I did appreciate your suggestions and I'm sure I'll be back on this site at some point with another problem that needs resolving....Maybe we'll meet here again next time.
Limey

 

[Consultant]

You might want to change the title to
[solved] Slow startup speed with MacPro due to flash card/reader

You might want to
Post your OS version: 10.4? 10.5?
Post info on flash card and flash reader, such as company, model number, size.

 

[Limey2]

[solved] Slow startup speed with MacPro due to flash card/reader

Good idea...here is the information you suggested.I should have thought of that but I'm still in a daze....

OS Version 10.4.... San Disk flash card 1.0 GB BBO5235ASB.... eFilm Reader

Limey

PS
I later discovered that the flash card was corrupted.