Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

What do my cMP do before EFI screen.

expede

expede

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 15, 2018
236
67
Sweden
Hi!

What do my cMP do before EFI-screen? Boot-time takes 70 sec from "ignision" to EFI-screen. I know "hardware check" and other basic stuff. But I have the feeling that it is taking longer each time my nMP gets updated. Anyone got the same feeling? Any one of You know if there is a key-command to "see" the start-up?

Best Regards

/Per
 
sounds like your booting of a fragmented HD, my cMP boots up off an SSD super fast .... not relay timed it but feels like less than 20sec (feels a lot faster than that maybe under 10sec?)
 
Hi!

No I also boot from SSD drive in bay 1. But it takes 20 sec to load OSX from EFI screen to logon screen. It is from OWC and I´m HS and apfs. Strange!! And it still takes 70 sec even if I boot on my blessed Wind 10 SSD! So still?? What do the cMP do before EFI-bootscreen?

/Per
 
Last edited:
As any server based on Intels 5520 chipset (this is not a desktop PC, it is a workstation board based on a minimally adapted server chipset for single CPU, or next to no changes for dual):

First inits the CPU(s), then RAM (plus basic check if ECC) (up to this point you have LED indicators onboard), then PCIe devices - after this the Apple process starts, it loads the EFI from the GPU (if you have a supported one) and starts the init which draws the Apple logo, at this time the EFI (not GPU, Mac) loads NVMe drivers (if any, newer cMPs/newer firmware) or boots SATA devices. From there on it is bootloader selection/OS boot.

PCIe based SATA cards and AHCI SSDs have their init as PCIe device and the EFI then boots it same as SATA; usually *before* internal ones unless set in OSX as primary. Additional BIOS and EFIs on PCIe cards (like RAID setting tools or PXE network boot) are discarded and not shown (I've never seen a single card able to draw one on a cMP).

Do you hear the boot chime on startup? If not reset NVRAM, which should always be done after changing PCIe devices (not so much SATA) due to Apples weirdness with especially GPUs. Cannot hurt anyway to try.
 
  • Like
Reactions: orph and ActionableMango
It is doing the POST check of hardware until you hear the chime.

So if the long delay is before chime, it's the POST test. If the delay is after the chime, then probably having problems scanning for bootable partitions.

You could try an NVRAM reset.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Synchro3 and h9826790
@William_si and ActionableMango thank you for Your elaborating answer. I did learn something today. I will absolut try a NVRAM reset. Hmm, why didn´t I think of that. Get back with a time report.

/Per
 
Make sure you have your system drive selected as boot drive in the preferences .
If in doubt, select it in the prefs and reboot .
 
Hi!

Some update. I did the NVRAM and it lowered the startup time to 51 sec. Better, yes!

@ActionableMango: Yeah the ram is OK, it is according to Apple.

Ram.jpg


@ barmann: Thanks, the Sierra High SSD is blessed.

/Per
 
Last edited:
@expede hay im tad confused is your slow boot time in osx or win 10?

"1. But it takes 20 sec to load OSX"
"takes 70 sec even if I boot on my blessed Wind 10 SSD!"

tho re reading the original post you may just be interested in what is going on software wise during the boot?

edit - you got me wondering so i just timed a boot, 37 sec for me from hitting power button to desktop (it may be a tad faster if you time to just the login screen?).
gess 37 sec is a lot longer than i assumed it to be but it's never something iv ever relay spent time thinking about. :D

iv got a few things loading at login so may slow it down a bit?

as for windows 10 >.< no one know's whats going on may be slower as it's doing background things like updates phoning home, updates and whatnot as well as any backgorund apps etc you may have installed
 
Last edited:
Hi!

Here is some start up observation time;

1 From pressing the power-button until EFI-white screen: 25 sec (sec 0-25)
2 Apple logo to log-in screen: 16 sec (sec 35-51)
3 After password to fully loaded : 7 sec (sec 51-58). I do not clock my "password-time".

Total startup without "password time": 58 sec
EFI white screen time: 10 sec

/Per
 
tad slower than me but sounds fine, the time change can be from pci cards or extra hardware you have to demons or software loading at startup or drive speed etc..
 
Doesn't sound too bad ; I have about 35s power button to the login screen, from login to desktop is just a second though .

As said above, it varies with different hardware and system configurations .

I had several minutes of startup time when my system drive went into a new 5.1 Mac Pro, until I specifically selected it in the preferences / startup disk (it was the only drive listed there) and rebooted - this just for the record .
 
@barmann: Thanks, I think that I mest it up when I had the NVidia-drives installed. I uninstalled those and resat the NPRAM, then the start-up time dropped.
Wonder if your 3.33 MHz has to do with the time? I have 2.46 MHz. I do not thinks so..Yeah my SSD is selected in the preference. Chears!

/Per
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back