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This is mostly a curiosity question, but what is it that's happening from the time you press the start button until you hear the startup chime? My MacPro is taking about 10 seconds before the chime, booting from an SSD. Seems like in the past the chime was pretty immediate- just a couple of seconds (but the boot was longer).

TIA,
Phil

I'm speaking as an old timer here so take what I say with a grain of salt. In the olden days, the first thing Macs did was a memory test. The more memory you had, the longer it would take. I suspect they're still doing it (although it's speculation on my part).

Phil

Same here on my nMP trash can with 32GB RAM. Long delay then it boots in about 5 seconds or less.

My old 2007 MP had the same amount of RAM as my current 2009 and it chimed in less than 5 seconds. The '09 takes 15 secs. Even after upgrading the processors it still takes that long - about 40 secs total to boot. Not a big deal, but I've been curious too.

I get different amounts of time from 1 or 2 seconds, up to 10 - 15 seconds on both MBP and iMac both with 16G RAM. There's no pattern.

I went to an SSD and Yosemite about the same time. About 10 seconds before the chime, longer than before, boot complete in 5-8 more seconds. I can live with that.

I have had a few occasions where failing USB hub power supply and too much draw on my MP's USB ports results in delayed POST or complete failure to post. I noticed POST times getting longer ands longer over a few days. Initially overcome by unplugging a few USB devices at startup. Resolved by dumping the dying hub.

Interesting, and thanks for the responses.

bayswater wrote:http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/22/mac- ... arting-up/

Thanks for that link. Some of that I knew and some I didn't.
Also explained what POST stood for.

mikehalloran wrote:I went to an SSD and Yosemite about the same time. About 10 seconds before the chime, longer than before, boot complete in 5-8 more seconds. I can live with that.

I'm still on Mavericks by choice, but my overall boot is shorter too with the SSD. SSD is probably the best bang-for-buck upgrade I've ever done. I process a lot of large audio files and it helps with a lot of aspects of my workflow.

philbrown wrote:... SSD is probably the best bang-for-buck upgrade I've ever done. I process a lot of large audio files and it helps with a lot of aspects of my workflow.

Oh hell yes!

philbrown wrote:Some of that I knew and some I didn't.
Also explained what POST stood for.

And I realized the reason I have variable times may depend on whether I turn on the peripherals before or after the Mac.

Usually a few seconds here, but occasionally 10-15.

Seems this is the "universal" experience.