Long POST times

The POST takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes. On the POST screen it shows the CPU line first, right after that is the "memory test: ###########mb OK" line. That's where it gets stuck first showing "mem" then filling out the rest of the line 5-10 minutes later.

I've already ran memtest and the RAMs are working fine, I don't have any headers to reset. I found that removing the USBs I have plugged behind the computer helps the problem. It only gets stuck at "mem" for about 2 seconds but I'm not sure if it was already normally doing that.

Currently running
quadcore 9450
HD 6970
6gb DDR
2 HDDs
720W PSU enemax 3 years old

What could be wrong? Should I replace the mobo battery or the PSU? Don't want to jump to conclusions and spend extra money on things I don't need...

Try clearing the CMOS and/or replacing the battery...that's where I'd start.

Have you checked your BIOS settings for quick POST/memory test, something along those lines?

Are you overclocking anything? After resetting CMOS if it's still slow then disconnect as many components and boot with only the minimal devices attached (CPU/fan, 4/8pin and 24pin power, 1 stick of ram, keyboard) and see if it's normal (faster) for POST to pass.

Quote from jephtastic : The POST takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes. On the POST screen it shows the CPU line first, right after that is the "memory test: ###########mb OK" line. That's where it gets stuck first showing "mem" then filling out the rest of the line 5-10 minutes later. I've already ran memtest and the RAMs are working fine, I don't have any headers to reset. I found that removing the USBs I have plugged behind the computer helps the problem. It only gets stuck at "mem" for about 2 seconds but I'm not sure if it was already normally doing that.

What USB devices are you connecting to the computer?

Solid advice posted so far. I also recommend disabling "boot from USB" in BIOS if you have that as an option. As jkee mentioned disconnect all USB minus mouse and keyboard if applicable. Make sure the board is not looking to boot off of a USB device. One of my machines is a 4 year old Dell, if I leave the USB drive connected it takes 10 minutes to post wihile it searches the entire drive for boot files that don't exist...

Quote from teetee1 : Are you overclocking anything? After resetting CMOS if it's still slow then disconnect as many components and boot with only the minimal devices attached (CPU/fan, 4/8pin and 24pin power, 1 stick of ram, keyboard) and see if it's normal (faster) for POST to pass.

I decided to just replace the mobo battery, haven't turned it on, not at home anymore. What I did was I had 2 CR2032 v3 batteries from my kitchen scale. I replaced one of those with the mobo's. The one in my mobo says "KTS" on it along with CR2032 (it doesn't say 3 volts or anything). When I place that one into my kitchen scale though, the scale won't turn on. It makes me think the battery might be a little different? Should I be worried about trying to turn on my mobo with battery I replaced from my scale? The batteries from my scale are new, I've only had them in there a few months max.

Quote from jephtastic : I decided to just replace the mobo battery, haven't turned it on, not at home anymore. What I did was I had 2 CR2032 v3 batteries from my kitchen scale. I replaced one of those with the mobo's. The one in my mobo says "KTS" on it along with CR2032 (it doesn't say 3 volts or anything). When I place that one into my kitchen scale though, the scale won't turn on. It makes me think the battery might be a little different? Should I be worried about trying to turn on my mobo with battery I replaced from my scale? The batteries from my scale are new, I've only had them in there a few months max.

You definitely do NOT want to put the wrong battery in there, specially if it's higher voltage.
Besides, what are you trying to accomplish by changing it?
All it does is retain your bios info, in the case of the PC being unplugged or during power failures.
The battery would have zero effect on your boot up, except that you might be asked to go into the bios to set the time and date, in the event that your battery was dead.
The time delay problem you have, is not related, so I suggest putting the original battery back in and if you think it's failing, then get the correct replacement.

Ok, I'm gonna put the other battery back in then. lol D:

No time to do this until late night or tomorrow morning so I'll update then

OK, just booted with cleared CMOS along with 1 stick of ram only, keyboard, mouse and GPU for monitor hook up. It doesn't get stuck at "mem". What does this tell me? I'm going to hook everything else back up now and see what happens.

Quote from jephtastic : OK, just booted with cleared CMOS along with 1 stick of ram only, keyboard, mouse and GPU for monitor hook up. It doesn't get stuck at "mem". What does this tell me? I'm going to hook everything else back up now and see what happens.

Better to only add one thing at a time, thus you will find the culprit of the long post times.

After putting everything back in one by one I started getting problems again. The POST is back to normal but I had to repair windows cause it wouldn't startup. It told me to do a system restore and after I got back into windows a while I got a BSOD saying "memory management". It did a dump successfully. Not sure what to do with it. Could this be RAM issue even though it passed a few rounds of memtest? My 2 pairs of RAMs aren't the same, but they are from the same brand.

Quote from jephtastic : After putting everything back in one by one I started getting problems again. The POST is back to normal but I had to repair windows cause it wouldn't startup. It told me to do a system restore and after I got back into windows a while I got a BSOD saying "memory management". It did a dump successfully. Not sure what to do with it. Could this be RAM issue even though it passed a few rounds of memtest? My 2 pairs of RAMs aren't the same, but they are from the same brand.

Which component started the problem again?

Quote from jephtastic : After putting everything back in one by one I started getting problems again. The POST is back to normal but I had to repair windows cause it wouldn't startup. It told me to do a system restore and after I got back into windows a while I got a BSOD saying "memory management". It did a dump successfully. Not sure what to do with it. Could this be RAM issue even though it passed a few rounds of memtest? My 2 pairs of RAMs aren't the same, but they are from the same brand.

Do memtest one stick at a time.

And I believe it's the memory problem. You should be able to tell which stick of memory is the cause of the problem and test it for multiple passes and see what's wrong with it.

The motherboard model number, both pairs of memory sticks model number and spec. info would help if you post them here.

Just curious how do you normally do memory test?