5 Fixes for Dell XPS 15 Laptop with Slow Startup

Are you using a Dell XPS Laptop? Does your laptop take a long time to boot up? If the answer is yes, you are not alone. A slow startup is a very common issue in Dell XPS laptops. Many Dell users claim their computers need several minutes to boot up.

Thankfully, this problem can be remedied. If you are tired of turning on your laptop and waiting for what seems like an eternity continuously, here are 5 methods to troubleshoot this issue.

Do a Hard Reset

If the reason for a slow startup is due to a temporary glitch in your system, doing a hard reset usually resolves the issue. Fix this by performing the following:

• Close all running programs
• Turn off your machine
• Disconnect the power cable
• Remove the battery
• Leave the computer turned off for 30 seconds
• Within those 30 seconds, press and hold the power button in five to 10-second intervals
• After 30 seconds, reconnect the battery to your laptop and connect the power cord

Turn it on at this point and see if the startup time has been reduced.

Clean up Your Hard Drive

A full hard drive can cause startup issues as well. If your Dell hard drive is over 85% full, you’ll see a quick boost after cleaning it up. This is easily done with a downloadable program called CleanMyPC — a tool that helps keep the hard drive clean automatically.

Another way to clean up a full hard drive is to use an external hard drive or online cloud storage to store files. It is also a good idea to remove applications that are no longer in use, run disk cleanup, and/or remove temporary files.

Update BIOS to the Latest Version

A common issue that seems to plague many users having issues with slow startup times with their Dell XPS 15 laptop is a bug with the BIOS system.

Execute the following to make sure you have the latest version:

• Browse the Dell Support website
• Select your Dell Product using one of the following methods:
• Click Detect Product
• Enter the Service Tag or Express Service Code of your Dell computer and click Submit
• Click on View Products and manually select your Dell computer from the list of options
• On the Product Support page, Click the Drivers & Downloads tab on the left pane
• On the right side, ensure that the correct Windows Operating System is selected. If not, click Change OS and select the correct Operating System installed on your Dell computer
• From the list of driver categories, click on BIOS to expand the menu
• Click on Download File to start downloading the file to your computer
• Click Save on the download prompt
• Go to the location where the file was downloaded
• Right-click on the downloaded BIOS Update executable file and click Run as Administrator
• If you notice a prompt from User Account Control, click Yes
• Click Yes on the BIOS Update Program window

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the BIOS Update. The computer may restart a few times to complete the BIOS Update procedure. This is totally normal.

Reinstall Audio Driver

Another common problem users have found is an incompatibility issue with the audio driver.

If you have a Dell XPS 15 that, after a Windows update, caused your laptop to boot incredibly slow (Dell logo with the Windows circles animation), taking more than 30 seconds, here’s a potential fix:

• Go to Device Manager
• Under Sound, video and game controllers, right-click on Realtek(R) Audio and select Properties
• On the Driver tab, click on Roll Back Driver
• Complete any applicable information and then click on Yes

Windows, at this point, will require that the computer is restarted in order to complete the process. Restart your machine and hopefully, this will speed up the startup process. The computer will boot as if no Windows update happened in the first place.

Windows 10 Fast Startup

A setting also exists within Windows that will decrease your startup time.

Simply apply the following:

• Search control panel in Windows search and click on the result
• Select power options
• Select choose what the power button does
• Click on change settings that are currently unavailable
• Under shutdown settings, tick the checkbox to enable Fast Startup

This should help boost how quickly the system starts up.

Conclusion

There are several options to improve the startup time of your XPS 15. Some critical items are a hard reset, installing the latest BIOS version, as well as rolling back the audio driver version, to name a few. Startup issues can be frustrating, but taking some time to utilize a few of the tips mentioned in this article will allow you to overcome them and get your laptop up and running in no time.