Fix Slow Lenovo ThinkPad Startup

My Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (8th-gen i5, 16 GB in-built RAM, 512 GB NVMe M.2 SSD) should be quick, yet the moment I press the power button it crawls. The problem shows itself right after startup: the machine powers on normally, but Windows sits on its loading screen far too long before it finally lands on the desktop. Once I’m in, performance is acceptable; the pain point is the boot sequence itself.

Fresh hardware and software aren’t the culprit—I’ve just replaced the SSD with a genuine Lenovo part and activated Windows with a legitimate retail key. Something deeper is causing the delay, whether that be firmware settings, driver conflicts, or a misconfigured Windows startup.

I need someone who can diagnose and resolve this slow-boot problem so the laptop reaches the desktop promptly every time. Remote assistance is fine as long as clear steps are provided. When you’re done I expect:

• Noticeably faster cold-boot to desktop
• A brief rundown of what you found and the fixes applied (drivers updated, BIOS tweaked, services disabled, etc.)
• Any preventative tips to keep startup times low

If you have solid experience speeding up Windows boot times—particularly on Lenovo hardware—let’s get this sorted.