[dnanian]

This certainly seems like a hardware issue with the drive, Phil. If "Startup Disk" works, then the backup we've created is fine. But it sounds like the drive isn't spinning up quickly enough when you go from an "off" condition.

What I'd do is turn the drive off, then get to the option screen. Wait for the arrow, then turn the drive on and press the refresh (circle-arrow) button. When the drive appears, immediately click it and click the straight arrow.