Nope, did same thing again

This time, I had everything plugged in as normal, but the USB HDD turned off. It sat on blank screen for longer than it should have, and I unplugged the USB lead that goes from PC to HDD. No change. Unplugged the USB lead that goes from flash card reader to USB hub, and a couple seconds after, my desktop screen appeared. But it missed the blue "WELCOME" screen - straight from black/black screen to desktop.

WTF?

I never used to have to uplug the flash card reader before - I don't get it?