diff --git a/backend/server.py b/backend/server.py
index 15f94a67..b5621cd1 100644
--- a/backend/server.py
+++ b/backend/server.py
@@ -25,14 +25,19 @@ logger.info(f"Arguments: {sys.argv}")
 logger.info("=" * 60)
 
 try:
+    logger.info("Importing argparse...")
     import argparse
+    logger.info("Importing uvicorn...")
     import uvicorn
     logger.info("Standard library imports successful")
 
     # Import the FastAPI app from the backend package
-    logger.info("Importing backend modules...")
+    logger.info("Importing backend.config...")
+    from backend import config
+    logger.info("Importing backend.database...")
+    from backend import database
+    logger.info("Importing backend.main (this may take a while due to torch/transformers)...")
     from backend.main import app
-    from backend import config, database
     logger.info("Backend imports successful")
 except Exception as e:
     logger.error(f"Failed to import required modules: {e}", exc_info=True)
diff --git a/tauri/src-tauri/src/main.rs b/tauri/src-tauri/src/main.rs
index 13f0894c..4af341b8 100644
--- a/tauri/src-tauri/src/main.rs
+++ b/tauri/src-tauri/src/main.rs
@@ -79,13 +79,14 @@ async fn start_server(
     *state.child.lock().unwrap() = Some(child);
 
     // Wait for server to be ready by listening for startup log
-    let timeout = tokio::time::Duration::from_secs(30);
+    // PyInstaller bundles can be slow on first import, especially torch/transformers
+    let timeout = tokio::time::Duration::from_secs(120);
     let start_time = tokio::time::Instant::now();
     let mut error_output = Vec::new();
 
     loop {
         if start_time.elapsed() > timeout {
-            eprintln!("Server startup timeout after 30 seconds");
+            eprintln!("Server startup timeout after 120 seconds");
             if !error_output.is_empty() {
                 eprintln!("Collected error output:");
                 for line in &error_output {