View Full Version : Bootup in seconds
vulcanised
1st Oct 2010, 16:45
Found this which looks like the way forward, except I believe it's been around for some time and manufacturers aren't keen:-
BBC News - Change to 'Bios' will make for PCs that boot in seconds (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11430069)
P.Pilcher
1st Oct 2010, 17:25
Well, no doubt I'm totally wrong, but I thought that the BIOS was only active on its own for the first few seconds after the computer is switched on. It tells the other bits which drive to boot from and which sector of the disc to read and how to do so. Then the disc based OS is read and the first section is run. It is this that takes the time. In the days of Win 98 the full desktop only appeard when the system was ready to run. In the case of XP, said desktop appears befoe the OS is fully loaded - a trick by Microshaft to kid people that the booting time was less than it actually was.
If the Bios loading time can be improved from - say 2 seconds to 1, I can't see it making much difference, but I am sure someone more knowledgeable will pop along to state why I am wrong!
P.P.
The Flying Pram
1st Oct 2010, 17:59
From what I have read on The Register it is solid state (i.e. flash memory) hard drives that will dramatically improve start up times, and most other functions as well. They are available now if you have VERY deep pockets.
Daysleeper
1st Oct 2010, 19:12
I have a windows XP solid state drive laptop for work. It is quicker to boot than any other windows PC I've had but it's not as quick to boot as my 5 year old apple macbook pro. That may have something to do with the extra security software on it but even after that is passed it's still behind the mac.
What it does have is outstanding battery life, well over 5 hours, most impressive.
Mike-Bracknell
1st Oct 2010, 20:06
SSDs are fast, but they're currently not unbelievably fast. I've had an SSD for about half a year now, and whilst it's very good for speed it's not as fast as you think RAM would be (mainly as it's flash).
Loose rivets
1st Oct 2010, 21:01
A new installation is pleasingly fast to boot, if it could be made to stay at that level, I don't think there would be much to grumble about. One has to wonder just what chaos and disharmony is caused by giving the OS something to do.:hmm:
tony draper
3rd Oct 2010, 11:06
Always puzzles as to why XP boots so much on startup,things that possible only used once a week such as bro Draper wee camera he only uses when yacking on Skype,I turned it off in start up and just clicking on his desktop icon and on it comes,so why is it on startup?surely this is the kind of thing that slows boot up:confused:
The Flying Pram
3rd Oct 2010, 13:57
Some programmes are buggers to stop from loading at start-up. Real Player is one, and I've now ditched it. As you've found trying to dis-able them in MSCONFIG won't work. I ended up rooting through the program file for an update.exe and deleting it. Java will always check for updates, you have to go through the options to stop it, and every time you do install the latest version it resets itself, and you have to do it again!
It's worth checking the options or settings for every bit of software you have - there may be a "Run when Windows starts" checkbox you can untick.
My 3 year old Celeron 1.5Ghz laptop takes about 1 ½ minutes to fully boot, including Avast! antivirus and the Zone Alarm firewall. I'm fairly happy with that...
Well, no doubt I'm totally wrong, but I thought that the BIOS was only active on its own for the first few seconds after the computer is switched on.
Yes, but when your computer takes 20 seconds to boot from the BIOS to being logged in and usable, the additional 10 seconds the BIOS takes is a serious problem. It's a few months since I timed the startup of my HTPC, but I believe that's approximately the numbers I measured.
Of course it's not a problem with the average OEM Windows installation, when it takes two minutes to load all the crapware and become usable after logging in :).
WillingPilot
3rd Oct 2010, 22:07
My computer takes rouphly 13 seconds to boot up (Windows 7) as for Ubuntu it takes less than that probably 8 seconds.
Wow!
My PC rarely gets switched off unless I'm doing stuff to it. However, on startup it takes something like ten minutes to settle down to 95% Processor Idle. It used to be 1½ minutes when I first installed Windows 7 (18 months or so ago).
I suppose I should clear out some of the stuff that starts at boot time, but I use almost all of it.
My computer takes rouphly 13 seconds to boot up (Windows 7) as for Ubuntu it takes less than that probably 8 seconds.
I just timed the HTPC booting up as we had to shut it down and reboot due to the remote going wonky: I made it about 8 seconds in the BIOS, followed by 12 seconds to boot the OS, log in and start xbmc.
That's Ubuntu with a dual-core Atom booting from a cheap SSD.
nedrover
4th Oct 2010, 08:16
Hi FP,
Rather than ditching programs,look for a utility called Autoruns (FileHippo.com - Download Free Software (http://www.filehippo.com) is a good place to look). Run it and you will see everything that boots when your computer starts the tab you will want to look at is "logon". Every item has a check box against it - checked, boots. Unchecked, does not boot. Its a great utility.
If you are not sure what something is, probably best to leave it.
Nedrover