There is no reason that computers take so long to start. In fact, the only reason it takes up to a minute (or longer) to start Windows Vista is because having a faster boot time is not a priority for Microsoft. It should be, as the ASRock Instant Boot program proves.
This article describes the ASRock program, as well as links to a humorous video showing the program in action. The point is made: using available technology, it’s possible to start Windows Vista in 4 seconds ā or less.
The fellow in the video does make an interesting and completely valid point: The reason so many people, myself included, leave their computers on 24 hours a day is quick access. I detest waiting for a PC to boot. That’s the only reason I leave my computers on all the time.
Back in the old days, I would power on my PC whenever I needed it, then I’d turn it off when I was done. The boot sequence on the original IBM PC (I bought it used) went, “honk-honk, beep!” The honk-honk was the 5 1/4-inch floppy drive (full height) being initialized. The beep was the BIOS telling me that the computer passed its Power-On Self Test (POST). After a few clunks of the floppy drive head, DOS appeared on the screen and asked me to type in the date and time. (PCs back then lacked an internal clock.)
Once the PC was on, I was busy. It took DOS 5 and Windows/386 for me to desire to leave the computers on all the time. The issue was time; my time was being wasted by an intolerably slow boot process, and that’s still the issue today with my computers.
I would favor using a program like ASRock Instant Boot just to save electricity alone. Honestly, I do pay higher rates from leaving the PCs on all the time. Now if only Microsoft could realize how important fast boot times are, perhaps the entire planet could save some energy as well.
Apparently it’s not really that revolutionary, unless I’m missing something. Someone wrote a batch file to do the same thing in software.
http://bigfatflat.net/public/fastboot.bat
Don’t be afraid of the .bat, in Firefox it just opens up as plain text in the browser. I haven’t tried it yet but it might be worth a shot.
Dan, you should do an article on Virtual PC 2007 if you haven’t already. I tried it out and it’s awesome for testing software in a virtual environment so you don’t screw up your computer. It even runs on XP Home even though it says it won’t.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/virtualpc/default.mspx
Comment by jamh51 — November 19, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
I’m too afraid to run that code. š I still think Microsoft should do the job, not some third party.
I’ll have to check out VirtualPC, though presently I have no need to run multiple operating systems on a single PC.
There is also Parallels for the Mac that runs Windows or a Windows ap in a window on a Mac. That also looks interesting.
Comment by admin — November 19, 2008 @ 4:07 pm
I saw a comment in the code that says it wasn’t tested for vista… oh well. I actually did a lot of tune-up, removed several processes from Auto start to Manual or Disabled, and it significantly improved my boot-up time (30-40 seconds is what I give it – not as good as 5, but I use this time to pour some coffee). Now, my antivirus is what takes most of my boot time. Since I use my computer a lot as a computing machine, rather than a communication device, I don’t really get frustrated by slow boot times – I’m used to waiting for it to finish calculations. And I use that time to catch up with paperwork, mail or just think about what I’m doing…
Comment by sriksrid — November 19, 2008 @ 7:47 pm
My computer’s stupid… sometimes it just won’t POST. It turns on, it whirrs, and sits there. Which annoys me, because I can generally turn my computer on, go to the toilet, and come back and it will say “Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to logon”. When it does this, I have to sit and watch it. And it takes longer because I’m watching it. The new Vista box, on the other hand, is quite nice.
Comment by Douglas — November 20, 2008 @ 2:54 am
“Iām too afraid to run that code. š I still think Microsoft should do the job, not some third party.”
Hello, Dan. This is my first comment on your Blog. But I know you since way back in 1992, when I’ve read my first “For Dummies” book…
When I read the above comment just couldn’t believe it is you – let’s break it down, in reverse order:
First: OK, if philosofical arguing is in order, then I totally agree with you that Microsoft should do the job of patching – better said, designing – their products, focusing on better productivity (this means, faster boot times, better memory and disk management – among many other things they just don’t care about, as we all know). This is one of many reasons why I despise Microsoft so much (despite being a Windows user – go figure…). But, amazingly enough, if you take a closer look at every solution Microsoft offers, most of them are originally, brought by third-party developers (namely, Sysinternals, Windows Defender, and even Virtual PC, all formerly owned by third-party companies and then bought by Microsoft). So, what is the point, actually? Microsoft just isn’t a developer anymore (er, since DOS, I might add, they don’t “develop” anything but heavy resource-eating Graphical User Interfaces).
Second: “Iām too afraid to run that code” ?? What?? Aren’t you Dan Gookin?? Hello, “C For Dummies”, for cryin’out loud, c’mon!! š
Comment by wmoecke — December 4, 2008 @ 10:52 am
Oh, I agree. But right now I don’t have a Vista system I’m willing to test that procedure on. While I do have a “test system” I’m using it for too many important things right now to risk altering the system. Even if I did it, and it worked fine, I’d undo it. In my job I need to have a system like everyone else so that I can realistically write about the platform.
I’ve always been cautious with my computers. I never ran the alternative shells or mods or patches that other users loved. I suppose that means that I’m not a hacker. Bummer.
Comment by admin — December 4, 2008 @ 1:37 pm
Ok, I understand your point. All kidding aside, I probably don’t have the faintest idea of the workload that’s been brought upon you, so I assumed you had the personality that I so much love to read in your books (the guy who says “go ahead and try” – the worse that can happen is you must install everything back). Not that I am disappointed, none of that. But if I might, I would like to respectfully say that being an “analyst” type (not a hacker, I wouldn’t praise myself so highly), I like to scrutinize, question, understand the inner depths, you get the point. In this pursue of mine, I’ve stumbled upon many alternatives (some excellent, some not so good, some not good at all) now and then, which I have played with with some degree of success, and a high degree of failure (sometimes deeming my poor PC machine to a almost unrecoverable crash – thank God for WinRescue). But the point is that it tought me a great deal, and even got me to a point where I am able to refine what I read on the ‘net to a point where I can safely say whether a given alternative is worth a try or not.
By saying all the above, I don’t intend to “teach the ‘Holy Father’ to the Priest” (a raw translation of a popular saying here in my country) – especially to someone to whom I have the utmost respect, among with other “PC personalities” like Fred Langa, Ed Bott, among others – and once again, your experience and current work are way ahead of my “knowledge”. I just want to share my 2 cents with you, that’s all.
After all, that’s what commenting is all about, right’o? š
Comment by wmoecke — December 5, 2008 @ 3:53 am
Anyways, I would like to apologize for dumping so many comments on you – after all, this is “Dan’s Thoughts”, not “Werner’s Thoughts” š
Comment by wmoecke — December 5, 2008 @ 3:59 am
I appreciate the comments, Werner. Seriously, I’d like to know whether Fred, Ed, or even good ol’ Leo Laporte would try that on his own and not have some minion check it out first. My guess is that they’d probably be as cautious as I am ā unless it ware someone else’s PC or they had suitable minions to recover things for them!
Comment by admin — December 5, 2008 @ 6:15 am
Well, perhaps Mr. Langa would – as I have so many times seen on his column, he likes to experiment with, and even create some of the best approaches I have seen (and tried, with success) on the Web. Take this one, for example.
I recall having read Mr. Langa once, where he told that he has lots of different machines running different versions of Windows scattered around him in his office – one of them was even set-up for testing viruses…! š
Anyway, this morning I was planning on testing the batch file suggested by jamh51, when I suddenly realized I had the perfect solution already installed! And amazingly enough, it works better than the one in his comment or even ASRock, as it requires no reboot at all. Simply install this very simple tray app called MR Tech Systray (I know, I know, it is a third-party solution – as Micro$oft hasn’t appropriated it yet) and it will give you a nifty tray icon with a lot of functions to choose from when you right-click it – among them “Hybernate”, “Standby”, “Restart”, “Power Down” and “Shutdown” (I still don’t get the difference between the latter two, besides that “Shutdown” leaves your PC with the “It is now safe to turn off your computer” screen, whereas “Power Down” really shuts it down completely).
This app is nothing more than one of these “Swiss Army Knife” apps, with lots of functions, as I said before – and I am amazed at myself, since I’ve had this little one running on my desktop since forever (I lost count actually, but I can guarantee that it’s been with me at least since 2001). And btw, I still run on W2K…
As a programmer, I can’t help but to wonder that it probably uses the same ACPI function calls as the batch app, the only difference being that it references them in a more direct way, by instantiating the Win32 API that controls the ACPI mode functions directly (since this app was written in VB6, it is only fair to assume the guy who programmed it took this “classic” approach – as everyone would) – it is only a matter of syntax.
Since it’s been a long time already, I am not quite sure how I found this app in the first place, but something feels like it was a tip on Fred Langa’s column… I remember that at first, I wanted an app that allowed me to clean up the junk left by Windows and IE after continued use (this was before I found out about CCleaner)… I never cared much about its “Hybernate” and “Standby” functions – anyways, I am pleased with it and certainly would reccomend it to everyone… š
Comment by wmoecke — December 6, 2008 @ 10:06 am
(Post cleaned up.) Be careful when running any third-party software as you can never tell when something is a legitimate application and when something is a Trojan.
I’ve never met Mr. Langa, but I think we spoke on the phone a few times. Then again I might have met him. I’m forgetful. Thanks for the tip!
Comment by admin — December 6, 2008 @ 9:44 pm