bootvis doesn't work

[keith]

My machine is stalling during boot-up. I'm trying to use
bootvis to see what's causing the slowdown, but I keep
getting this error message:

Number of physical drives in the trace file is 0
Trace file has invalid system configuration information

I can't seem to figure out how to solve this problem, or
how to solve the stall during boot-up.

I've got through msconfig and uncheched all the programs
in the startup file to no avail.

Please help

 

[Chris Lanier]

--About Bootvis.exe--
Bootvis.exe is a performance tracing and visualization tool that Microsoft
designed to help PC system designers and software developers identify
performance issues for boot/resume timing while developing new PC products
or supporting software.

Please note that Bootvis.exe is not a tool that will improve boot/resume
performance for end users. Contrary to some published reports, Bootvis.exe
cannot reduce or alter a system's boot or resume performance. The boot
optimization routines invoked by Bootvis.exe are built into Windows XP.
These routines run automatically at pre-determined times as part of the
normal operation of the operating system.
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hwdev/platform/performance/fastboot/BootVis.mspx

 

[keith]

Thanks for the speedy reply, but dude, did you even read
my post?

 

[Tom Swift]

Chris' reply was right on the mark: You have no reason to be using bootvis.
You are using an unsupported tool for a use for which it was not intended.
You're on your own here.

Tom Swift

 

[mrtee]

I agree with the previous posters.

Now your question: "Number of physical drives in the trace file is 0 Trace file has invalid system configuration information I can't seem to figure out how to solve this problem," answer: your boot drive is on a controler card - take it off of the card (connect it (the HDD) to IDE 1 - master) and it will be found.


--
Just my 2¢ worth
Jeff
__________in response to__________
| Chris' reply was right on the mark: You have no reason to be using bootvis.
| You are using an unsupported tool for a use for which it was not intended.
| You're on your own here.
|
| Tom Swift

 

[Paul B T Hodges]

Well he clearly does have a reason to use it. He wants to find out why his
system is slow to boot.

Unlike a lot of Unix systems, xp has very poor startup tracing built in. The
ntbtlog file is totally inadequate for troubleshoooting boot problems, it
doesn't even provide time stamped entries.

When XP is promoted as booting within 30 seconds, you can hardly blame
people for trying to find out why, after having invested in the technology,
its not performing to specification.

Bootvis may well be unsupported but that in itself doesn't make its trace
functionality any the less useful.

Bootvis has now moved into the public domain, and since this is a
performance group, people are bound to ask questions about it.

If you have an alternative method of diagnosing a slow boot then be
constructive and post it.

If not, then until this level of diagnostics is built into windows xp, just
accept that people are going to use it and move on. You don't need to be so
hard on people trying to fix what must be a frustrating problem.


Paul

 

[John E. Carty]

I've found that some controller cards will cause XP to have a very long boot
time, where others don't

I agree with the previous posters.

Now your question: "Number of physical drives in the trace file is 0 Trace
file has invalid system configuration information I can't seem to figure
out how to solve this problem," answer: your boot drive is on a controler
card - take it off of the card (connect it (the HDD) to IDE 1 - master) and
it will be found.


--
Just my 2¢ worth
Jeff
__________in response to__________
| Chris' reply was right on the mark: You have no reason to be using
bootvis.
| You are using an unsupported tool for a use for which it was not intended.
| You're on your own here.
|
| Tom Swift

 

[keith]

Thanks Paul

Finally, someone who cares. I'm posting this reply to
thank you, and to help anyone else out there with the
same problem, rather that just strong-arming them with
their dazling cut-and-paste skills.

Anyway, I'm not sure if the solution posted by mtree
would work, although it sounds like it would. I didn't
need to try it because I found another solution from
someone in Australia who had the same problem. I've got
a Zip drive hooked up in my system, and it is being
recognized as drive 0. The solution was to just stick
any old disk in the zip drive and problem solved.

By the way, all you folks who seem to think I had no
reason to be using bootvis, Once I got it up and running
it was very useful at diagnosing the problem, and I've
been able to fix it. It seems to me that this is
precicely the reason this bit of software was created.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[mrtee]

I posted what I did because I got the message you did when I had my boot drive connected to a Promise controller card. When I removed it (the HDD) BootVis worked. Your OP said nothing about a Zip drive. I too have a Zip drive, on the controller card.

--
Just my 2¢ worth
Jeff
__________in response to__________
| Thanks Paul
|
| Finally, someone who cares. I'm posting this reply to
| thank you, and to help anyone else out there with the
| same problem, rather that just strong-arming them with
| their dazling cut-and-paste skills.
|
| Anyway, I'm not sure if the solution posted by mtree
| would work, although it sounds like it would. I didn't
| need to try it because I found another solution from
| someone in Australia who had the same problem. I've got
| a Zip drive hooked up in my system, and it is being
| recognized as drive 0. The solution was to just stick
| any old disk in the zip drive and problem solved.
|
| By the way, all you folks who seem to think I had no
| reason to be using bootvis, Once I got it up and running
| it was very useful at diagnosing the problem, and I've
| been able to fix it. It seems to me that this is
| precicely the reason this bit of software was created.
|
| Thanks for all the help.

 

[Paul B T Hodges]

Hey Keith,

A lot of people who visit this site aren't that compuer litterate, and come
seeking help and reassurance. I don't really see the benefit of bombarding
them with countless urls and information plagerised from other sites without
a friendly word of greeting or any explanation as to what the link is for.

I did find a couple of articles on the net refering to zip drives causing a
problem, but I thought it was a bit obscure.

For any one else reading this, another issue is making sure that if your
version of bootvis is compatible. There are different versions floating
around, some work with the as release version of xp, some work with xp with
sp1 applied.

Glad you sorted it.

Paul