Extremely slow startup and bootvis dies on me with error

[Guest]

I am trying to debug a very slow startup but bootvis dies with an error:
"number of logical drives in this configuration is 0, invalid system
information". Does anybody what is the reason for this error? Is it because
my system is on a RAID?

 

[jmatt]

I am trying to debug a very slow startup but bootvis dies with an error:
"number of logical drives in this configuration is 0, invalid system
information". Does anybody what is the reason for this error? Is it because
my system is on a RAID?

Updated: September 19, 2003
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hwdev/platform/performance/fastboot/BootVis.mspx
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.

If you are an end-user seeking to resolve issues for boot/resume
performance on your PC, we recommend that you contact the vendor from
whom you purchased the PC. For information from Microsoft on specific
issues, you can search Knowledge Base for Windows XP product issues
related to "resume time." Knowledge Base is a free information service
available at: http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=fh;[ln];kbhowto

 

[jmatt]

devsk wrote:

Hacking Windows XP: Speed Up Your Boot
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1785996,00.asp?kc=ETRSS02129TX1K0000532

==================================

Try this.
Start > Run, copy & paste > msconfig & press Enter.
Click on the tab marked "Startup"
Uncheck all the items.

If the problem no longer persists, then one of the items in the startup
is the culprit, you just need to track it down.

More here.
Run msconfig in the 'Diagnostic startup' mode.
If that speeds it up, start restoring services and startup programs in
batches till you can identify the offending service/process.

 

[Guest]

You mean its not supported anymore. I thought it did more than just tune a
few things and was useful in finding where the time was spent. I have used it
before on a different machine to find that most of my boot time there was too
much IO to $mft, which was found to be heavily (7 fragments) fragmented (this
is not the current problem because MFT has only two - minimum possible -
fragments in this case). How do you find out about where the boot time is
spent without bootvis? What is the microsoft supported way of finding this?

I did the 'diagnostic msconfig' you mentioned in the other reply. Apart from
making it ugly, it actually booted in 3 minutes instead. So, no its not
services/startup.

My system boots fine, within 15 seconds it says "loading personal settings",
shows me my desktop background (but no desktop items), and then it sits there
for upto 1-2 minutes before painting my desktop items.

This machine is using two WD raptors in raid 0, with AMD 3800 dual core and
should fly during the boot.

I am trying to debug a very slow startup but bootvis dies with an error:
"number of logical drives in this configuration is 0, invalid system
information". Does anybody what is the reason for this error? Is it because
my system is on a RAID?

Updated: September 19, 2003
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hwdev/platform/performance/fastboot/BootVis.mspx
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.

If you are an end-user seeking to resolve issues for boot/resume
performance on your PC, we recommend that you contact the vendor from
whom you purchased the PC. For information from Microsoft on specific
issues, you can search Knowledge Base for Windows XP product issues
related to "resume time." Knowledge Base is a free information service
available at: http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=fh;[ln];kbhowto

 

[Guest]

ok, some progress. If I disable all network adapters my system boots in 20
seconds. All adapters are configured with static IP so, there is no DHCP
involved. What does the system do with network that requires so much time?
Its almost as if I can boot with disabled network and put the network enable
thing in Startup folder because enabling it takes 2 seconds.

does anybody know what commands will enable and bring up a network interface?

You mean its not supported anymore. I thought it did more than just tune a
few things and was useful in finding where the time was spent. I have used it
before on a different machine to find that most of my boot time there was too
much IO to $mft, which was found to be heavily (7 fragments) fragmented (this
is not the current problem because MFT has only two - minimum possible -
fragments in this case). How do you find out about where the boot time is
spent without bootvis? What is the microsoft supported way of finding this?

I did the 'diagnostic msconfig' you mentioned in the other reply. Apart from
making it ugly, it actually booted in 3 minutes instead. So, no its not
services/startup.

My system boots fine, within 15 seconds it says "loading personal settings",
shows me my desktop background (but no desktop items), and then it sits there
for upto 1-2 minutes before painting my desktop items.

This machine is using two WD raptors in raid 0, with AMD 3800 dual core and
should fly during the boot.

I am trying to debug a very slow startup but bootvis dies with an error:
"number of logical drives in this configuration is 0, invalid system
information". Does anybody what is the reason for this error? Is it because
my system is on a RAID?

Updated: September 19, 2003
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hwdev/platform/performance/fastboot/BootVis.mspx
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.

If you are an end-user seeking to resolve issues for boot/resume
performance on your PC, we recommend that you contact the vendor from
whom you purchased the PC. For information from Microsoft on specific
issues, you can search Knowledge Base for Windows XP product issues
related to "resume time." Knowledge Base is a free information service
available at: http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=fh;[ln];kbhowto

 

[jmatt]

ok, some progress. If I disable all network adapters my system boots in 20
seconds.

See if any of these help.

Correcting System Hang at Startup
http://www.msfn.org/articles.php?action=show&showarticle=168
http://www.techspot.com/tweaks/winxp_services/services-3.shtml
http://www.techspot.com/tweaks/winxp_services/index.shtml
http://www.techspot.com/tweaks/wfp/index.shtml

Very Slow boot when networking
http://www.tweakxp.com/tweak954.aspx
http://tweakxp.com/SearchResults.aspx?q=Very+Slow+boot+when+networking&Submit=Search

 

[Guest]

thanks for the links. I took the workaround path. Downloaded a utility called
devcon from microsoft.com and using it wrote two small scripts to disable two
network adapters at shutdown and enable them back at restart.

Now, during boot, by 20th second, desktop is ready and CPU usage is zero and
by 22nd second I am on the net...

Thanks for all the help.

For others, devcon is available here:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q311272

You need to get "hardware IDs" for the network adapters from the "Device
Manager" by accessing the "Properties" for the network adapter under
"details" and selecting "hardware ID" from drop down list.

then "devcon disable '<hardware ID>'" to disable the adapter and "devcon
enable '<hardware ID>'" to enable it. Startup/shutdown scripts are under
start->run->gpedit.msc,
Local Computer Policy->Computer Configuration->Windows
Settings->startup/shutdown scripts.

Have fun!!

 

[jmatt]

For others, devcon is available here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q311272

Thanks devsk