question for MS XP experts - 19sec boot time too fast?

[Tim.T]

I've just reformatted C: drive (in FAT32 format - yes I know XP prefers NTFS
but frankly on my machine it's more stable in FAT32) and reinstalled XP
Home. While using the recovery console I remember using the "fixmbr" command
on C: drive (it always seems to say that the MBR is unstable or invalid!).
Anyway, that went smoothly, and before long I was at the desktop and
contemplating reinstalling a lot of Windows-reliant programs.

Basically I want to know if my current boot-up time of 19secs is too short
and represents
some kind of iminent death for my pc or something. It's just too good to be
true! Most services are running, and there are 11 items in the
msconfig>startup screen, most of which are programs I installed. I often
find that if I use the "fixmbr" command it does generally shorten the boot
time considerably. But over time it lengthens again. For example before all
this, it used to be 42secs.

I check boot time and sequence using the Bootvis tool, although it gives a
lot of data I wouldn't know how to interpret. What it does say is that
currently its 19.2 secs, and that's before I optimize! Apart from this
"problem" of a short startup time, my system checks out.

Cheers
Tim

PS: is there any concrete way I can say for sure that my MBR really is ok? I
use my PC everyday so I guess that's proof enough.

 

[Ron Martell]

I've just reformatted C: drive (in FAT32 format - yes I know XP prefers NTFS
but frankly on my machine it's more stable in FAT32) and reinstalled XP
Home. While using the recovery console I remember using the "fixmbr" command
on C: drive (it always seems to say that the MBR is unstable or invalid!).
Anyway, that went smoothly, and before long I was at the desktop and
contemplating reinstalling a lot of Windows-reliant programs.

Basically I want to know if my current boot-up time of 19secs is too short
and represents
some kind of iminent death for my pc or something. It's just too good to be
true! Most services are running, and there are 11 items in the
msconfig>startup screen, most of which are programs I installed. I often
find that if I use the "fixmbr" command it does generally shorten the boot
time considerably. But over time it lengthens again. For example before all
this, it used to be 42secs.

I check boot time and sequence using the Bootvis tool, although it gives a
lot of data I wouldn't know how to interpret. What it does say is that
currently its 19.2 secs, and that's before I optimize! Apart from this
"problem" of a short startup time, my system checks out.

Cheers
Tim

PS: is there any concrete way I can say for sure that my MBR really is ok? I
use my PC everyday so I guess that's proof enough.

"If it ain't broke don't fix it" and if your computer is booting in 19
seconds with no problems apparent then it sure is not broken.

In fact you may find yourself swamped with requests from others for
you to help them "break" their computers in that same way.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

 

[Redmond]

I agree with Ron..my boot up is almost 2 minutes..have a lot of stuff to run
at boot up that's why.

 

[JAX]

How are you checking boot time? Some consider it from the time you press the
start button on the box, others time it from the end of the boot sequence,
etc.

You have disabled some running processes, whether intentionally or not. As I
recall, there are about 18 on a clean install, no updates, no internet
connection nothing. This is just at boot and checking task manager.

Whether the disabled items will cause a problem, who knows what has been
disabled?

My current machine is, by today's standards, about the middle of the road,
as far as speed goes but, the best time I've had, on a clean install, from
the time I press the start button till I can open anything was around 26
seconds. Are you perhaps gagging from a stand-by or hibernation mode?

JAX