Vista SP1 System Performance Analysis Tools

[flexy]

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/...sysperf/perftools.mspx

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc305229.aspx

is very interesting. It is basically a new "bootvis" if someone remembers this tool from XP.
They just released a performance kit for Vista SP1, consisting of xperf, xperview(for graphical analysis) as well as xbootmgr, which is able to trace boot and shutdown cycles.

I now finally could confirm that Readyboost (!!!), the 4gb drive i got especially for "speeding up" Vista is causing the extremely long shut downs.

(Yes, its a Vista Readyboost certified USB stick and its pretty fast, its a Patriot Xporter 4GB stick)

Anyway since my Vista install is basically fresh i got the long shutdowns again..the minute i plugged the USB stick in and enabled Readyboost.

So..i traced the bootcycle of my new Vista install and see that the readyboost service is the one using 2,3,4 or so minutes to stop.

Its probably explained with that Vista clears the data on the Readyboost drive, or whatever...and it just takes a while since my Readyboost cache is 4GB (as is my ram).

So...ReadyBoost makes your Vista faster....but at a price

 

[VinDSL]

Heh!

I run 4 GB RAM and 4 GB ReadyBoost on Vista HP SP1, and I don't have any such problem!

Okay, let me go get the stopwatch...

EDIT 1

I haven't started my Vista machine in 3 days, so Windows Defender and Avast! updated themselves, requiring a reboot.

Consequently, I've booted twice now - 1 cold boot / 1 warm boot - 1 min 50 sec & 1 min 48 sec respectively.

As soon as ReadyBoost gets fully loaded, and the disk grinding stops, I'll power down and time that...

EDIT 2

Shutdown took 16.7 sec

Next theory?!?!?

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: flexy
Yes, its a Vista Readyboost certified USB stick and its pretty fast, its a Patriot Xporter 4GB stick...

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot...

I'm running a Kingston 4 GB SDHC Class 4 Flash Card, but that shouldn't make any difference!

It's just more convenient using a flush mount device, than having a USB stick hanging out the side of your machine...

 

[flexy]

well i dont really mind....i just figure i can live with a 2Mins shutdown if it actually really speeds-up everyday working in windows. Besides....i started now with just putting my PC to sleep instead of shutting it down

The stick itself i chose after i read a review about various USB sticks for Readyboost..and the Patriot came up on top. I think shutdown-times are a bit better now with the new install...but still far from "instant"

 

[flexy]

whats nice also...that usually when i get some BSOD or crash....the cache on the Readyboost can get corrupted....but you never get notified.

Also, in general...Vista is a bitch wehen it comes to crashes and BSODs...not that it happens often...rather the fact that WHEN it happens it has far more negative consequences than it had in XP, long HD accesses etc..etc.... after a crash it takes a long time for the OS to "recover".

 

[stash]

after a crash it takes a long time for the OS to "recover".

That could simply be a result of you having more RAM in your Vista box than you did with XP (just a guess on my part). The dump is written out from the page file to the dump file on bootup after the crash, so it does slow things down. But I believe the default dump setting in Vista is a kernel dump, so that should be faster than a full dump.

 

[flexy]

yes...you're of course right. Managing 1gb uses less time than 4gb...and then the readyboost cache management uses some time also.
Oh..btw. i am not talking about the error-bsod-dump...i deactiavted that anway.

But i am talking about NTFS journaling and just general "recovery" after a crash, when i reboot it takes some time to "recover"..whatever it does.

 

[Muadib]

So what would be the best way to go? Adding two more gigs of ram, or getting a 4GB USB drive?

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: Muadib
So what would be the best way to go? Adding two more gigs of ram, or getting a 4GB USB drive?

That depends on your needs. Real ram will always give you more performance than a flash drive. A 4gb flash drive is handy though. You can use it for more than Readyboost ;^)

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: Muadib
So what would be the best way to go? Adding two more gigs of ram, or getting a 4GB USB drive?

That depends on your needs. Real ram will always give you more performance than a flash drive. A 4gb flash drive is handy though. You can use it for more than Readyboost ;^)

Well I was going to get a USB drive just to be used for Readyboost, but when I saw how much a 4GB high speed USB drive was, I was like WTF!! I could get 2 more GB of ram for that price. However, after seeing VinDSL post, Im now looking to get a Kingston 4 GB SDHC Class 4 Flash Card. Those are pretty cheap, around $20. Sounds like the way to go to me.

 

[Philippart]

that's great, i LOVED bootvis

 

[flexy]

Originally posted by: Muadib

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: Muadib
So what would be the best way to go? Adding two more gigs of ram, or getting a 4GB USB drive?

That depends on your needs. Real ram will always give you more performance than a flash drive. A 4gb flash drive is handy though. You can use it for more than Readyboost ;^)

Well I was going to get a USB drive just to be used for Readyboost, but when I saw how much a 4GB high speed USB drive was, I was like WTF!! I could get 2 more GB of ram for that price. However, after seeing VinDSL post, Im now looking to get a Kingston 4 GB SDHC Class 4 Flash Card. Those are pretty cheap, around $20. Sounds like the way to go to me.

Uhm...after reading a review testing various USB drives for readyboost i got me a Patriot Xporter 4GB, and this thing was only EU20 or so.

Edit: Also make sure your 3rd party defragger programs dont automatically set auto-defrag for each new volume...otherwise you will have diskeeper or perfectdisk working on the USB sitcks