Why Do Operating Systems Take So Long To Install?

[skulkingghost]

I have been wondering this question for awhile, and figured I would post it.

This is what I understand may take awhile:

• Some new operating systems are 4+ Gb compressed, so that must be uncompressed on to the hard drive to install.

• Most new installs also format the hard drive, which can vary depending on the size of the hard drive

• Drivers have to be found for the appropriate hardware (scan system, etc...)

Still though, Windows XP takes 35 minutes to install, Vista right around there too, my latest OSX hackintosh install (not familiar with regular macs) took 42 minutes, what gives? I have done a few linux virtual machines (latest Linux Mint, Ubuntu, and Mythbuntu) and it was a bit faster, Mint taking about 15 minutes, Ubuntu and Mythbuntu taking around the same or longer.

So what gives? I can have a 11gb game installed in less that 20 minutes, why not an operating system? Especially one that fits on a 700mb cd like Windows XP!

 

[Bateluer]

With a current install disk for Windows Vista and if I have all my hardware's drivers ready when the install is finished, I can be up and running in less then 30 minutes with a Vista install. Linux is generally faster at installing than Windows OSs though.

 

[n0cmonkey]

10 minutes on modern hardware with a decent OS. That's not too long.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: skulkingghost
So what gives? I can have a 11gb game installed in less that 20 minutes, why not an operating system? Especially one that fits on a 700mb cd like Windows XP!

You can't understand why installing a game might be a little bit simpler than installing an entire operating system?

How often do you have to install an operating system any how? I'd say install times are pretty reasonable given everything that has to happen.

 

[TheStu]

Honestly, I think that a lot of the slowness comes from the optical drive. I know that installing OS X from my jump drive is faster than installing from my ipod which in turn is faster than installing from an actual DVD. Now, I have never installed Windows from anything other than a optical disk so I have nothing else to compare it to.

 

[skulkingghost]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: skulkingghost
So what gives? I can have a 11gb game installed in less that 20 minutes, why not an operating system? Especially one that fits on a 700mb cd like Windows XP!

You can't understand why installing a game might be a little bit simpler than installing an entire operating system?

How often do you have to install an operating system any how? I'd say install times are pretty reasonable given everything that has to happen.

Well what has to happen, that is my question, why does it take so long. I don't know what has to happen.

I install operating systems 2-3 times a week, I do computer repair as part of a small business, so I reinstall them quite a lot. I usually use a xp image from my flash drive as that seems faster atleast to get through the preformat parts, and I use a unattended install where I preenter all the user info so I do not have to be around the machine that is installing the operating system. I just want to know what is happening when a operating system is being installed and why it takes so long.

 

[degibson]

1) Disks are identified and formatted.
2) Devices are identified and paired with the best driver available to the OS.
3) Drivers from 2) are installed to disk.
4) The rest of the OS is bulk-copied from the install medium to disk. Sometimes this involves extraction...which is why it isn't always completely I/O bound.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: skulkingghost
Well what has to happen, that is my question, why does it take so long. I don't know what has to happen.

I install operating systems 2-3 times a week, I do computer repair as part of a small business, so I reinstall them quite a lot. I usually use a xp image from my flash drive as that seems faster atleast to get through the preformat parts, and I use a unattended install where I preenter all the user info so I do not have to be around the machine that is installing the operating system. I just want to know what is happening when a operating system is being installed and why it takes so long.

Off the top of my head, it has to format the hard drive, copy setup files to the hard drive, install the operating system, detect your hardware, install drivers for your hardware then configure your system based on the options you select.

 

[corkyg]

In addition to all of the above, one of the most time consuming activites is preparing and verifying the Registry. Every function, link and action has to be precisely stated and then verified. The Registry can be several megabytes of pure data. And the more devices and drivers you have, the longer it will take. A complete OS is enormously complex. And, a slower CPU will install it slower than a faster one. HDD read/write speed is also a factor.

 

[fr]

The Windows 7 beta took about 20 minutes on a Core 2 Quad.

 

[spittledip]

Installing the OS on a hard drive and installing a game on an OS are completely different concepts and processes. It's apples and oranges and you cant even compare the 2.

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: spittledip
Installing the OS on a hard drive and installing a game on an OS are completely different concepts and processes. It's apples and oranges and you cant even compare the 2.

Some games take wayyyyyyyyyyyy longer than Vista/Win 7 to install. Try installing WoW with the expansions in 20 minutes and then complain at how long it takes to install a operating system.

 

[skulkingghost]

Thanks for all the answers! I had forgottenc ompletely about the registry, makes a lot of sense now! Thank you!

 

[mechBgon]

And here I thought it was so the pizza had time to bake

 

[The Keeper]

The bottleneck in software and OS installation speed is usually the optical media (aka CD-/DVD-disc & -drive). If you install from an USB-stick, over ethernet or another internal hard drive, installation will be significantly faster.

 

[spittledip]

Originally posted by: soonerproud

Originally posted by: spittledip
Installing the OS on a hard drive and installing a game on an OS are completely different concepts and processes. It's apples and oranges and you cant even compare the 2.

Some games take wayyyyyyyyyyyy longer than Vista/Win 7 to install. Try installing WoW with the expansions in 20 minutes and then complain at how long it takes to install a operating system.

This doesnt really apply either b/c you are talking about the installation of several separate programs.

 

[tvdang7]

Originally posted by: skulkingghost
I have been wondering this question for awhile, and figured I would post it.

This is what I understand may take awhile:

• Some new operating systems are 4+ Gb compressed, so that must be uncompressed on to the hard drive to install.

• Most new installs also format the hard drive, which can vary depending on the size of the hard drive

• Drivers have to be found for the appropriate hardware (scan system, etc...)

Still though, Windows XP takes 35 minutes to install, Vista right around there too, my latest OSX hackintosh install (not familiar with regular macs) took 42 minutes, what gives? I have done a few linux virtual machines (latest Linux Mint, Ubuntu, and Mythbuntu) and it was a bit faster, Mint taking about 15 minutes, Ubuntu and Mythbuntu taking around the same or longer.

So what gives? I can have a 11gb game installed in less that 20 minutes, why not an operating system? Especially one that fits on a 700mb cd like Windows XP!

i dont know about your computer but my xp install was like 20 minues thats not long at all. just did one yesterday for my cousin. the only long part is installing all your games backs.

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: spittledip
This doesnt really apply either b/c you are talking about the installation of several separate programs.

Yes it does because just installing one of them take 20 minutes to half an hour. Now multiply that by three. Also, they are not three separate programs but extensions of the same program.