Boot Performance (Full Boot)

  • Article

Applies To: Windows 8, Windows 8.1

The Boot Performance (Full Boot) assessment measures the default boot and shutdown experience on computers that are running Windows® 7. The primary use case for this assessment is for comparison purposes only. There are no diagnostics or advanced metrics returned by this assessment. Because of changes in the default shutdown/boot experience in Windows 8, the Boot Performance (Fast Startup) assessment is the recommended assessment to run on Windows 8. This allows a side by side comparison between Windows Boot performance (Full Boot) assessment on Windows 7 and the Boot Performance (Fast Startup) assessment on Windows 8. For more information about the Boot Performance (Fast Startup) assessment, see On/Off Transition Performance and Results for the On/Off Assessments.

A secondary use case for the Boot Performance (Full Boot) assessment is to run it on Windows 8 only if Fast Startup is not enabled (as on ARM-based systems) or has been turned off on the system. But there are no diagnostics or advanced metrics returned by this assessment.

The Boot Performance (Full Boot) assessment evaluates the traditional Windows boot process which loads the operating system's kernel, device drivers, and other system component files into memory and loads the logon screen and desktop. This assessment provides metrics such as overall shutdown and boot times to help you with the comparison. For more information about results, see Results for the Full Boot Assessment.

The following graphic illustrates the assessment process.

In this topic:

  • Before You Begin

  • Settings

Before You Begin

Warning

The first-run help tips in Windows 8.1 can negatively affect assessment results. To disable these, run the following command from an elevated command prompt, and reboot the computer:
reg.exe add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\EdgeUI" /v DisableHelpSticker /t REG_DWORD /d "1" /f

Warning

Run this assessment only while the desktop is full screen. Do not run this assessment if you have another Windows Store app opened side-by-side with the desktop.

To obtain the most accurate and reproducible results from these assessments, set up and prepare the system by performing these actions:

  • Because these assessments perform several reboots, we recommend that you set up your system to automate the logon process. To do this, see Automate Reboots Before You Run an Assessment.

  • If your system has a multi-boot configuration, a menu for selecting an operating system will appear at startup. The presence of this menu will affect the job results.

System requirements

You can run the assessments on these operating systems:

  • Windows 7

  • Windows 8

Supported architectures include x86-based and x64-based systems.

Settings

By default, this assessment uses the recommended settings. Microsoft defines these settings so that you can compare the results across multiple computer configurations or over time on the same computer. When you review the results, the run information includes metadata that indicates whether the assessment used the recommended settings.

You can also customize the settings for an assessment, if you want to gather data that is different from the default data. For example, you might identify specific data that would help you perform a more detailed analysis of a particular aspect of the computer.

The following table describes the assessment settings, recommended values, and alternative values for each setting.

Setting Description

Use recommended settings

Specifies whether the assessment uses the recommended settings. By default, this check box is selected. To change the settings for this assessment, you must first clear this check box.

Number of Iterations

Specifies the number of times that the assessment performs reboots to time the shutdown and boot process. By default, the value is 3.

Use alternate WPR profile

By default, this check box is cleared. Select it if you want to use a Windows Performance Recorder (WPR) profile other than the default. If this check box is selected, you must enter the path of another WPR profile.

Path to alternate trace profile (.wprp)

Provides the path of an alternative WPR profile. To specify an alternative path, select the Use alternate WPR profile check box, and then type the path in the Path to alternate trace profile box.

Collect I/O trace file

By default, this check box is cleared. Select it if you want to collect a storage IO trace in addition to the default CPU trace.

See Also

Concepts

Results for the Full Boot Assessment
On/Off Transition Performance
Results for the On/Off Assessments
Assessments

Other Resources

Windows Assessment Toolkit Technical Reference
Windows Assessments Console Step-by-Step Guide