Vista Performance Post SP1
Poor performance was one of the sins associated with Windows Vista RTM, especially in comparison to Windows XP throughout 2007.
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9.10.2008 Vista SP 1 Ships in 2008, the First Beta Drops in 2 Weeks!
After a long period of Windows Omerta, in which Microsoft gagged all details related to the future development plans for the Windows platform, the company has come out and confirmed the availability dates for the first beta of Windows Vista SP1, as well as for the final release of the refresh.
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29.8.2007 Microsoft Backpedals on its Post-Vista Plans
Microsoft Corp. Friday declined to comment on post-Vista plans by releasing a comment -- a move bloggers attributed to buzz about a list of most-asked-for features to Vista's successor. The list was yanked from a Microsoft forum earlier this week.
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17.7.2007 Microsoft: Pay no attention to post-Vista plans
Microsoft declined to comment Friday on post-Vista plans by releasing a comment -- a move bloggers attributed to buzz about a list of most-asked-for features to Vista's successor. The list was yanked from a Microsoft forum earlier this week. Thanks pacpis to for this news.
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14.7.2007 Microsoft Hands out XP SP3 beta Final SP for XP
In an email sent to selected testers telling them they have been accepted to begin testing XP SP3, Microsoft has also informed them that this will be the final Service Pack for the now aging OS.
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5.10.2007 Windows Post-Install Wizard (WPI) 6.1
Windows Post-Install Wizard (WPI) is a hypertext application designed for giving users choice. While Windows XP offers many ways of customizing the setup process out of the box, its major drawback is the lack of being able to select which applications an end user may install.
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29.7.2007 Microsoft's plans for post-Windows OS revealed
Microsoft is incubating a componentized non-Windows operating system known as Midori, which is being architected from the ground up to tackle challenges that Redmond has determined cannot be met by simply evolving its existing technology.
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30.7.2008 Windows 7 Performance Tools - Performance Tools Kit 4.1.1
Internet Explorer 8 will be not only an apex of performance, but also the next major iteration of the Windows client, according to Microsoft.
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1.9.2008 Vista SP1 a Performance Dud
With the initial performance characteristics of Windows Vista leaving much to be desired (see our previous post on the subject), many IT organizations have put off deploying the new OS until the first service pack (SP1) is released by Microsoft early next year.
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20.11.2007 Another Vista Reliability & Performance Update
Vistas performance is one of those topics that wont be exhausted until Windows Seven hits RTM. It all comes down to trade-offs.
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12.12.2007 Windows Vista Performance and Tuning
Windows Vista and SP1 focus on delivering greater performance and overall system responsiveness. By striking a balance between speed and responsiveness, Windows Vista and SP1 deliver a level of performance that has the greatest positive impact on the systems usability.
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31.7.2008 Windows Vista Imaging and Installation Performance
Ideally, installation of an operating system is two fairly simple steps. First, copy all the OS files to the hard disk.
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4.10.2006 Vista Compatibility, Performance and Reliability Pack
Windows Vista Compatibility, Performance and Reliability Packs SP1 Preview - Microsoft offers fresh Vista updates to testers.
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31.7.2007 New Performance and Reliability Updates for Vista SP1
A reliability and performance update is available for download for Windows Vista Service Pack 1. This specific release targets all Windows Vista editions, provided that they have the first service pack integrated.
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25.6.2008 x64 Vista SP2 JPG Rendering Performance Inferior to x86 Vista SP2's
The JPG rendering process on 64-bit flavors of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 is inferior to that on the 32-bit variants of the operating system.
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10.6.2009 Final Names for Windows Vista Performance Features
Windows PC Accelerators is the new term that encompasses Windows Vista's new performance-enhancing technologies.
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7.4.2006 Performance Results Mixed with Vista Service Pack 1
Files copied faster in our initial tests, but other performance was slightly slower with the SP1 installed.
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7.2.2008 Vista SP1 Evolves with New Reliability and Performance Boost
Microsoft is indeed starting to deliver an increasing volume of details related to the upcoming Windows 7 client and Windows 7 Server releases, but the end of 2009/ the debut of 2010 is still not even on the horizon, and neither are the next iterations of the Windows platforms.
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19.8.2008 12 Tweaks - Squeeze Every Last Drop of Performance Out of Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a resource hog. Microsofts latest operating system will swallow every last bit of hardware resources you throw at it in the race for a top user experience, a concept synonymous with high performance.
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15.9.2007 Install Vista SP1 RC Refresh for the Added Performance
According to Microsoft, one reason to install Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate Refresh and test drive it is the added performance.
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15.1.2008 Check PC Performance Details with WinSAT in Windows 7 or Vista
Since Windows Vista, including in Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows System Assessment Tool (WinSAT) has been added into the operating system. WinSAT is a free benchmarking tool that measures various computer performance ratings, characteristics and capabilities, and display the ratings as Windows Experience Index or WEI score.
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20.4.2009 Microsoft releases the Windows Vista Performance and Reliability fix packages
These are the fixes that leaked last week, now the fix packs are publicly available (Validation Required).
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8.8.2007 Windows XP SP3 Yields Performance Gains Over Vista SP1
After a disappointing showing by Windows Vista SP1 (see previous post), we were pleasantly surprised to discover that Windows XP Service Pack 3 (v.3244) delivers a measurable performance boost to this aging desktop OS.
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24.11.2007 Boost Vista's Performance, Responsiveness, and Reliability ahead of Vista SP1
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 RTM is without a doubt in sight. But the fact that the service pack's availability is contouring on the immediate horizon, and is now but a month away, provides little comfort for the users of Windows Vista RTM.
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14.2.2008 Windows 7 Search Performance Superior to Vista SP1 and XP SP3
Get ready for the Windows 7 indexer on steroids, as Microsoft will deliver the first taste of the operating system to the world at the end of this month.
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14.10.2008 Windows 7 build 7057 - Performance that blasts past XP, Vista
Over the weekend Ive been spending time with the latest leaked build of Windows 7 - build 7057. While this isnt the release candidate (RC) build that some people claim it is, this build is certainly pretty close to being RC.
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16.3.2009 Vista to XP Copying Performance Slower with Intel I/OAT Enabled
One of the issues that plagued Windows Vista when the operating system was launched in January 2009 was the slow copying speeds delivered.
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5.7.2009 Windows Performance Blog
As I said in yesterdays introduction, my job as an engineer on the Windows Vista team is to improve performance. I wanted to look at a study that measure a key area that we focused on for Windows Vista consistent responsiveness during the times that matter most to users (when starting up their machine, after being idle, and when you are under the gun running tons of apps, etc.).
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29.12.2006 Microsoft tweaks IE 7 for performance
Microsoft has quietly released a patch aimed at improving the performance of Internet Explorer 7's phishing filter ahead of the company's regular patching schedule, which occurs on the Tuesday of every month.
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8.2.2007 Microsoft IE 8 - Great Performance
This morning, my editor asked why I hadn't blogged about Internet Explorer 8. My response: "Who cares?" Do you? Maybe we both should.
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27.8.2008Google complains (again), asks for final release date of Vista SP1
A week after Microsoft
announced it would amend
Windows Vista so that its
integrated Instant Search
functionality wont hamper the
performance of third-party
desktop-search programs,
Google has complained to the
government again.
In
a
new,
seven-page amicus brief a
copy of which Seattle
Post-Intelligencer reporter
Todd Bishop links to Google
is asking the U.S. Department
of Justices antitrust division
to force Microsoft to go
further.
From Googles
brief:
(F)rom what
Google understands of the
remedies, it appears that more
may need to be done to provide
a truly unbiased choice of
desktop search products in
Vista and achieve compliance
with the Final Judgment.
Google wants
Microsoft to have to provide a
firm date for the final
release of Windows Vista
Service Pack (SP) 1 since all
Microsoft has committed to
publicly so far is a first
beta before the end of
calendar 2007. (Ill second
that request!)..
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26.06.2007Microsoft hones its internal sales pitch for Vista Service Pack 1
With all the controversy as of late regarding
the
extent to which Service Pack (SP) 1 will improve Windows Vistas performance, what is Microsoft saying?
Externally, not much.
Throughout 2007, Microsoft officials have tried to downplay SP1, hoping to convince users that they dont need to wait for the first service pack
before moving to Windows Vista. As a result, executives have been less-than-forthcoming when it comes to the performance gains they expect Vista SP1
will deliver.
Internally, however, the company is promising some pretty hefty improvements for users who install SP1, according
to sources.
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28.11.2007Mary Jo Foley Will Windows Service Pack History Repeat Itself?
Mary Jo Foley: One of my editors at Redmond magazine -- the ever-doubting Ed Scannell -- recently posed an interesting hypothetical question about the
future of Windows. Might Microsoft yank some features planned for Windows 7 and put them into a Windows Vista Service Pack (SP) 2 that would include
not just fixes, but also new features?
In other words: Could Windows history repeat itself, with Vista SP2 taking the form of a
whole new operating system release -- in everything other than name -- a la Windows XP SP2?
Microsoft officials said last year
not to expect Vista SP1 to be anything like XP SP2. Vista SP1 was designed to be a collection of fixes and patches, aimed at improving security,
reliability and performance. But the 'Softies haven't said anything about their thinking in regard to Vista SP2. Might Microsoft use the next Vista
SP to deliver some of the features that otherwise might have to wait for Windows 7, currently slated for 2010?
As tasty as that
option might sound to some, I'd give it a very low likelihood for a few reasons.
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03.06.2008Windows XP SP3 Yields Performance Gains Over Vista SP1
After a disappointing showing by Windows Vista SP1 (see previous post), we were pleasantly surprised to discover that Windows XP Service Pack 3
(v.3244) delivers a measurable performance boost to this aging desktop OS. Testing with OfficeBench showed an 10% performance boost vs. the same
configuration running under Windows XP w/Service Pack 2.
Since SP3 was supposed to be mostly a bug-fix/patch consolidation release - unlike
w/Vista SP1, Microsoft made no promises of improved performance for XP - the unexpected speed boost comes as a nice bonus. In fact, XP SP3 is
shaping-up to be a "must have" update for the majority of users who are still running Redmond's not-so-latest and greatest desktop
OS.
Of course, none of this bodes well for Vista, which is now more than 2x slower than the most current builds of its older sibling.
Suffice to say that performance-minded users will likely choose to stick with the now even speedier Windows XP - at least until more "Windows
7" information becomes publicly available.
Read full story.....
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24.11.2007Microsoft promises SP 'milestone' for Visual Studio 2008
First, it was Windows XP SP1. Then Windows Vista SP1. Now its the Visual Studio and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, due by the end of summer. The connection?
Microsoft's service packs keep growing in importance as a means of updating key products between official releases.
Promoting
the first SP for Visual Studio 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5, officially launched just six months ago, Microsoft has said SP1 - like its predecessors -
is no ordinary SP.
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02.08.2008Microsoft: Another Vista Reliability & Performance Update
Vista’s performance is one of those topics that won’t be exhausted until Windows Seven hits RTM. It all comes down to trade-offs. Ever
since the features of Vista were finalized, Microsoft tried to tip the scale the other way by focusing on performance, with the obvious limitation of
not disabling any services. Updates regarding performance and stability are numerous, but most have not hit Windows Update as they are not quite ready
(preview releases). The Windows Serviceability Team wants feedback on one such update, available for download at the Microsoft Download Center, before
its expected release on Windows Update in January.
Read full story.....
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13.12.2007Principled Technologies Tests Windows Vista SP1
Nick White: When Windows Vista was originally released just over a year ago Microsoft commissioned Principled Technologies to compare the overall
responsiveness of Windows Vista to Windows XP SP 2 for some common business and home tasks. With the release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1)
Principled has updated their results.
Principled Technologies concluded the following when comparing business scenarios:
- Overall, Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP
performed comparably on most test operations. Performance differences between the two operating systems were typically less than a half second.
Significant differences of over a second occurred on only nine of 128 measures; Windows Vista SP1 led on eight of those.
- Windows Vista
SP1 was noticeably more responsive after rebooting than Windows XP on several common business operations.
- Overall, Windows Vista SP1 was
more responsive than Windows Vista on most comparisons. Performance differences between the two operating systems were typically less than a quarter
second.
Principled Technologies also concluded the following when comparing home scenarios...
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27.02.2008First Post-Beta 2 Vista Build
Released
Microsoft late Friday
delivered the first build of
Windows Vista to follow the
release of Beta 2 at WinHEC in
May. Build 5456 is available
to technical beta testers, and
includes better user interface
performance along with User
Account Control tweaks to
lessen the number of
authentication notices...
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26.06.2006Microsoft posts two major Vista fix packs for download
Remember those Windows Vista
reliability and performance
fix packs beta versions of
which temporarily escaped to
the masses last week? On
August 7, Microsoft posted the
final versions of the two
Vista fix packs for
download.
The Vista performance fix
pack, KB 938979, (both 32- and
64-bit versions) is
downloadable
here.
The reliability fix pack, KB
938194, (32- and 64-bit
flavors), can be downloaded
here.
The two fix
packs include a number of the
updates that Microsoft is
expected to deliver in the
first full-fledged Windows
Vista Service Pack (SP) 1
release, a public beta of
which is expected real soon
now. SP1 is expected to
include a number of security,
performance and reliability
fixes that Microsoft has been
delivering since it shipped
Vista, all in one single
package.
Microsoft is promising to
make the two new Vista fix
packs available via Windows
Update at a later date. The
full statement, provided by a
Microsoft spokeswoman:
The two
updates will be available on
Microsofts download center
today, and will be available
through Windows Update at a
later date.
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08.08.2007How can Microsoft overcome Vistas lingering image problem?
Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President of Windows Product Management, has a tough problem on his hands.
Microsoft and its
hardware/software partners have done a lot in the past 16 months to make Windows Vista a better operating system. With Service Pack (SP) 1, Microsoft
has addressed some of the performance and reliability problems that has made Vista the butt of so much bad press when it launched.
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02.05.2008Whats coming with Windows? Even the insiders arent sure'
Sometimes you find fascinating little tidbits of Microsoft news buried in obscure places, tossed in as throwaway remarks. Todays case in point comes
from
a post
at the Windows Installer team blog, which tries to explain why some references to Windows Installer 4.1 appeared on an MSDN and then were
removed.
The explanation provides an interesting factoid and also illustrates a larger principle about how Microsoft works.
First the factoid.
From the
post (with emphasis added):
The back story here starts about this time last year when we were finishing up Windows Installer 4.0 in Windows
Vista and asking ourselves Whats next?. At that time, we didnt know the bar for features in Windows Vista SP1 and next major release of Windows.
<>
Knowing none of the feature and release criteria, our best guess at the time was that Windows Vista
SP1 would ship first, an out of band release would ship next, and then the next full version of Windows would be our focus.
<>
he new guard in Windows had a very different bar for the Vista SP than had been in practice for previous releases (at
least in my memory). Generally there is lip service to no large feature work in a SP but this time folks listened. Big feature adds were heavily
scrutinized. The items we wanted to fix in the SP, UAC tweaks, were big feature by the new bar.
When the UAC tweaks were
rejected for Vista SP1, the justification for 4.1 faded as there were no new features in the Windows Installer in Vista SP1.
The good news to
all of you who have been complaining about UAC is that your protests have not been falling on deaf ears. The bad news is that whatever work is being
done will not appear in SP1.
So when will it appear? I found it fascinating that this team of developers at Microsoft, working on
core technology, had to guess at the timeline and feature set for future versions of Windows, including a crucial service pack. Let that be a lesson
for those who believe that Microsoft, in Borg-like fashion, ruthlessly coordinates its activities. The reality is theres a lot of internal debate
within the halls at One Microsoft Way, and even insiders are confused over whats coming up in the Windows road map.
Now, can we
talk about that out-of-band release?
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02.10.2007Overview Series: Windows Vista Performance and Tuning
Windows Vista and SP1 focus on delivering greater performance and overall system responsiveness. By striking a balance between speed and
responsiveness, Windows Vista and SP1 deliver a level of performance that has the greatest positive impact on the systems usability. This guide looks
at the following areas of performance improvement:
- Making configuration changes that help a computer feel more responsive when you
use it.
- Using hardware to boost the actual physical speed of a computer.
- Making configuration changes that help a computer to start
faster.
- Making the computer more reliable may help increase performance.
- Monitoring performance occasionally so that you can stop
problems before they get too big.
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29.07.2008Are service packs really passe?
Are there any real reasons other than psychological ones to wait for a first service pack (SP) of Windows Vista before deploying?
Microsoft’s position, since the company released Vista to manufacturing last year, has been that users didn’t need delay their
deployments until the delivery of SP1 because the team would
push out new updates and fixes
continually via Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and other patching mechanisms. Just this week, in fact, Microsoft delivered
via Windows Update
two mega hotfix packs (performance and compatibility) for Windows Vista
that include many of the fixes that will be part of
Vista Service Pack (SP) 1, which now is due
in Q1 2008.
But some say service packs still do matter. Over on the Windows Connected blog, Josh Phillips has a list of
why some users still prefer to wait for
a service pack before deploying.
First on Phillips’ list: Service packs are more thoroughly and rigorously tested than
individual udpates. There’s also the convenience factor. For enterprise users, a single update like a service pack is much easier to manage in a
controlled way than are lots of incremental updates.
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30.08.2007Inside CNET Labs: Windows Vista SP1 performance
The long-awaited Service Pack 1 update for Windows Vista brings with it a number of significant bug fixes and other improvements. Microsoft promises
that with it you will also see a number of noticeable performance improvements as well. In
our initial round of testing, we saw a mixed bag of results:
we saw a few notable performance improvements under some conditions as well as significant performance degradations in others. For the most part,
however, we saw little difference in performance between Vista and the Vista SP1 update.
As we dug a little deeper into
Microsoft's claims, we discovered that many of the performance improvements being touted aren't actually directly attributable to SP1. Many
of the claimed performance improvements, such as improved boot-time, are actually more a function of improved third-party drivers and applications
that are benefiting from a year's worth of programming for Vista and from the programmers getting continued feedback and guidance from Microsoft. So
as long as you have been diligent about keeping your Vista system current with the latest Windows updates and third-party drivers, you likely
already have many of the potentially performance improving enhancements.
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14.02.2008Microsoft to post videos of users who liked Vista after thinking it was new OS
On Tuesday, Microsoft plans to post actual videos from its "Mojave Experiment" -- an effort to dispel negative stereotypes about Vista -- on a
recently set up "teaser" Web site, BetaNews has learned...
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29.07.2008Virtual Roundtable discussing Vista configuration, and optimizing performance
On September 24, at 9am PST, Mark Russinovich and a panel of experts will be hosting a virtual roundtable to discuss common isues in configuring Vista
clients, performance issues, and other ways to optimize Vista performance. He will be asking questions as well during this roundtable. You can use the
following link to join:
https://ms.istreamplanet.com/springboard winbeta.org -
28.08.2008Microsoft study: Vista improves networking
Companies that deploy Windows
Server 2008 and Windows Vista
in tandem could see more than
a threefold increase in
networking performance for
file transfers, downloading
roaming profiles for mobile
users and accessing files on a
portal, according to a
Microsoft-commissioned study
conducted by the Tolly Group.
In a 38-page white
paper titled "Enhanced
Network Performance with
Microsoft Windows Vista and
Windows Server 2008," the
Tolly Group compares the
networking performance for
file access on WANs and LANs
using various configurations
of Windows Server 2003 R2 or
2008 on the backend and XP SP2
or Vista on the frontend.
Not surprisingly, the
combination of the newest
operating systems brings the
best gains in network
performance in large part,
Tolly concludes, because of an
upgraded TCP/IP stack and
updates to thefile-sharing
Server Message Block (SMB )
protocol...
winbeta.org -
07.06.2007Fixing Windows Vista, Part 3: Top Troubleshooting Tools
Ed Bott: Do you think Windows Vista is slow, crash-prone, or unreliable? Join the crowd.
Over the past year, reviews of Windows
Vista by mainstream media outlets, the technical press, bloggers, and ordinary users have been, for the most part, scathing. And many of those bad
reviews were absolutely accurate. My co-authors and I just completed an extensive
post-Service Pack 1
revision of our book Windows Vista Inside Out. Over the past year, we installed, upgraded, and used Windows Vista on a broad
cross-section of hardware designs from nearly a dozen manufacturers. During that time, we experienced some of those same performance, reliability, and
compatibility issues ourselves. What we found was simple: With a clean install on well-supported hardware, everything worked just fine. But toss in an
incompatible application or a flaky video, storage, or network driver, and performance could suffer. Badly.
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07.05.2008Last-minute reminder: Windows Vista performance webcast Wednesday morning (PST)
Anyone interested in a webcast on Windows Vista performance? Mark Russinovich is hosting a roundtable discussion webcast tomorrow morning, part
of the Springboard series, at 9 a.m. Pacific time with a panel of IT pro experts: customers, partners, MVPs, etc. It should be a good
discussion, focusing on common causes of Windows Vista performance problems and how to improve overall system performance. There will be live
Q&A toward the end of the session, so start thinking of questions.
For more information, visit
https://ms.istreamplanet.com/springboard/.
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24.09.2008Timing and Vista Woes for the Mobile Warrior
James Kendrick has had enough. A master of
mobile technology, hes been working with Vista on more mobile devices than I can keep track of. Hes put up a pretty scathing post on jkOnTheRun
stating that that in his opinion Vista will never run well on mobile devices and it is one giant step backwards. His long post is summed up nicely in
this excerpt:
The whole Vista mobile experience is very unstable and that is unsettling to anyone who needs to get their work done, and get it
done now. I don't care how pretty the OS is or how much new sophisticated stuff is going on under the hood if it makes my performance unpredictable.
That is such a big step backwards that you have to wonder how it can be fixed in the short term. I fear it can't. Say what you will about Windows
XP the one thing it is on mobile devices is stable. Rock-solid stable. Can anyone say that about Vista on mobile PCs? I have a very bad feeling
about the immediate future of mobile computing on the Vista platform. And that hits me where I live.
He mentions many of the issues that have
been well chronicled here on the pages and forums of GBM and elsewhere, like docking and undocking (
Robs post about this yesterday stirred up a small
firestorm) and echoes my experiences with UMPCs and Vista quite well. Anything with one of the newer mobile processors and limited to 1GB of memory
is nothing short of frustrating running Vista. It is just an unsatisfactory experience on a UMPC, period. Im actually thinking of selling the two
UMPCs I own and waiting (probably in vain) for something better down the line.
winbeta.org -
24.08.2007
