Why does Windows need to restart after updates?

unplanned bacon · Mar 31, 2014

What's the technical reason when Linux doesn't need to.

How does Mac OS get away without having a registry? And if it doesn't have a registry what is Windows using it for?

Alec Mowat · Mar 31, 2014

Windows needs to restart to apply updates to core files that are being used by the system. If a file is in use, it can't be shut off, updated and restarted while Windows is running.

Mac doesn't have the same property settings as Windows, it's not the same operating system. The configurations are done by file, as opposed to a registry. It also gives you far less control as a result, since those files are locked.
Mac uses a Unix kernal, it's a different environment.

Unix and Windows are two completely different operating systems, so it's difficult to compare component for component.

http://www.macforensicslab.com/ProductsAndServices/index.php?main_page=document_general_info&cPath=11&products_id=271

zhihao50 · Mar 31, 2014

Design choices, would imagine rebooting would be cleaner for one to get rid of currently running processes.

Here is some articles from Raymond Chen from microsoft explaining them in more details.
Registry:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2007/11/26/6523907.aspx
Reboot:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2008.11.windowsconfidential.aspx

unplanned bacon · Mar 31, 2014

Is the registry the cause of Windows slow downs over time???

Alec Mowat · Mar 31, 2014

unplanned bacon :

The registry is all of your settings for Windows and programs. It generally does not impact performance, since programs only call to it when needed.

Anytime you change any Windows settings, it's changed in the registry. Some applications also use the Registry for their settings, but not all.

Generally, if Windows is running slowly, it could be due to running background programs using your resources. You can clean out old entries in the registry if you have uninstalled a specific program, but Add/Remove Programs should be efficient at doing this now.

If you Type "MSCONFIG" in "Run" on the Windows start menu, and go to the "Startup" tab, disabling any programs that launch during the Windows boot should improve performance significantly.

Overtime, files also get moved around the hard drive, and it just takes longer for Windows to move from one file to the next. You can try defragging the Harddrive as well. Also try running "Disk Cleanup" under applications and clear the temp files.

How much free space is available on your harddrive? Low disk space can also cause slower performance.

unplanned bacon · Mar 31, 2014

Alec Mowat :

3.8 TB across 2 hard discs. Boot times are a little on the slow side at 90 seconds from off to logged in (39 for the whole thing with fast start on, would be faster if one of them was solid state). TBF Windows installed a bit funny, so the 350 MB partition is on the secondary drive where Windows originally was, but is unallocated space as it's always been

Alec Mowat · Mar 31, 2014

Are we talking about two disks in a RAID, or two different disks?

unplanned bacon · Mar 31, 2014

Alec Mowat :

They run independent of each other, so no RAID. One rated at 5400 rpm for general storage or backup (haven't decided) and the other at 7200 rpm as the boot drive

Alec Mowat · Mar 31, 2014

What version of Windows?

unplanned bacon · Mar 31, 2014

Alec Mowat · Mar 31, 2014

Right click on the "Start button", go "Run"
Type "MSCONIFG"

There is a radio button for "Diagnostic Startup"
Select that and reboot. See if it's any faster
Report your finding.

Set it back to "normal startup" when you finish.

unplanned bacon · Mar 31, 2014

It shaved 30 to 40 seconds off, but it disabled my wireless adaptor and sound driver

EDIT: Back in normal startup and it's about 20 seconds quicker than in my OP

Alec Mowat · Mar 31, 2014

unplanned bacon :

Is that the expected Boottime?

One of the start up programs is hurting your boot performance. It's a process of elimination at this point.

Set it back to Normal, than open the Task Manager and go to "Startup" and disable anything in there you do not need/want.
I generally leave Steam and any software for Keyboard/Mouse, everything else I keep disabled and start only when I need it.

unplanned bacon · Mar 31, 2014

Alec Mowat :

To be fair that's what action center's been telling me to do for a while. I disabled iTunes and Apple related software from start up earlier today and after your original post is the first time it's been shut down since. It takes about 70 seconds now, a fair bit spent at the 8.1 Welcome screen

Alec Mowat · Mar 31, 2014

unplanned bacon :

Alec Mowat :

To be fair that's what action center's been telling me to do for a while. I disabled iTunes and Apple related software from start up earlier today and after your original post is the first time it's been shut down since. It takes about 70 seconds now, a fair bit spent at the 8.1 Welcome screen

Don't forget about the Apps in the "Start Screen". Those consume resources as well. Anything, like News, that needs to connect online to update could slow you down.

unplanned bacon · Mar 31, 2014

Alec Mowat :

:O Computer always wants to throw something new at me. During one of those tests, something inside made a really loud noise on boot (I think it was the optical drive). I hope it wasn't my hard drive, it's quite loud at times (it's a WD Black) especially under very high access. Rig used to exhibit weird behaviour on shutdown as well pre clean install. I've described this thing to a friend as being like open heart surgery (or something similar) or an F1 car. Really fast and powerful, but goes wrong just like that, then you have to open up and fix

Alec Mowat · Mar 31, 2014

Just use WD Lifeguard and test the disk.
http://support.wd.com/product/download.asp?groupid=605&sid=3&lang=en

unplanned bacon · Mar 31, 2014

Both discs pass the Lifeguard diagnostic and have done multiple times (apart from the very first time where they both failed as SMART data was not accessible). No idea why the Green (drive 2) shows up as IDE everywhere in Windows when its BIOS setting are exactly the same as the other drive (AHCI etc). I never bothered to try and fix that, because it was working

EDIT: A third party program was able to test and pass them when Lifeguard couldn't and it even provided the test result data if I remember right.

Alec Mowat · Mar 31, 2014

unplanned bacon :

Green drives are not great for performance. They are for long term storage.
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1698162/green-drive-slowing-computer.html
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What is the primary?

unplanned bacon · Mar 31, 2014

Black is primary. Green was previously primary which is why that partition is there but I can't clear it because it's unallocated space. I got black after I found out what Green's true spec was. Right now it just backs up my stuff and stores a few files.

This is what I mean, my rig works awesome for king periods and then it throws out something random like I mentioned above

Alec Mowat · Mar 31, 2014

It's probably the green drive. They are known to have issues. I think they auto suspend or have other odd features for power saving.

They are more of low usage NAS setups, not really a workstation drive.

unplanned bacon · Apr 1, 2014

Green does absolutely nothing, unless I actually choose to save something to it or the file history backup is going

Why does Windows need to restart after updates?

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