Windows 7 Startup Screens - What are they loading

Hi, first, all's working good, no Windows 7 problems :)

I was curious about what Windows is loading during the spinning "Logo" screen after POST (the black background screen with the colored Windows logo).

Is this when Windows is accessing and loading the Boot Mgr in the "System Reserved" partition and also loading Windows drivers?

Also, what is Windows starting or loading when the "Welcome" screen appears?

Does "Iexplore.exe" begin once the user logs into their Windows account at the "Welcome" screen?

What is the general consensus as to the elapsed time during the Logo screen, from the time it appears to the time that the Welcome screen appears?

I'm using conventional ("spinner") HDD's on my 2 Windows PC's and the Logo screen elapsed time is about the same on my Desktop PC and my Laptop PC , about 26-28 seconds in duration.

Scoop said:

Hi, first, all's working good, no Windows 7 problems :)

I was curious about what Windows is loading during the spinning "Logo" screen after POST (the black background screen with the colored Windows logo).

Is this when Windows is accessing and loading the Boot Mgr in the "System Reserved" partition and also loading Windows drivers?

Also, what is Windows starting or loading when the "Welcome" screen appears?

Does "Iexplore.exe" begin once the user logs into their Windows account at the "Welcome" screen?

What is the general consensus as to the elapsed time during the Logo screen, from the time it appears to the time that the Welcome screen appears?

I'm using conventional ("spinner") HDD's on my 2 Windows PC's and the Logo screen elapsed time is about the same on my Desktop PC and my Laptop PC , about 26-28 seconds in duration.

The article at the following provides a good explanation of the process;

https://social.technet.microsoft.com...cess-sbsl.aspx

Sir George said:

The article at the following provides a good explanation of the process;

https://social.technet.microsoft.com...cess-sbsl.aspx

Thanks for the link :) I had previously read about some of the steps that are occurring during a Windows PC boot but this article is great :)

I read it but I didn't see an explanation as to which activities are actually running during the various Windows startup screens.

From the article, I'm guessing that what's loading during the Logo screen right after POST is:

- MBR read
- Bootmgr.exe
- Winload.exe
- OSLoader, kernel, Registry

Windows "Welcome" screen:

- OS Initialization

Windows Logon Screen:

Appears during the OS Initialization Sub phase 3 - WinLogonInit: Winlogon Initialization



That's what I'm guessing after reading the article but it's only a guess from a novice :).

bigmck said:

When you say 26-28 seconds, that is not your total boot time is it? With a spinner, I doubt it is that fast. When I had a spinner, the boot time was about 90 seconds. I have an SSD now and the total boot time is about 25 seconds.

No, you're right. The 26-28 seconds elapsed time is just the time from when the Windows Logo screen first appears, right after my MoBo POST screen, until the time that the Windows "Welcome" screen appears.

My "Welcome" screen elapsed time will vary, from the time that the screen first appears, to the time when my Desktop is launched although it rarely takes longer than ~10-12 seconds to complete all icon associations, fully paint the Desktop screen.

I used one of the scripts that Shawn provided to time my total boot time. If I recall, the total time was about 80-85 seconds. That sounds like it was close to your boot time with your previous spinner HDD. Thanks for your boot time info as it tells me that my Desktop PC isn't as slow as I had thought previously.

My slow boot time doesn't affect me much since I don't often restart my Desktop PC as it's mostly in Sleep mode between activity times and overnight.

I haven't entered the SSD scene yet as I'm a regular cloner and Imager (all full-HDD images) and I need to get familiar with the differences (if any) regarding SSD vs spinner HDD's.

Are you running with one SSD with the default 2-partition Windows 7 install with the "System Reserved" and the "c" partition containing the OS and all data/programs, etc?

bigmck said:

If you really want to speed up your PC, get a SSD. It makes the programs open in one second. It is hard to believe how fast it is unless you see it. They are getting pretty cheap. You can get a 120 GB for under $100. There really aren't any differences in a SSD and a spinner but the SSD is much faster. There are tutorials on here showing exactly how to load your SSD. It is just about the same as a spinner. == My SSD has the System Reserved and the C: with the OS. I don't have a lot of programs and files on it, so I also have a D: partition that I have my Documents, Pictures, etc. It makes those open a bit faster. Most of the guys here have their Docs on a spinner since most have a lot more files than I do. When it comes time to install the SSD, we will be glad to help.

Thanks for the info. I've been reading some about the SSD's lately to try and get the info beforehand, if I decide to try it out on my Desktop PC. The Desktop PC is about 3 years old so I'm deciding whether to get into the SSD scene with my current PC or wait till the next PC purchase.

I've read about the 2 types of SSD's, SLC vs MLC and am trying to separate the fact from fiction about the lifetimes with MLC's, the wear rates. I guess it doesn't matter much since spinners wear out as well.

Thanks for the info on your HDD setup's. I think one reason I haven't installed Windows (or reworked my HDD setup's) with multiple HDD's (an OS/boot HDD, another HDD for programs and/or data) is that I like the idea of cloning (or imaging) one HDD and having a backup of everything with one cloning process step.

That way, I can plug in my HDD in the event of a malware infection or HDD failure and resume normal PC activities in a few minutes. I've recovered with my cloned HDD a couple of times over the past 2-3 years from malicious intrusions.

bigmck said:

Having backups is always a good idea. I image mine rather than clone. I use Macrium Reflect. I had to restore this past weekend and like you say, it is fast to restore and certainly a must to have.

Same here. I started using Macrium after reading a couple of threads at this forum, great advice there :). I'm using the free version. I had a little problem creating the WinPE CD but after that, it's been working well. I clone and image but I don't image as often since I only run full-HDD images which takes some time on my system using USB 2.0 .

I clone every 2 weeks with mostly Acronis since I had previously purchased that product. It clones faster than Macrium, usually about 35 minutes to clone my 1 Tb HDD using Sata III speed.

I wanted to get familiar with 1 or 2 additional cloning/imaging tools in the event that something unexpected happened with Acronis. I use Macrium on my Mom's Desktop PC to clone her HDD.