5 ms·

I have a 5950X CPU, a gen 4 PCI-E NVME, and a 6800xt GPU. I normally run linux, but I wanted to play a computer game in VR last night like a jerk. I rebooted in

I have a 5950X CPU, a gen 4 PCI-E NVME, and a 6800xt GPU. I normally run linux, but I wanted to play a computer game in VR last night like a jerk. I rebooted into Windows 10. It had at least three pages of full screen pop ups begging me to update to windows 11. I launched Steam. It took about 10 seconds to load, then restarted itself to update, then downloaded about 1GB of game files and did about 5GB of disk IO, over about 5 minutes. Launching VR took about 30 seconds, with at least one error message. The game didn't work with an obscure error message, and so I spent 10 minutes and a reboot updating my graphics drivers. That didn't work, so I tried deleting the game's config file. That didn't work, and so I unplugged all but one monitor. I finally got the game to work, and I had to restart it twice to tweak the graphics settings since I had deleted the config. So, about half an hour of hassle to play a game for about half an hour of gameplay.

wyager 4y ago
Consoles used to be better about this, but now it's the exact same BS. The only console that makes an effort not to waste your time is the switch.
nicbou 4y ago
I have the same experience with Windows. I launch Windows to play the same two games since 5 years, at it regularly fails at that simple task.
vladvasiliu 4y ago
Man, I don't know. I only use Windows for gaming, and I'm as much annoyed by it as the next guy, but I'm always impressed with how fast it boots compared to Linux (Arch with i3). Granted, apart from Steam, nothing's installed. But on Linux, not much is started in the background before I log in, either. This on a 2013 Xeon 2667v2 (ivy bridge) with a PCIe 3 NVMe.
- sgtnoodle 4y ago
  I run Arch. It seems like, in my case, its startup time is dominated by systemd networking coming up. It's pretty fast though.
  - vladvasiliu 4y ago
    I also run Arch. `systemd-analyze critical-chain` shows that the longest Linux step is `systemd-udev-settle.service`. The UEFI step is longer still, and I don't have a classic bootloader, I use efistub. My network is handled by NetworkManager, so I think it only comes up after I log in. I'm not quite sure what udev is waiting for, but since I don't boot up my computer often enough, it never bothered me enough to go hunting. But it's just surprising to see Windows come up quicker, on exactly the same hardware (dual boot on the same NVMe).
- dinvlad 4y ago
  Same here - since upgrading to NVME SSD my boot times were 3-5 sec (!) with Win10, and 5-10 sec with Win11. I think there's at least something they're doing right, and normal Linux desktop has a long way to go still (mine still easily takes 1 min on the same system..) I think among the three, MacOS takes the crown though - easily takes 5 minutes to boot, at least on an enterprise system.
  - FridgeSeal 4y ago
    I dual boot Windows and Linux on my home computer, Windows is quick to start (if I can keep the is reasonably clean) but Linux was still faster. Got a speedy NVME, and associated speedy hardware, and Windows would come up surprisingly quick, but man Linux was just like a light switch. The longest amount of time was spent waiting for the system to let me choose which OS I wanted. I wish I could have 2 separate power buttons, which pointed to 2 separate nvme’s, so I wouldn’t haven’t to waste time choosing, and could just boot straight into the desired OS.
    - cricalix 4y ago
      Do you remember drive caddies that fit into 5.25 bays? Hacky way: NVMe extender cable to drive bay. Split to dual connectors. Mechanical setup that acts as an interlock, where you push the desired drive into the connector, and that disconnects the other drive. Total overkill and probably not practical to make. Fun to think about though.
    - sgtnoodle 4y ago
      Your motherboard probably has a header for a chassis intrusion switch, and presumably grub is open source, so you could probably do that with a few hours of hacky coding. Or, you could use an Arduino Leonardo and simply emulate a keyboard that pushes the right sequence of keystrokes at the right time.
  - knodi123 4y ago
    wow. my macbook takes about 6 seconds to get to a login screen from a cold boot. maybe you've got some network shenanigans going on due to the enterprise environment?
zmxz 4y ago
I seldom post on annoyances, but what you wrote is such a similar experience to mine. Recent experience: I boot into Windows, but it screams for update. Ok, I update. It triggers my bios update - to my surprise, I had no idea an OS can do that. Ok, updating bios. Now Windows want me to update to win 11. Sure, let's give it ago, I waited this long. Message pops up - "Windows can't be updated to version 11 on this machine" or something along those lines. OK, deep breaths, let's try to play some Dota. I start the game, play with friends aaaand here's the popup that asks me if I want to restart my machine now or schedule it for later - of course, this popup comes at the worst time possible, minimizing the game in the crucial moment and then I remembered - "ah yes, this is why I abandoned Windows, the updates and constant annoyance every week". On topic - I run PopOS! and it boots below 10 seconds. After reading this article, I'll fiddle to see if it can be lowered.
- just_boost_it 4y ago
  The best thing about Windows 11 is that it finally pushed me to go to Linux, and I switched to Pop OS. I had played around with Mint 10 or so years ago, so honestly, I was braced for a whole lot of friction and little irritations, missing drivers, hours on stack overflow, that kind of thing. The best way I can describe the actual feeling was like putting on aftersun after getting sunburned. It's honestly bizarre that I can feel the absense of intrusion as the OS just does its thing in the background.
  - tpoacher 4y ago
    Out of curiosity. Why not Pop and not the latest Mint?
    - just_boost_it 4y ago
      Its always real hard o make these decisions. It was between Mint, Ubuntu and Pop. Pop comes with nvidia drivers, and I liked the window tiling and keyboard shortcuts.
      - 4y ago
mastax 4y ago
Windows has a lot of tasks that are scheduled to run infrequently. Search indexing, checking for updates, TRIM and defragmenting, antivirus scans etc. However if you only boot Windows infrequently, then those tasks will run every time you boot. I've seen this happen many times where someone who uses Windows infrequently is always greeted with a slow computer which encourages them to stop using Windows altogether. Microsoft should really fix that one of these days.
- sumtechguy 4y ago
  I use my playstation very rarely. I have almost this same experience every time. Lots of systems seem to want to 'update the world' if you have not used them in a few months.
noSyncCloud 4y ago
>It had at least three pages of full screen pop ups begging me to update to windows 11. Haven't booted into non-enterprise Windows for years (only use it for work) so this comment absolutely sent me. Thanks – needed a laugh

wyager 4y ago

Consoles used to be better about this, but now it's the exact same BS. The only console that makes an effort not to waste your time is the switch.

nicbou 4y ago

I have the same experience with Windows. I launch Windows to play the same two games since 5 years, at it regularly fails at that simple task.

vladvasiliu 4y ago

Man, I don't know. I only use Windows for gaming, and I'm as much annoyed by it as the next guy, but I'm always impressed with how fast it boots compared to Linux (Arch with i3). Granted, apart from Steam, nothing's installed. But on Linux, not much is started in the background before I log in, either. This on a 2013 Xeon 2667v2 (ivy bridge) with a PCIe 3 NVMe.

sgtnoodle 4y ago
I run Arch. It seems like, in my case, its startup time is dominated by systemd networking coming up. It's pretty fast though.
- vladvasiliu 4y ago
  I also run Arch. `systemd-analyze critical-chain` shows that the longest Linux step is `systemd-udev-settle.service`. The UEFI step is longer still, and I don't have a classic bootloader, I use efistub. My network is handled by NetworkManager, so I think it only comes up after I log in. I'm not quite sure what udev is waiting for, but since I don't boot up my computer often enough, it never bothered me enough to go hunting. But it's just surprising to see Windows come up quicker, on exactly the same hardware (dual boot on the same NVMe).
dinvlad 4y ago
Same here - since upgrading to NVME SSD my boot times were 3-5 sec (!) with Win10, and 5-10 sec with Win11. I think there's at least something they're doing right, and normal Linux desktop has a long way to go still (mine still easily takes 1 min on the same system..) I think among the three, MacOS takes the crown though - easily takes 5 minutes to boot, at least on an enterprise system.
- FridgeSeal 4y ago
  I dual boot Windows and Linux on my home computer, Windows is quick to start (if I can keep the is reasonably clean) but Linux was still faster. Got a speedy NVME, and associated speedy hardware, and Windows would come up surprisingly quick, but man Linux was just like a light switch. The longest amount of time was spent waiting for the system to let me choose which OS I wanted. I wish I could have 2 separate power buttons, which pointed to 2 separate nvme’s, so I wouldn’t haven’t to waste time choosing, and could just boot straight into the desired OS.
  - cricalix 4y ago
    Do you remember drive caddies that fit into 5.25 bays? Hacky way: NVMe extender cable to drive bay. Split to dual connectors. Mechanical setup that acts as an interlock, where you push the desired drive into the connector, and that disconnects the other drive. Total overkill and probably not practical to make. Fun to think about though.
  - sgtnoodle 4y ago
    Your motherboard probably has a header for a chassis intrusion switch, and presumably grub is open source, so you could probably do that with a few hours of hacky coding. Or, you could use an Arduino Leonardo and simply emulate a keyboard that pushes the right sequence of keystrokes at the right time.
- knodi123 4y ago
  wow. my macbook takes about 6 seconds to get to a login screen from a cold boot. maybe you've got some network shenanigans going on due to the enterprise environment?

zmxz 4y ago

I seldom post on annoyances, but what you wrote is such a similar experience to mine. Recent experience: I boot into Windows, but it screams for update. Ok, I update. It triggers my bios update - to my surprise, I had no idea an OS can do that. Ok, updating bios. Now Windows want me to update to win 11. Sure, let's give it ago, I waited this long. Message pops up - "Windows can't be updated to version 11 on this machine" or something along those lines. OK, deep breaths, let's try to play some Dota. I start the game, play with friends aaaand here's the popup that asks me if I want to restart my machine now or schedule it for later - of course, this popup comes at the worst time possible, minimizing the game in the crucial moment and then I remembered - "ah yes, this is why I abandoned Windows, the updates and constant annoyance every week". On topic - I run PopOS! and it boots below 10 seconds. After reading this article, I'll fiddle to see if it can be lowered.

just_boost_it 4y ago
The best thing about Windows 11 is that it finally pushed me to go to Linux, and I switched to Pop OS. I had played around with Mint 10 or so years ago, so honestly, I was braced for a whole lot of friction and little irritations, missing drivers, hours on stack overflow, that kind of thing. The best way I can describe the actual feeling was like putting on aftersun after getting sunburned. It's honestly bizarre that I can feel the absense of intrusion as the OS just does its thing in the background.
- tpoacher 4y ago
  Out of curiosity. Why not Pop and not the latest Mint?
  - just_boost_it 4y ago
    Its always real hard o make these decisions. It was between Mint, Ubuntu and Pop. Pop comes with nvidia drivers, and I liked the window tiling and keyboard shortcuts.
    - 4y ago

mastax 4y ago

Windows has a lot of tasks that are scheduled to run infrequently. Search indexing, checking for updates, TRIM and defragmenting, antivirus scans etc. However if you only boot Windows infrequently, then those tasks will run every time you boot. I've seen this happen many times where someone who uses Windows infrequently is always greeted with a slow computer which encourages them to stop using Windows altogether. Microsoft should really fix that one of these days.

sumtechguy 4y ago
I use my playstation very rarely. I have almost this same experience every time. Lots of systems seem to want to 'update the world' if you have not used them in a few months.

noSyncCloud 4y ago

>It had at least three pages of full screen pop ups begging me to update to windows 11. Haven't booted into non-enterprise Windows for years (only use it for work) so this comment absolutely sent me. Thanks – needed a laugh