CheckBootSpeed 2.0 EN (Beta)

Hi All,

The discussion on Windows 8 SSD defragmentation bug prompted me to translate to English the utility Russian-speaking people have used for quite some time. I'll maintain the beta status in case some localization issues or other quirks pop up.


What is CheckBootSpeed
CheckBootSpeed is a troubleshooting pack for Windows 7, Windows 8 and 8.1. It's based on PowerShell, and is similar to packs that come with Windows in Action Center or available as FixIt.

The pack can:
1. Create a detailed report on Windows boot time, collect information on Windows settings that may affect boot performance as well as include other diagnostics data in the report

2. Identify and fix incorrect Windows settings that typically slow down system boot by reverting them to defaults.

How to use CheckBootSpeed
1. Download and extract the attached ZIP-archive.

2. Start CheckBootSpeed (requires administrative permissons).

3a. Click Next to generate the report and fix issues automatically.

OR

3b. If you don't want to apply repairs automatically, deactivate this option.



In this case you'll see a list of issues the pack founds. It always offers to create a detailed report.



Select the issues you want to fix and click Next.
Note. You can click View Detailed Information to see elaborate descriptions of all issues and their effect on system performance.

4. Review the list of fixed issues and detailed report that opens in Notepad.

5. Copy the results from the report and post them to the forum.


Q&A
Q. What does CheckBootSpeed verify and fix?
A. Please see this technical document on SkyDrive that also outlines some limitations.

Q. Can CheckBootSpeed damage my system in any way?
A. No, it simply restores out-of-the-box Windows settings that you or the third party software have modified. The software doesn't contain malware and signed with my personal certificate.

Q. Will it revert my precious tweaks?
A. On HDD - yes, but they are not precious, since they increase boot time. On SSD - no, because most settings have no negative impact on boot time when Windows is installed SSD.

Q. Does CheckBootSpeed recognize the disk type (HDD or SSD) automatically?
A. It makes elaborate efforts to recognize it. If it can't, you've got some system problems for sure. In this case, CheckBootSpeed treats your disk as SSD, which leads to more conservative changes in settings.

Q. Does CheckBootSpeed save its reports or leave any other files on the disk?
A. Once you close the Notepad window with the detailed report, the file is automatically deleted. However, an auxiliary file ReadSpeed.xml with the disk assessment results is kept in %temp% to speed up creation of subsequent reports.

to be continued...

Your results and feedback are expected and appreciated

Vadim

I ran the program first without fixing the problems automatically, then tick the box to fix automatically.
View attachment CheckBootSpeed.txt
View attachment CheckBootSpeed 2.txt

Hi brummyfan,

Thanks for being the first beta-tester Both runs were identical, since you don't have any issues.

However, I see that your SSD is not excluded from automatic maintenance contrary to this statement.
When properly excluded in dfrgui, the defrag.exe parameters look approximately like this (disk GUIDs are unique to the system):

The -e switch excludes the volumes listed in the command.

Vadim

Hi Vadim,
Sorry, I forgot to mention that I switched back to original state settings for automatic maintenance ( included C drive ) before using your utility, it's a very easy to use utility and informative, this gives the assurance that the settings are correct for those who worry about Pre-fetch, SuperFetch...etc.
I will try the instruction in your blog to stop this defragging and let you know the results.

Hi,

Yes, that explains the default defrag task settings.

I'm glad you like the tool. It's over 2 years old, but has been loosing its primary purpose lately as people migrate to SSDs. So I've given it a new twist this spring by expanding the diagnostics section of the report.

Vadim

Great tool!

No issues here either but I ran it after setting the optimization to manual (disabled the automatic one for the SSD).

I'm glad you like it. The tool will show the change in ScheduledDefrag task, but it doesn't consider this an issue (only the disabled task is detected).

Hi Vadim,
Do I need to list the SSD drive like " Drive: C" in between the lines " Command>%windir%\system32\defrag.exe</Command>" AND " <Arguments>\\?\Volume{c0d2c8fb ........" ( as shown by the red arrows in pic).
Thanks.

Hi brummyfan,

For the SSD-TRIM task, you have to completely change the parameters in the <Arguments> node. If your SSD letter is C, then it would be:
The -l switch sends TRIM, the -h switch makes it fast.

I've updated the instructions to emphasize just that.

Vadim

Vadikan said:

Hi brummyfan,

For the SSD-TRIM task, you have to completely change the parameters in the <Arguments> node. If your SSD letter is C, then it would be:

Code:

<Arguments>C: -l -h</Arguments>

The -l switch sends TRIM, the -h switch makes it fast.

I've updated the instructions to emphasize just that.

Vadim

Click to expand...

Thanks Vadim, that's clear but what about the line 45 in your instructions? do I just put "drive C:" ?

Ah, it was just a comment in XML format, and highlighting applied to the wrong line. I've removed it completely to eliminate confusion.

After modifying, I tried to save the file but permission denied and gave the option to save the modified file in My Documents, then I imported the saved file TRIM-SSD 2.xml to Task scheduler, the original TRIM-SSD.xml file still in System32, will that be alright or do I need to change permission to that file and import to Task Scheduler?

Well, I didn't realize the procedure is so full of obstacles

When you export the file, you should save it in a folder for which you have write permissions, like Desktop or My Documents. It's just a text file, nothing more. Then you modify two lines and import, that's it.

You've imported the file, so you're good to go. You can delete the one from System32 or let it sit there, doesn't matter. You can delete all exported files, they have no effect on task scheduler.

Vadim

Hi Vadim,
Thanks for all your help and a great work, actually the procedure is very simple once you get to know, as you said I should have exported to a new folder and wouldn't have gone to system32 folder, I will wait and see how it goes and can do it again next week

This is just an update since I created a Task Schedule only for Trim, no defragging of my SSD noticed

Thanks for the update! Yep, this is your custom task in action trimming your drive, and everything is good