I can already see many people asking themselves: How fast does Windows 8 boot? To answer this question there is a new video from the blog Building Windows 8, where they showcase the boot up time of the next Microsoft’s operating system. And it is really fast, almost like switching a lamp on and off — that fast. Of course without timing the BIOS.
In the video below Emily Wilson, program manager of the kernel platform group at Microsoft, demonstrate the ability to take a machine from fully powered off state to booted up in just under 8 seconds.
So, how do they do it? In Windows 7, all user sessions are closed, as are services and devices in the kernel session. Now Windows 8 will use a new fast start-up mode which is a hybrid of traditional cold boot and resuming from hibernate. The difference with Windows 7 is that the kernel session is not closed, it puts it in hibernation mode. By writing the kernel session to the disk, it does not have to be restored completely in every start-up. By doing this the giant of software has seen a great improvement time from 30 to 70%.
The Microsoft’s goals with the new fast start-up mode is:
- Effectively zero watt power draw when off
- A fresh session after boot
- Very fast times between pressing the power button and being able to use the PC.
If you still want to fully, fully shutdown, you’ll still have the option to revert back. But why would you want to do that, right? Watch the video and tell us what you think.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].