Probably some of you have heard of BootVis, which can be used to check how long a Windows XP machine takes to boot, and then to optimize the boot process, sometimes considerably reducing the time required. BootVis can be considered as a very useful tool but unfortunately it can only work in Windows XP and it is no longer being supported by Microsoft. There is another alternative called Boot Log XP which is a shareware. It is easier to use compared to BootVis and it gives you important information about started drivers, running processes and loaded DLLs. Boot Log XP also only works on XP because it extracts information from binary ETL file (as BootVis) and interprets results using our own method.
The author of Boot Log XP claims that they are working on a new version which will support XP-64 and for Windows Vista/Seven but it’s been a long time they posted that on their website without any updates. So if you’re on Windows Vista or 7, you can use WinBootInfo as Bootvis alternative.
WinBootInfo is the advanced Windows Boot Analyzer that logs drivers and applications loaded during system boot, measures Windows boot times, records CPU and I/O activity during the boot, and much more! With WinBootInfo, you get to know what actually happens during Windows boot and what process is taking up a long time to start that makes Windows bootup time slower.
WinBootInfo Features:
Windows Boot Time Logging Detailed information about loaded drivers, applications and system DLLs Each loaded system component is displayed on the detailed time map Tree-View of Loaded Processes sorted in time, with all belonging DLLs/Drivers Different times logged (boot to Login Prompt, Explorer, Session Manager) Detailed CPU utilization tracking during boot, per every CPU core I/O activity tracking during boot System Interrupt / Context Switch tracking during boot Text Log generation and Printing History Feature, for comparing current with the past boot results
WinBootInfo is very easy to use. The first time you run it, the program will inform you that there is no boot analysis data recorded and ask if you you want WinBootInfo to log your next Windows boot and collect boot information for analysis.
Clicking Yes will schedule WinBootInfo to track what is being loaded at next restart. The screenshot below shows boot performance. The Boot Process Tree which is on the left shows the process being loaded in order by Windows during startup. In the middle it has detailed boot load history for drivers and applications, and at the bottom it also shows the CPU and disk utilization history during boot.
WinBootInfo only tells you what are being loaded and you will need other software such as Autoruns to disable the process from startup. WinBootInfo is probably the ONLY software in the world that is able to do what it does unless BootLogXP is able to come up with a new version… It cost $14.95 to purchase a single license but you can use it for 30 day free trial without limitations. Although the product page did not mention that it supports Windows 7, but I’ve got confirmation from the author of WinBootInfo that it does. In fact I’ve personally tested WinBootInfo on my Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit and it works perfectly.