Insta-boot possibilities...

[TrIpWiRe31337]

I have heard that Ms plans to realease there own lines of computers sometime soon in the future. And the only thing new about them, is that all the Windows Startup files will be stored in the BIOS chipset, IE: instant startup. I was wondering if anyone has ever like taken a 256 stick of ram, and devoted it to startup files, so when it the comput is turned on, it just reads off the ram, which is far faster than reading the files off a HDD. If anyone has successfully done this, I wanna know plz.

 

[Khayman]

but surley you can't store anything on ram, since when the powers turned of it all goes

 

[Bytes Back]

Well I suppose it could be done if the ram was battery backed up. or whatever they call that damned expensive stuff that keeps the state it was last in ( probably very nervous if it was running windows )

By the way Khayman, what's wrong with jellyfish ?

 

[Khayman]

its just a quote

 

[TrIpWiRe31337]

So, I am assuming no one has attemptedit. Well if my post gave anyone an idea on how to do it, and have the means to experiment, feel free to send me their ideas and experimentation progress.

 

[untitled9]

Mac has done it...

Once again Apple has beaten Microsoft. Apple's first line of Powerbooks could insta-boot. The new ones don't have that capability, and I don't know why. I think its because its more expensive to do.
Here's how its done:
The secret to instabooting is to have all the boot files in RAM so they can load nearly instantly. However, RAM is volatile. That means it doesn't retain information when the power is off.
However there's something called NVRAM or Nonvolatile RAM which does retain data even when the power is off. This means you could put your system files on it, and boot from it.

Another option is to use regular RAM, but make sure the computer never actually powers down. The computer could just go into a deep sleep where it draws just enough power to keep the data in RAM alive. Ideally a backup of system files would be on the hard drive in case the power got killed entirely.

Obviously the second option wouldn't be easy to implement, but I'm really surprised Microsoft has tried it yet. Everyone needs to remember though that computer hardware hasn't changed in decades. Its just gotten faster.

 

[TrIpWiRe31337]

how exactly would I do that...?

How would I copy the files to the RAM? I have never once been able to store things in ram, even for the time that the computer is on. does it require a certain program or something. Sorry, I am really not this dumb about computers, but somethings are just kinda above my level. I am going to assume that the price of that ram is not cheap, where can I find some?

 

[Ryan97]

I can't be done, there is no way you can pick, choose, and sort what is stored on ram and what is kept, and also what dosen't get cleared and moved to virtual memory.

Something would have to be built like the Apple was , with that specific task in mind.

 

[pcostanz]

Actually, there is a way to do it sortof, but it's limited. I've often thought about doing it, but I'd suggest upping your machine to a GIG of ram first.

The idea is to create a RAM DRIVE prior to the OS boot, you would then do a direct copy of the files that take the biggest hit load-wise to the ram drive. After that, your os would load those files from the ram drive. This is very messy, and with the boot speed of XP <25 sec it's not really worth it.

The alternative is to store the OS or part of it to ROM/EPROM. But you'd need a fairly sizable chip and a rom burner. But in the end it should be faster than loading to disk.

Oh, one last idea, flash ram. You can buy flash ram in some fashion now. They have Flash ram drives, but you need to check the speed, because Flash ram is not nearly as fast as RAM. I think I'll check on this one and post back, because it's such an interesting topic for me

 

[pcostanz]

Ok, I'm back.. quick eh...

Conclusion, it can be done, but there is no benefit.

Sandisk makes ATA Flash drives up to 512 MB with a burst rates only up to 8 MB /sec (UDMA 100 bursts at 100MB)

Pen drive, getting by the compatibility issue of booting data from it since it's pnp, will only do 750kb / sec.

So, the best solution is to minimize what is loading from your drive, and run the bootvis software from a fast hard drive.

You could get a 10,000RPM drive, I bet that would load somewhere around the 12-16 sec range which is pretty darn fast.

One last thought, you could always use HIBERNATE, that would store data/OS to your drive and simulate a faster boot, but there is no real boot occurring.


Good luck,
Pete