USB boot speed

[Ponch]

I've noticed different systems boot (for instance BartPE on USB) at very different speeds, and it's not really dependant on the power of the system itself. Some go fast all the way, some go slow then faster, some go slow all the way. Is it a question of (different types/drivers) USB reading speed or rather the complexity of the machine that makes the OS search for more device drivers ? Can you integrate USB drivers like you integrate "storage drivers" Bart's way to optimize speed ? Bart says you can integrate "only" storage or NIC drivers. Anybody got experience on this ? I hope this is not too off topic. I searched a bit on www.911cd.net but got a bit confused, it says booting from DVD takes 3minutes but from USB takes 15minutes. Something must have changed in between. My Sempron 1.6GHz notebook from 2005 boots to "network settings" in 24 seconds, other systems from 2007 (a dual Xeon 1.6 or an AMD 64x2@2.0) take about 2 minutes. Am I just lucky with that Sempron ? I used PE2USB provided in Wimb's package.

[ilko_t]

It depends on your motherboard/BIOS. Some MBs boot at full USB 2.0 speed, some at 1.1 or even 1.0 speeds. When usb driver takes control, speed is at 2.0. Unfortunately with PE/Text setup this happens after all drivers are loaded, when you see "windows is starting...". AFAIK Setup reads drivers (when you see "loading usbstor....", but initialized later, at "windows is starting...", thus playing with their order doesn't help at all.

There is not published/known way to load USB driver earlier, apart from (may be) using ntbootdd.sys. Such is being made, with some progress, look here:

http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=20450

edit: forgot to mention another way, which have many disadvantages- load proper USB driver for DOS, call Grub4Dos, load whatever else you want next. Finding proper USB DOS driver could be tricky and incompatible on other hardware/USB controller.

Edited February 7, 2008 by ilko_t

[Ponch]

Thanks. I also remember now that to add storage drivers, one use "TXTSETUP.OEM" files which USB drivers don't provide. So this could have answered part of my question as well.

[jaclaz]

FYI, in a couple of seemingly unrelated threads, here:

http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?sho...c=20983&hl=

and here:

http://www.boot-land.net/forums/XPSP1-with...0-MB-t3717.html

we are trying to get very reduced systems in order (also) to "better play" with the loading of drivers, expecially USB "boot" ones.

Nothing useful has (yet) come out, but maybe we'll get soon somewhere .

jaclaz

[ilko_t]

...I also remember now that to add storage drivers, one use "TXTSETUP.OEM" files which USB drivers don't provide. So this could have answered part of my question as well.

XP/2kX has own USB drivers, the problem is, that they are started together with the other drivers too late. If you have too many mass storage drivers for example, all have to be loaded, once all drivers are, they are initialized and USB control is passed to the drivers.

If you have ntbootdd.sys in root with ntldr and in boot.ini instead of multi use scsi, this driver is loaded first, by NTLDR itself, you could get USB 2.0 speed. This has to be USB miniport driver, which is being made. Invoke bootsector calling setupldr.bin and the rest of Setup is in USB 2.0 speed, in theory

[aviv00]

where i could find this file ntbootdd.sys

and how i make vista setup load as usb2 too ?

edited:

i tired to rename usbstor to ntbootdd but doesnt seem to work faster

Edited September 2, 2008 by aviv00