The system registry is (maybe?) written to the disk. Back when I used Windows XP, I noticed that if you made any changes to the registry then pulled the power, the changes would not be saved. I am not quite sure about this one, just pointing it out.
Here is an excerpt from a document that Microsoft released:
- System session shutdown. This phase includes the pre-shutdown notification and shutdown notification sub-phases.
- Pre-shutdown notification. Windows serially shuts down all services that registered to receive pre-shutdown notifications. Ordered services—services that have set up the shutdown order of dependent services—are shut down before non-ordered services.
- Shutdown notification. All services that registered to receive shutdown notifications are shut down in parallel. If all services have not exited after 20 seconds (in Windows Vista) or 12 seconds (in Windows 7 client operating systems), the system continues the shutdown. Processes and services that do not shut down in a timely manner are left running as the system shuts down.
- Kernel shutdown. The remainder of the system, such as all devices and drivers, are shut down during the kernel shutdown phase.
Basically, what you are waiting on is each individual service to clean up and exit. Each service is given 12 seconds to exit before it is killed.
Half of the shutdown time is dedicated to shutting down system services. If you are really interesting in seeing what time is dedicated to whatever during a shutdown, Windows includes a tool for tracing shutdown time.
- xbootmgr -trace shutdown -numRuns 3 -resultPath %systemdrive% races -postBootDelay 180 -traceFlags base
And to make sense of the generated file (be sure to run in %systemdrive% races)
- xperf -i trace.etl -o summary.xml -a shutdown
Sources
Windows On/Off Transition Performance Analysis Document [Microsoft]
Windows On/Off Transitions Solutions Guide Document [Microsoft]
What is Actually Happening When a Windows Computer is Shutting Down? | Dramel Notes
How to Jump to Any Registry Key Instantly on Windows | Dramel Notes
The Registry Editor in Windows is an indispensable tool — especially for fixing various Windows errors — but it can be somewhat annoying to use due to its overly-simplistic design.
One of the more frustrating aspects is that moving from one key to another can take a lot of time as it involves a lot of opening-and-closing of folder trees. But with Registry Key Jumper, you can visit any registry key in the blink of an eye.
It works like this: You run the program and it sits quietly in the background. Whenever you see a registry key path, just copy it with your cursor and press Ctrl+Alt+X. This launches the Registry Editor and points it at the highlighted key path.
The hotkey can be changed to whatever you want in the program’s settings. Also, if you highlight text that contains a registry key path somewhere within it, the program will understand and strip all of the unnecessary text.
Best of all, it’s a portable app so you can carry it around with you on a USB drive (or keep it on cloud storage) and use it anywhere you go.
So the next time you want to tweak your Windows registry, be sure to use this app to save time and make your life as easy as possible.
Did you find this tool useful? Know of any other tools that do the same thing or better? Let us know in the comments below!
Image Credit: Windows Key by charnsitr via Shutterstock