EDIT: My co-worker, Aaron Margosis, wrote his take on this issue, you can read about it here: Task Managers CPU Numbers Are All But Meaningless! Windows 10 Task Manager is often used by end users to gauge the performance of their machine, especially when they think something is amiss. There are several reasons why this… Continue reading Windows 10 Task Manager ‘% CPU’ skew – A Tale of Two Metrics
Tag: Windows 10
How to collect a boot trace on Windows 10 using xbootmgr
Sometimes in support you’ll be asked to collect a boot trace to help troubleshoot slow boot or slow logon scenarios. The symptoms are a long time passes from startup to the CTRL+ALT+DEL or from CTRL+ALT+DEL to a usable desktop experience. This blog will walk you through the steps needed to do this. While you can… Continue reading How to collect a boot trace on Windows 10 using xbootmgr
Windows 10 20H2 boot trace – dropped events
TLDR: At time of writing, Windows 10 20H2 has a bug where the default buffer allocations in boot tracing are inadequate to capture the data of a boot trace. The fix is pretty simple, use good old xbootmgr instead. This is a binary from the older ADK and gets installed when you install the current… Continue reading Windows 10 20H2 boot trace – dropped events
What’s using your video RAM? Xbox Game Services naturally…
Applies to: Windows 10, Gamers One of my routines when installing Windows 10 fresh (or updating builds when it wipes my preferences) is to change Task Manager’s view to report on additional columns of value. Let me show you what I’m doing: My machine has an uptime of 1 day, 15 hours. I game… Continue reading What’s using your video RAM? Xbox Game Services naturally…
How to boot trace Windows 10 using the in-box wpr.exe (no install needed) [edited 12/26]
Applies to: Windows 10+, Windows Server 2016+ Target audience: People I support primarily. Anyone who wants to perf like a pro? Starting the trace Simply open an administrative command prompt. Then make a directory (if required) to save your recording in. Enter the command, as you would for a normal WPR trace, but using the… Continue reading How to boot trace Windows 10 using the in-box wpr.exe (no install needed) [edited 12/26]
Troubleshooting: Tracking down what executed updates in Windows 10
“Why did I get an update installed on my Windows 10 machine?” At first blush, this sounds like an easy-peasy kinda question to answer. But in a managed enterprise, with multiple IT departments that might not always play nice together, this can be a prickly subject. Because the question really isn’t “Why did this update… Continue reading Troubleshooting: Tracking down what executed updates in Windows 10
Disable Bluetooth in Windows 10
Enterprise administrators sometimes ask, how do I prevent Bluetooth file transfers or radio transmissions in Windows 10. If that’s your scenario, there is not (as time of writing) any GPO to manage this. So Microsoft Technical Solutions Professional Chris Jones to the rescue! PowerShell snippet fit for SCCM or MDT stunts below! # Must be run… Continue reading Disable Bluetooth in Windows 10