How To: Collect ETL/WPT tracing diagnostics when you can never logon to the host.

First, guess who's back?! Me! I left Microsoft of my own accord last year. I came back. I wrote this about my experience, I hope you enjoy it. There and back again, an IT tale… Anyways, I was asked a few times recently, Dude, how do you collect an ETW trace for boot/logon if the… Continue reading How To: Collect ETL/WPT tracing diagnostics when you can never logon to the host.

Xperf for the layman, performance analysis unchained, Windows Assessment Toolkit revealed.

If you have been following along in performance land the last year or three, you’d hear about xperf and the WPT (Windows Performance Toolkit).  Mayhap you’ve had some time to practice and you know what you are doing.  Cool.  This tool might still interest you. If you, on the other hand, haven’t heard of these,… Continue reading Xperf for the layman, performance analysis unchained, Windows Assessment Toolkit revealed.

Download this KB now!

And test it first please. An enterprise hotfix rollup is available for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2775511 This is a collection of the various updates we kept (we being PFEs who do WDRAP in particular) and Yong Rhee published for us, like http://blogs.technet.com/b/yongrhee/archive/2012/02/19/list-of-performance-hotfixes-post-sp1-for-windows-7-sp1.aspx. This is now a Rollup for Enterprises. … Continue reading Download this KB now!

20 minute delay deploying Windows 7 on 802.1x? Fix it here!

Someone mentioned to me that he has a 20 minute delay deploying Windows 7 to 801.1x EAP networks.  They noted http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978152 which is “A Windows Vista-based or Windows Server 2008-based computer does not respond to 802.1X authentication requests for 20 minutes after a failed authentication”.   But didn’t see a fix similar for Windows 7. … Continue reading 20 minute delay deploying Windows 7 on 802.1x? Fix it here!

The Microsoft Premier Field Engineer (PFE) view on Virtual Desktop (VDI) Density

For some, VDI is about density. How many guests can we stuff into a host with performance and user experience still at acceptable levels? This script is the clarion call for those, a herald in dark times of performance degradation. It is, the script a couple PFEs wrote… It makes an image lean but supportable.… Continue reading The Microsoft Premier Field Engineer (PFE) view on Virtual Desktop (VDI) Density

What does a good boot look like (aka, what should I be happy with)?

It’s a question I wasn’t prepared for in class last week, but one that made sense really.  For the IT Pro that doesn’t eat breath and sleep this stuff, what does a good or ‘fair’ trace look like? Something like this: What we are looking at here is a boot up that finishes before 45… Continue reading What does a good boot look like (aka, what should I be happy with)?

How to collect a trace for audio or video problems in Windows 7

Assume the following:  You have a Windows 7 host that you want to collect a trace from.  The user complains of audio issues, stuttering, latency, etc…or video frame rate is low.  Something annoying. Like my previous post, lets cover a few basic rules here as we get started: 1.  If host = Windows 7 AND… Continue reading How to collect a trace for audio or video problems in Windows 7

How to collect a good boot trace on Windows 7

Assume the following:  You have a Windows 7 host that you want to collect a trace from.  A good trace.  One that you know other people will be able to decipher as well as yourself.  Maybe I’ve asked you to collect a boot trace so I can look at it and pointed you to this… Continue reading How to collect a good boot trace on Windows 7

Ladies and Gentleman (and low lifes), it is with outstanding pleasure tonight that I am able to present to you, the reader, with an xperf trace….

For those who didn’t yet know, the Dude is a fan of old school rap.  So one of these days, not much to do, I was chillin with my old school crew and I ran into a slow boot scenario… (Yes, I am in fact listening to Mona Lisa by Slick Rick the Ruler!) So… Continue reading Ladies and Gentleman (and low lifes), it is with outstanding pleasure tonight that I am able to present to you, the reader, with an xperf trace….

Yet another xperf analysis post

Pump up the volume, Pump up the volume… Slow Boot: Yep, that’s slow.  Clearly not in CPU usage though…what about disk? Nope (the dude knows nothing about this trace except he (when looking at it the first time) named it ROFLCOPTER)…. So basically the system hangs at boot from 30 second mark through to 350… Continue reading Yet another xperf analysis post

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