Windows 7 boots more slowly than Vista

Personnel at Iolo Technologies, a vendor of system utility software, have found that Windows 7 often takes more time to boot than Windows Vista.

According to a CNET News article by Ina Fried, Iolo’s lab unit “found that a brand-new machine running Windows 7 takes a minute and 34 seconds to become usable, as compared to a minute and 6 seconds for Windows Vista.” In defining boot time, Iolo measured how long the operating system took to become fully useable “with CPU cycles no longer significantly high and a true idle state achieved.”

Iolo’s results mirror the experience of CNET testers, and apparently many TechRepublic users. In August 2009, I asked members which Windows version they believe had the fastest, most stable boot process?

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As of this writing, over 6,000 members have taken the poll, and Windows XP is the clear winner with 58 percent of the vote. In all fairness to Windows 7, the numbers are likely skewed by the prevalence of Windows XP among those responding to the poll.

If you’ve been playing with Widows 7, what’s your boot experience been like? Has it been faster or slower compared to other Windows versions?