14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8.1 is supposed to be the fastest Windows version to date, but it turns out that the new operating system is actually very slow on some machines.
Users are now complaining that Windows 8.1 boots and shuts down extremely slow, with the entire process taking more than 2 minutes, even though no modifications have been made to the default configuration.
This time, incompatible drivers and unsupported apps don’t seem to be the cause, as users who posted the bug on Microsoft’s Community forums claim they’ve tried all possible workarounds.
“I have updated all my drivers to Windows 8.1 compatible ones and still. I have checked via Samsung Magician and the drive is using AHCI mode on (Intel PCH) Sata 3 6Gb/s. I have tried restoring my UEFI to default settings and enabling Fast Boot but still?? On Windows 8 it would boot in 5 seconds...” one user wrote.
Performing a clean boot and a safe boot also make no difference, which could be an indication that the problem relies in the way the operating system handles the booting process.
“I have a ‘new’ HP Envy and the startup is fine but the shutdown takes about 4 minutes. Have run also run CCleaner and SUPERAntiSpyware and the shutdown was fine for one time but then went back to the 4 minute shutdown. Also tried reinstalling a couple of the programs to see if that helped. Nothing,” another user added.
In some cases, updating the BIOS to the latest version and running a few system optimization applications might temporarily improve the boot time, but Redmond clearly needs to address this issue in future updates.
Microsoft is yet to release a comment on this, but the company is probably investigating the reports, which means that a fix could be released sometime in the coming weeks.