Problems with prolonged login times for Windows 7 users using solid background colors persisted for a span of four months before Microsoft finally addressed the issue.
In the early days of Windows 7's release, between June 2009 and November 2009, some users experienced longer startup times when using a solid color background rather than a wallpaper. This issue, which affected users who disliked graphical backgrounds, was caused by a programming error in the operating system.
Microsoft veteran Raymond Chen, in his Old New Thing blog post, pondered over this delayed startup issue and provided example code that he believed caused the delay in the Windows 7 startup process for users with simple solid color backgrounds.
The root cause of the problem was that the Windows 7 logon system was waiting for the desktop wallpaper bitmap to load and a report that this process was complete. When a solid color wallpaper was set, the system failed to send the internal message indicating that the desktop was ready, causing a delay of up to 30 seconds at startup.
This delay was not due to the actual time it took for all systems to report ready, but rather the Windows Welcome screen remaining on screen for the full duration. The report that the wallpaper was ready was inside the wallpaper bitmap code, causing the logon system to wait in vain if no wallpaper bitmap was present.
This issue was compounded for users who enabled the "hide desktop icons" policy, which prevented some essential elements from loading properly, further increasing the wait time.
Fortunately, Microsoft acknowledged the problem and fixed it after about four months of Windows 7's reign. The fix ensured that the system correctly recognized when the desktop was ready regardless of whether a solid color or wallpaper was used, thereby eliminating the delay.
In summary, the longer startup times experienced by users with solid color backgrounds on Windows 7 were due to a programming error in the operating system. This issue was resolved by Microsoft in November 2009, improving the perceived responsiveness of Windows 7 during startup for users preferring solid color backgrounds.
| Problem | Cause | Resolution | |--------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|---------------------------------| | Longer startup with solid color background | System couldn't signal "desktop ready" with solid color wallpaper | Microsoft patched the boot process in Nov 2009 |
Technology played a significant role in the issue of longer startup times experienced by some Windows 7 users with solid color backgrounds. The root cause was a programming error in the operating system's code that made the logon system wait for the desktop wallpaper bitmap to load, even when a solid color was set as the background. This delay was resolved by Microsoft in November 2009, demonstrating the importance of timely technology updates and addressing programming errors to ensure smooth user experiences.
