Tag: windows kernel

Windows 7 Increased Performance

Microsoft is optimizing Windows 7 in order to increase performance, and, in this context, the dispatcher lock is one of the components that has got cut off . According to the Redmond company, fewer hardware locks are synonymous with boosted parallelism, namely a new level of efficiency when it comes down to taking advantage of modern processing architectures. This is valid for Windows Server 2008 R2, namely Windows 7 Server, and, naturally, also for the Windows 7 client, since the two operating systems share the same code base.

“With Windows 7, the dispatcher lock is replaced with several finer-grained synchronization techniques, thus effectively distributing resource contention. The main benefits for applications include increased system performance and more optimal use of available hardware resources,” Phil Pennington, Windows Server Technical Evangelism, revealed.

Evolving from Windows Vista, Windows 7 is embracing the many core CPU world, delivering the promise of enhanced performance through the advantage represented by parallel computing. However, in order for Win7 to be tailored to many core processors, the platform’s kernel had to be freed from past relics such as the dispatcher lock. Read More»

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Resolve Occasional XP SP3 Stop Errors on Restart

A couple of updates is all that it takes for occasional stop errors affecting Windows XP-based computers to not be a nuisance at all. According to Microsoft, all versions of Windows XP, including Service Pack 3, can return a stop error message that kills the restart process. However, the company emphasized that the issues were occasional at best, and that, in this context, end-users might not even come across the restart failures. Still, when it comes down to reboot cycling tests, the problems are more likely to occur.

“When you restart a Windows XP-based computer, you may receive one of the following Stop error messages: Stop 0×00000050 (parameter1, 00000000, parameter3, 0×00000000) – PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA and Stop 0×0000008E (0xc0000005, parameter2, parameter3, 0×00000000) – KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED,” Microsoft explained. “The parameters in these Stop error messages may vary, depending on the actual configuration. The symptoms of a Stop error may vary, depending on your computer’s system failure options.” Read More»

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