Does adding Macrium Boot Menu to Windows significantly slow boot times?


Mooly

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W11 Pro x64 22H2
Bit of a strange question I know.

I've just clean installed 22H2, all configured and also installed Macrium Home but without adding the boot menu. I'm struck by how fast the system boots up taking around 9 seconds to reach the login screen. Shutdown is similarly super rapid.

My last installation of W11 which was also clean installed back in June took about 32 seconds to reach the login screen. Shutdown was not all that rapid either. It was noticeable to me how slow boot up seemed for a pretty well specced laptop.

I know you get the 5 seconds (if you set it that way) of the Macrium splash screen that will add to the total time of course but the difference is so dramatic that I wonder whether something else might have been going on.

Any thoughts? Does Macrium slow things beyond the Macrium splash screen time or do you find it has no impact on boot times?
 
Windows Build/Version
22H2 Clean Install

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro x64 22H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 7760 Mobile Precision 17"
    CPU
    Intel i5
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Hard Drives
    2 x 256Gb SSD
    PSU
    Dell 240 watt
    Mouse
    Dell Premier Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Default Microsoft Security
Does Macrium slow things beyond the Macrium splash screen time or do you find it has no impact on boot times?
No. The only addition to the boot time is the timeout on the boot choice menu. I just hit Enter as soon as I see mine.

Adding Macrium to the boot menu makes no changes to how Windows boots, it's just an extra option for you to choose from. Choose Windows and it continues using exactly the same boot sequence as before.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
Thanks Bree. I will probably add the boot menu in the next day or so.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro x64 22H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 7760 Mobile Precision 17"
    CPU
    Intel i5
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Hard Drives
    2 x 256Gb SSD
    PSU
    Dell 240 watt
    Mouse
    Dell Premier Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Default Microsoft Security
So......

Boot menu added and now boot times have increased dramatically. Now taking 26 seconds to reach the Macrium screen vs 9 seconds to reach the Windows login screen before.

Just a suspicion but these times are those you would expect with fast start turned off. I wonder if Macrium overrides that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro x64 22H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 7760 Mobile Precision 17"
    CPU
    Intel i5
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Hard Drives
    2 x 256Gb SSD
    PSU
    Dell 240 watt
    Mouse
    Dell Premier Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Default Microsoft Security
So......

Boot menu added and now boot times have increased dramatically. Now taking 26 seconds to reach the Macrium screen vs 9 seconds to reach the Windows login screen before.

Just a suspicion but these times are those you would expect with fast start turned off. I wonder if Macrium overrides that.
You are not comparing like for like.

How long does it take to get to Windows login screen?

When you have a multiboot menu, the default host time should be the same.

When you select another boot option, you effectively reboot into Windows manager a second time, so it can boot to selected (non default) boot option.

The only way you can speed up Reflect boot is to make it the default OS which is reallly silly as you would slow down bootong of Host OS.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
How long does it take to get to Windows login screen?

The set up was clean install of 22H2 onto unallocated SSD. All configured and with Macrium installed but not at this point with boot menu installed.

Boot time to Windows login screen was 9 seconds.

Now I add the boot menu.

Boot time to Windows login screen (I've just timed it) was around 35 seconds which includes 5 seconds of the Macrium screen. It took 30 seconds to reach the Macrium screen.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro x64 22H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 7760 Mobile Precision 17"
    CPU
    Intel i5
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Hard Drives
    2 x 256Gb SSD
    PSU
    Dell 240 watt
    Mouse
    Dell Premier Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Default Microsoft Security
More thoughts...

Could Bitlocker be having an impact? I looked in task manager at 'Startup' and it shows 'last BIOS time' as 5.7 seconds.

No idea if that is relevant or not.

Searching for answers has turned up a couple of Macrium threads (Macrium Forum) over the last few years where others have complained of the same. There was no real outcome that I could see.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro x64 22H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 7760 Mobile Precision 17"
    CPU
    Intel i5
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Hard Drives
    2 x 256Gb SSD
    PSU
    Dell 240 watt
    Mouse
    Dell Premier Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Default Microsoft Security
More thoughts...

Could Bitlocker be having an impact? I looked in task manager at 'Startup' and it shows 'last BIOS time' as 5.7 seconds.

No idea if that is relevant or not.

Searching for answers has turned up a couple of Macrium threads (Macrium Forum) over the last few years where others have complained of the same. There was no real outcome that I could see.
Hard to say but you could turn bitlocker off to test it?

Also check if fast startup is enabled in Windows and even fastboot from bios?

The other thing to try is remove the Reflect boot entry and seeif it reverts?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
Also check if fast startup is enabled in Windows and even fastboot from bios?

It is set in Windows and I find it makes no difference now to the boot time whether it be on or off. Before adding the boot menu it did.

The other thing to try is remove the Reflect boot entry and seeif it reverts?

This is something I have found mentioned on the Macrium forums. Those with this issue all report that removing the boot menu restored the boot time.

I haven't looked in the BIOS for anything related to fast starts. I'll do that later.

Also I have asked this over on the Macrium forum.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro x64 22H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 7760 Mobile Precision 17"
    CPU
    Intel i5
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Hard Drives
    2 x 256Gb SSD
    PSU
    Dell 240 watt
    Mouse
    Dell Premier Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Default Microsoft Security
To skip that damned boot menu if you only have one single Windows install, and are not dual booting any other OS:
open up System Configuration
Go to Boot tab
click Windows 11 install
set Time out to 0
click apply and close
1664044678520.png
To double check:
open System Properties (Advanced System Settings)
click Advanced tab
go down to Startup and recovery and click settings
1664045201223.png

Unselect the time out option to display operating systems.
1664045349461.png

Leave recovery options selected(or select it if it isn't) as you will get the option to boot into MR there.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win10 Pro, Win10 Pro N, Win10 Home, Windows 8.1 Pro, Ubuntu
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ۞ΞЖ†ԘΜΞ۞
    CPU
    Intel Core i9 9900K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
    Memory
    32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    (1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
    E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
    D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
    G: System Images -> Samsung 860 Pro 2TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
    Case
    Phanteks Enthoo Pro TG
    Cooling
    Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 2x120 Phantek& Halo front, and 1x140 Phanteks
    Keyboard
    Trust GTX THURA
    Mouse
    Trust GTX 148
    Internet Speed
    25+/5+ (+usually faster)
    Browser
    Edge; Chrome;
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as an added layer between browser & OS
    Other Info
    Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
    Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
    Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
why not hide it?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    benq gw2480
    PSU
    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Operating System
    win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    pentium g5400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    1x8gb 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450
Thanks @Cliff S

I've done what you suggest and a first test shutting down and then powering up was definitely much quicker. I'll have more time tomorrow all being well and will have more of a play.

Anyhow as you say, I didn't see the blue options screen this time around, it went straight to the login screen and that was quicker reaching that point.

I'm assuming that if I should want to restore a Macrium image from within Windows then that will work normally... I need to try it all out more.

It's all been a bit of a learning curve but interesting non the less :-)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro x64 22H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 7760 Mobile Precision 17"
    CPU
    Intel i5
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Hard Drives
    2 x 256Gb SSD
    PSU
    Dell 240 watt
    Mouse
    Dell Premier Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Default Microsoft Security
You're welcome, but make an image before restoring, as the changes will need to be reset if they are not imaged yet.
To test make a new image first, then reimage.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win10 Pro, Win10 Pro N, Win10 Home, Windows 8.1 Pro, Ubuntu
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ۞ΞЖ†ԘΜΞ۞
    CPU
    Intel Core i9 9900K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
    Memory
    32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    (1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
    E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
    D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
    G: System Images -> Samsung 860 Pro 2TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
    Case
    Phanteks Enthoo Pro TG
    Cooling
    Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 2x120 Phantek& Halo front, and 1x140 Phanteks
    Keyboard
    Trust GTX THURA
    Mouse
    Trust GTX 148
    Internet Speed
    25+/5+ (+usually faster)
    Browser
    Edge; Chrome;
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as an added layer between browser & OS
    Other Info
    Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
    Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
    Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
you could use a scankey to select the macrium wim file or any bootable wim.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    benq gw2480
    PSU
    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Operating System
    win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    pentium g5400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    1x8gb 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450
You're welcome, but make an image before restoring, as the changes will need to be reset if they are not imaged yet.
To test make a new image first, then reimage.

All seems good Cliff. I did a backup and restore with no issues which was good to see. No problems that I can see with Bitlocker and the restored drive... so fingers crossed.

Boot time is much quicker, I've just timed it at about 12 seconds to reach the login screen.

I'll make notes of what I (you :-) ) did for next time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W11 Pro x64 22H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 7760 Mobile Precision 17"
    CPU
    Intel i5
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    8Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Hard Drives
    2 x 256Gb SSD
    PSU
    Dell 240 watt
    Mouse
    Dell Premier Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    50Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Default Microsoft Security
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