{"id":4294,"date":"2013-12-18T12:30:20","date_gmt":"2013-12-18T17:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=4294"},"modified":"2013-12-18T12:30:20","modified_gmt":"2013-12-18T17:30:20","slug":"exponential-algorithm-making-windows-xp-miserable-could-be-fixed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2013\/12\/18\/exponential-algorithm-making-windows-xp-miserable-could-be-fixed\/","title":{"rendered":"Exponential algorithm making Windows XP miserable could be fixed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Windows XP is really old, and we would suggest that you don\\’t use it unless you really have no option. For the most part, however, that age doesn’t really manifest itself. Sure, the operating system is missing the security features, hardware acceleration, and built-in support for things like USB 3 that newer versions of Windows have, but old software doesn’t have the same issues as, say, old cars. Old software generally runs as well today as it did when it was brand new.<\/p>\n

But Windows XP users have noticed that this isn\\’t entirely true. A bunch of them have found that the old operating system is working considerably worse than when it was released in 2001. The problem is that\u2014especially among those who are still using Internet Explorer 6 or 7\u2014each time you boot your Windows XP machine, it slows to a crawl. There\\’s a built-in process, svchost.exe, chewing up the entire processor, sometimes for an hour or more at a time. Wait long enough after booting and the machine will eventually return to normalcy. But an hour can be a long time to wait.<\/p>\n

Loss of horsepower and trouble starting up are common enough problems in old cars, but we don\\’t really expect the same things to happen on old PCs.<\/p>\n

It looks as if Microsoft has figured out what the problem is\u2014though not at the first time of asking. It\\’s all down to Windows Update. Machines using Windows Update retrieve patch information from Microsoft\\’s servers. That patch information contains information about each patch: what software it applies to (for example, systems that have been upgraded to Internet Explorer 7 or 8 don’t need Internet Explorer 6 patches), what knowledge base article it relates to, and, critically, what historic patch or patches the current patch supersedes.<\/p>\n

Windows patches are mostly cumulative. On a fresh install of Windows XP, you don\\’t need to install all of the dozens of Internet Explorer 6 patches sequentially; you can generally just install the latest patch, and it will include all the historic fixes because it supersedes the historic patches that introduced those fixes.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the Windows Update client components used an algorithm with exponential scaling when processing these lists. Each additional superseded patch would double the time taken to process the list. With the operating system now very old, those lists have grown long, sometimes to 40 or more items. On a new machine, that processing appeared to be almost instantaneous. It is now very slow.<\/p>\n

Microsoft thought that it had this problem fixed in November\\’s Patch Tuesday update after it culled the supersedence lists. That update didn’t appear to fix the problem. The company thought that its December update would also provide a solution, with even more aggressive culling. That didn’t seem to help either. Although the company said that it did test these updates, for one reason or another, its test scenarios didn’t reflect the experience of real Windows XP machines.<\/p>\n

There is hope that a true fix will be developed. The company says that it is working on a new supersedence logic that will “comprehensively solve this problem” and that this work is a “top priority,” with “all the right (and smartest) people” working on it. Unfortunately, there’s no ETA just yet.<\/p>\n

If the fix doesn’t come soon, one suspects that it may never come. Microsoft will cease to update Windows XP in April 2014. At this point, Windows XP users will be able to solve the problem for themselves anyway: they can simply turn off Windows Update forever, since it will no longer update their systems anyway.<\/p>\n

via Exponential algorithm making Windows XP miserable could be fixed | Ars Technica<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Windows XP is really old, and we would suggest that you don\\’t use it unless you really have no option. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,11],"tags":[1236],"class_list":["post-4294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-microsoft","category-windows","tag-windows-xp"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-17g","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6418,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/09\/11\/windows-8-1-overtakes-windows-8-worldwide-as-windows-xp-refuses-to-die\/","url_meta":{"origin":4294,"position":0},"title":"Windows 8.1 overtakes Windows 8 worldwide, as Windows XP ‘refuses to die’","author":"NCCT","date":"September 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Microsoft staff will likely be raising a glass or two, thanks to the latest available data. According to new data released by StatCounter on Tuesday, the latest version of Windows 8.1 has overtaken its predecessor Windows 8 for the first time, in terms of internet usage worldwide. The research firm's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/windows8-1-hero-610x343.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/windows8-1-hero-610x343.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/windows8-1-hero-610x343.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5980,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/07\/15\/future-java-7-security-patches-will-work-on-windows-xp-despite-end-of-official-support\/","url_meta":{"origin":4294,"position":1},"title":"Future Java 7 security patches will work on Windows XP despite end of official support","author":"NCCT","date":"July 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Oracle has dispelled rumors that the upcoming security update for Java 7 and those it will release in the future might not work on Windows XP. \u201cWe expect all versions of Java that were supported prior to the Microsoft de-support announcement to continue to work on Windows XP for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Security"","block_context":{"text":"Security","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/security\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6235,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/08\/15\/how-long-before-microsoft-windows-xp-disappears\/","url_meta":{"origin":4294,"position":2},"title":"How long before Microsoft Windows XP disappears?","author":"NCCT","date":"August 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Netmarketshare's monthly updates on the state of the operating system and browser markets are useful not because the numbers are accurate \u2014 they clearly have a margin of error \u2014 but because they show trends. The most obvious trend at the moment is the decline of Microsoft's ancient Windows XP.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/ziff-xpv7-2014-july-600-x-320-600x320.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/ziff-xpv7-2014-july-600-x-320-600x320.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/ziff-xpv7-2014-july-600-x-320-600x320.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7981,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/04\/02\/a-year-after-its-demise-windows-xp-still-has-more-users-than-windows-8-and-8-1-combined\/","url_meta":{"origin":4294,"position":3},"title":"A year after its demise, Windows XP still has more users than Windows 8 and 8.1 combined","author":"NCCT","date":"April 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"With the upcoming anniversary of Windows XP reaching the end of its life, the OS still has more users than Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 combined. According to NetMarketShare, Windows XP still holds a market share of 16.94% as of March 2015. In the same report it shows that Windows\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8744,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/11\/11\/8744\/","url_meta":{"origin":4294,"position":4},"title":"Chrome to drop support for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and older Mac OS X versions in 2016","author":"NCCT","date":"November 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"By Ian Ginos | Neowin Google Chrome, by some estimates the world's third most popular desktop web browser, will cease to support older versions of Microsoft's Windows and Apple's OS X operating systems. In a recent blog post, Google announced that it intends to discontinue support for Chrome on Windows\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apple"","block_context":{"text":"Apple","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/apple\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5605,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/05\/23\/dailytech-forget-windows-xp-says-game-of-thrones-author-dos-is-the-best-os\/","url_meta":{"origin":4294,"position":5},"title":"DailyTech – Forget Windows XP, Says Game of Thrones Author, DOS is the Best OS","author":"NCCT","date":"May 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows 8 may not excite some, but Mr. Martin makes a compelling case why even Windows XP may be unattractive Windows 8 is proving to be a release much like Windows Vista for Microsoft Corp. (MSFT). 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