22nd July 2002
This tip is for the Windows XP users out there. "The Windows XP operating system achieves excellent performance in part by dynamic adjustments that it makes in response to how a system is utilized. In particular, many adjustments are made when the system first runs following setup and when newly installed applications are used for the first time. These adjustments greatly influence the performance of the system. Unfortunately, the dynamic nature of Windows XP can make benchmarking more of a challenge than with previous Windows versions." To properly benchmark your Windows XP system, there are a few steps you should follow. The step with which we are concerned in this particular tip is letting your PC process any "idle tasks." Idle tasks are tasks that your PC executes when it deems the system to be unused or idle. Some of these include file placement optimization, system restore, and done-once-after-setup work items. "All of these 'idle tasks' are controllable by a system API in advapi32.dll, ProcessIdleTasks. The API's sole purpose is to allow benchmarks a simple way to force any pending idle tasks to be executed immediately, without having to wait a lengthy period of time. To call ProcessIdleTasks from the command line, use this syntax: Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks." Once running, it may take up to around 15 minutes to process all of the idle tasks, and your hard drive will be active through most of it. For more steps on preparing your Windows XP machine for benchmarking, head over to the Windows Platform Development page on Benchmarking for Windows XP on Microsoft's site.