Microsoft Warns of Slow Startup Bug in Several Windows Versions

Microsoft has recently acknowledged a new bug hitting Windows devices, but the good news for consumers this time is that they’re not affected.

The company explains in a support document (via TechDows) that certain computers might experience a slow startup sequence if persistent memory is being used.

“After you configure a Windows-based computer to use large amounts of memory, including persistent memory, the computer takes longer than expected to start up. Additionally, increased CPU usage occurs for a short time after startup. Increased CPU usage occurs when an application frees and reallocates large ranges of memory in rapid succession,” Microsoft says.

The company adds that it’s all a known issue and that a future update would include additional optimizations for the startup in order to resolve this behavior.

Affected Windows versions

As said, Windows 10 consumer versions aren’t affected by the bug, and Microsoft says it can confirm the slow startup might be experienced on the following Windows editions:

Microsoft explains that the bug is only triggered when the persistent memory is used in memory mode, as everything appears to be working correctly with normal system startup times when this feature is set as a storage device.

“Persistent memory is used for both Windows clients and Windows servers. If you configure a system to use large amounts of memory, including persistent memory, additional startup time is required. During restarts and during freeing memory at runtime, the system must clear all physical memory before that memory can be used,” Microsoft explains.

At this point, there’s no additional information as to when a fix could be shipped, but for the time being, there is a chance only a limited number of devices are affected.