Windows "performance"?

[Frits Jalvingh]

Hi List,

I'm evaluating Bazaar but I'm noticing something very strange. I have a
repository containing almost no history, but the working tree contains
about 500MB of source files (mostly java sources and some jars), about
58000 files. 

If I branch this repository on my machine, a portable with a 5400TPM
SATA-II harddisk, on Reiserfs, running Ubuntu Hardy, it takes about 45
to 60 seconds which is very reasonable.

But if I do the same on a Windows XP machine (with a 7500TPM SATA-II
harddisk and 2GB ram, on NTFS) it takes about 5 to 7 bloody MINUTES.
This is on a machine with about the same speed processor, a faster
harddisk and the same amount of memory (2GB) as the portable; and it is
the same on at least three different machines.

I already switched off the virus scanner completely on the machine and
checked for other funny stuff running; the only thing using CPU is
Bazaar (around 30 to 50 % CPU). I also checked the usual suspects like
the correct disk/controller drivers, using DMA (cannot be seen for SATA)
and slaughtered chickens/Voodoo style but I don't see anything amiss.

Apparently file I/O on a Windows machine (you know, that OS that you pay
for and which is built by a monopolist with what is it? 40 bln dollar?
on the bank) is easily 5 to 7 times SLOWER on disk IO than Linux!?!?!

Doing an "xcopy" of the branch takes almost the same time as branching,
so I think it's safe to assume that Bazaar is not to blame.

I also tried branching the same repository from a smart server running
on some Linux server to those Windows machines and by gosh- that is
faster (around 4m 30s). Again an indication that IO over the network is
faster than IO to the local disk.

I'm no fan of Microsoft (I just spent another day trying to work around
problems in the utter piece of garbage that is Windows Mobile/CE/Pocket
PC/Embedded - really a good motivator to get rid of anything with the
Windows logo on it) but even I find it hard to believe that Windows is
*this* slow!?!

I now also understand why Eclipse on Windows has been such a lousy
experience for my developer colleagues: it does lots of file IO too; and
while my Eclipse is snappy, and compiling the above workspace takes a
minute one of my developers told me that on his machine a full compile
takes > 10 minutes....

Has anyone similar experiences? Is Windows really this crappy? Any tips
on where to change things to get Windoze to get faster?

And yes, I know I could move my developers to Ununtu too.. And actually
even the die-hard Windows fanboys between them were suddenly talking
about whether that would be possible.  But we build something which runs
on Windows, and we need to test there so I do not see that happening
very fast...