How to simulate a reboot in Win7 for testing application cold-start time

Question

In order to measure application' cold-start time, I have to reboot my machine every time, which is really time-consuming. I understand it is mission impossible to simulate a real reboot, but what I want is something rough, ex, put out cache in standby list as many as possible so the warm start won't be so warm anymore.

Any ideas on this?

Thanks

Answer 1

I would run a modern game and quit it immediately. All the loading most modern games do should be enough to overwrite all cached data. And perhaps running a mp3 or video while starting your app will be enough to simulate OS startup, but thats maybe too much :)

Answer 2

A virtual machine would be your best bet. The virtual machine will provide a clean slate for the app, but it will be much quicker to reload the virtual machine image than your physical machine.

Answer 3

There are applications out there that 'clear' your RAM... However, they can take awhile... So you are better off rebooting. Also on Win7 disable superfetch for this kind of functionality; the service caches things you do in RAM.

Answer 4

I agree with the VM approach. You might also try "logging off" your current user, and logging back on.