Computing

That’s Windows 7, not a mini-Linux OS like Splashtop. It’s also from a powered-off state, not sleep mode. Pretty impressive. And much of that speed comes from turning on a laptop’s devices (hard disk, ports, etc.) in just one second.

Phoenix’s Instant Boot BIOS is UEFI based, which means it can turn on those devices simultaneously to hit that roughly one second mark. Regular BIOS types—used by most current notebooks—turn on devices one at a time. That’s why it takes up to 10 seconds before the operating system even gets the chance to load.

In this demo from the Intel Developer’s Forum, a Lenovo T400s boots a usable Windows 7 desktop in about 10 seconds. It’s also helped by a solid-state hard disk, and has a clean install without any crap-ware.

Phoenix says it can improve that time further with tweaks specific to individual laptops. It didn’t say if any big names had signed the tech up, but I’m thinking some will. Waiting for your laptop to load is an inconvenience we’ve learned to live with, but I’d pay a little extra to make it a thing of the past. What about you? [LAPTOP Magazine and GottaBeMobile]