Recently, CNET ran an article claiming that Windows 7 boot times are actually slower than the boot times for Windows Vista. Not surprisingly, this shocked a lot of people who thought the opposite was true. Before taking that news as face value, though, lets examine the data. First of all, the source for the news is a little suspect: the company, Iolo, who provided the info, is known for its “System Mechanic” software. According to their website, System Mechanic is designed to boost Windows speeds up to 800%. Specifically, the software has a myriad of optimization tools for achieving better boot times. Perhaps a little conflict of interest there?

While I’m sure System Mechanic is a fine product, it’s odd that the only news about slower boot times in 7 comes from a company selling software designed to speed them up.

Meanwhile, several bloggers wrote of their skepticism surrounding Iolo’s claims. One, Andrew Thomas of TG Daily , even went so far as to run a few tests of his own. His findings, although entirely unscientific, showed his Windows 7 PC went from cold start to desktop in 50 seconds - not the minute, 34 seconds that Iolo said it would take.