In 2009, when Windows 7 was released, users experienced delays of up to 30 seconds during boot-up if their desktop background was set to a solid color. This peculiar issue puzzled many. Recently, Microsoft developer Raymond Chen shed light on the situation, revealing the intricacies of the Windows startup process.
The delay was attributed to a bug present in early Windows 7 systems. Although some users appreciated the simplicity of solid-color backgrounds, they didn’t realize these configurations could inadvertently slow down the system booting time. When Windows starts, it waits for various components, like desktop icons and the taskbar, to become active before displaying the desktop. If any of these elements was missing—like when using a solid color—it could cause the system to pause for up to 30 seconds, resulting in the appearance that the PC was frozen.
This issue was particularly evident for users who had enabled specific group policies, which often added delays as their code was processed after the main startup sequence. Thankfully, this glitch primarily affected Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 in the latter part of 2009. Microsoft addressed the problem by November of that year.
Windows 7 was widely praised for its improvements over Windows Vista, and while it remained popular for years, its usage has declined significantly. As of now, only 2.5% of Windows PCs still run on Windows 7, according to StatCounter. Microsoft has long stopped providing support for this operating system, and various major software platforms, including Steam, have ceased supporting it as well. Nevertheless, some applications like Firefox continue to offer limited support for Windows 7 users.