FIX: A decrease in startup performance may occur on a Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3-based device that uses the hive-based registry and has the aggressive flushing feature enabled

Consider the following scenario:

• A Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3-based device contains persistent storage.
• The Windows CE 6.0 R3-based device uses the hive-based registry. When the hive-based registry is used, registry management includes managing registry flushing. This is the functionality that periodically copies the registry data to persistent storage.
• The aggressive flushing feature (also known as flush-on-close) is enabled on the device.

In this scenario, the device may experience a decrease in startup performance. The device may start slower than expected if more registry keys than usual are written.

This problem occurs because, when the device has persistent storage, aggressive flushing can cause startup performance issues because of the time that is required to run the RegFlushKey function.

To resolve this problem, apply this update. However, an application that is loaded in a startup sequence that writes many registry keys can still affect the startup performance if there are no other dependencies on the application. In this case, disable the aggressive flushing feature for that particular application. To do this, use the Dependxx registry key to create another application that has a dependency on the first application. 

For example:

For an application (Application1) that writes many registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Init
"Launch90"="App1.exe"

For the application that has dependencies on Application1:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Init
"Launch95"="App2.exe"
"Depend95"=hex:5A,00 

For more information about how to set the Dependxx registry key, visit the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) website:

Software update information

A supported software update is now available from Microsoft as Windows Embedded CE 6.0 Monthly Update July 2011. In the "File information" section, the package file name contains the product version, date, Microsoft Knowledge Base article number, and processor type. The package file name format is as follows: For example: Wincepb60-110128-kb2492159-armv4i.msi is the ARMV4i Windows Embedded CE 6.0 Platform Builder fix that is documented in Knowledge Base article 2492159 and that is contained in the January 2011 monthly update.

To resolve this problem immediately, download this Windows Embedded CE 6.0 Monthly Update in the following Microsoft website.

Microsoft Download Center

Prerequisites

This update is supported only if all previously issued updates for this product have also been installed.

Restart requirement

After you apply this update, you must perform a clean build of the whole platform. To do this, use one of the following methods:

• On the Build menu, click Clean Solution, and then click Build Solution.
• On the Build menu, click Rebuild Solution.

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this software update.

Update replacement information

This update does not replace any other updates.

File information

The English version of this software update package has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

Installer files

Files that are included in this update package

For more information about aggressive flushing, visit the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) website:For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: