Microsoft Intentionally Slowed Windows Control Panel Performance in the Past

Microsoft’s Control Panel: A Glimpse into Historical Performance Constraints

In August 2023, Microsoft hinted at a potential phase-out of the Windows Control Panel in favor of consolidating features into the Settings app. Following significant media coverage and user feedback, the company retracted these statements, leaving many to speculate about the future of this longstanding utility.

The Role of Control Panel in Windows

The Control Panel has been a fundamental component of the Windows operating system since its inception with Windows 1.0. It serves as a pivotal tool for users to configure and personalize various aspects of their system. This utility encompasses numerous applets dedicated to managing settings, software, and hardware components, making it indispensable for both casual users and IT professionals alike.

Discovery of Performance Throttling in Legacy Systems

A recent revelation by a user on X (formerly Twitter), known as Viorin (@oerg866), shed light on a peculiar limitation in the performance of the Control Panel, specifically in Windows 95 and Windows 98. The user noted a “hard-coded 8-second delay”encountered when adding new hardware through the sysdm.cpl or the “Add New Hardware”feature. This delay was particularly problematic when the Windows Plug and Play (PnP) feature failed to recognize newly connected devices, prompting users to manually add hardware.

Performance Improvement Through Patching

Viorin’s exploration led to a significant enhancement: after applying a patch, the delay was drastically reduced to approximately 300 milliseconds. This modification greatly sped up the process of integrating new hardware into the system. The discovery emerged while the user was testing their QuickInstall open-source framework, designed for creating installation images for Windows 98, within the IBM PC emulator 86Box.

In an attempt to further speed up Windows 9x QuickInstall, I have patched SYSDM.CPL to remove the hard-coded 8 second delay(!!!) when new hardware is found and reduced it to 300 milliseconds. pic.twitter.com/BfGNpSjMfw

— oerg866 / clarry – 🇩🇪❣🇮🇱 (@oerg866) November 4, 2024

More info: It’s technically 8 seconds, first 3 seconds of displaying the generic default class/device name, then it updates the logo and name for the actual device if it found a driver, then another 5. 🤪

— oerg866 / clarry – 🇩🇪❣🇮🇱 (@oerg866) November 4, 2024

Speculations and Implications

As for the rationale behind the initially imposed delay, it remains a topic of speculation. While it may have stemmed from poor coding practices, it could also have been a workaround for specific issues observed by Microsoft at that time. This raises intriguing questions about whether other elements within the classic Control Panel might have similarly constrained performance characteristics.

For those interested in the technical details and implications of this discovery, further insights can be found through the report released by WinFuture.