ASRock Instant Boot

Finally, the last utility in this list is called ASRock Instant Boot. The last but not the least, according to ASRock. For example, all ASRock web-sites have the following header: “Boot up to Windows in 4 seconds!” The utility has very simple looks. In fact, it is merely a menu where you can either activate Instant Boot mode or disable it.

There are two possible settings: Fast Mode that enables 4-second booting and Regular Mode, in which the system will take a little longer to boot, but it will still be very quickly. In the former case all the data is stored in the system RAM that is why everything boots so quickly. However, the system must receive power. The second mode implies that the data is stored on the hard drive, but in this case the computer can be unplugged from the power source.

As you can easily understand, ASRock Instant Boot uses very familiar Windows power-saving technologies, such as Sleep and Hibernation. Although there are still a few differences. What happens when the user picks one of these two modes? The current system status is saved in the RAM or on the system HDD, system shuts down, but returns back to operational very quickly after turning on.

With ASRock Instant Boot things are a little bit different. The user shuts down the system, but instead of shutting down the system reboots, saves the status in the memory or on hard drive depending on the mode, and then immediately shuts down. As a result, it comes back to life very quickly after turning on.

Formally, this approach takes even a little more time, but the plan is crystal clear and smart. We shut down the system and leave, and it doesn’t really matter how much time it will take for the system to shut down. When we turn it back on, we have a goal, we are ready to get to work, but instead we sit and wait for the operating system to finally load. With ASRock Instant Boot we don’t take into account that it took the system longer to shut down. It doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is the fact that we get the system up and running in no time.

Of course, this approach does have its drawbacks and restrictions. It will not work for the computers with multiple users, each with his or her own profile requiring a login and password entry. When the system goes into sleep or hibernation mode, we get the system back up the way we left it – with all the running applications. ASRock Instant Boot gives us a clean OS. However, there is an advantage to that: we don’t drag all the “junk” info with us. All in all, I am sure there will be users who will benefit a lot from ASRock Instant Boot. And we would like to add a few extra points to ASRock’s total score for creativity.