
A Brief introduction to Windows Performance Toolkit
This lecture will show you how to download and install Windows Performance Toolkit.
Windows Performance Toolkit use a Windows built in facility called Event tracing, to record traces. I'll introduce the concept behind Event tracing and how WPT use this mechanism to record events and analyse them later on.
Recording a trace is the first step when troubleshooting a performance issue. In this lecture I'll show you how to use Windows Performance Recorder (WPR) to record a trace according to the issue you want to handle.
Learn to create and organize synchronized analysis views with cpu and disk graphs, rename tabs, and manage multiple traces using color-coded tabs and separate analysis view instances.
Explore graphs and tables showing CPU usage for processes over time, with synchronized highlights, tooltips, filtering to a single process, and zoom for focused analysis.
Learn to configure tables in WPA, use the view editor to add columns like thread ID and stack, and interpret the gold and blue bars to analyze explorer.exe CPU usage.
Configure symbols in WPA to reveal function names in call stacks using PDB files and online symbol servers, with a local cache or network path for performance.
Explore how threads use stacks to pass parameters, store locals, and resume execution as work transfers, with Windows performance analyzer reading call stacks top to bottom using LIFO.
Demonstrates how to generate debug symbols, record a trace with WPR, and read thread call stacks in WPA to analyze functions A, B, and C and their waits.
An introduction to Processes and threads concepts.
Explore how the Windows dispatcher schedules thread execution using priority, quantum, and thread states, and how context-switching and preemption manage ready, running, and waiting threads.
In this case study, I'll show you how to use the critical path analysis to identify what causes SQL Management Studio slow startup.
In this real case study, You will learn how to identify what causes a user logon delay on Windows domain joined machine. In this part, I'll show the how to use the critical path analysis technique.
In the second and third part I'll show you the use of the Generic Events and the Regions of Interest graphs.
Use the generic events graph to analyze winlogon events and identify gaps in the logon phase. For example, a 31-second gap illustrates how to hunt boot delays.
Use regions of interest in WPA to quickly trace boot and logon behavior from pre-session init to winlogon by loading boot catalogs and inspecting time-span events.
In this case, I will show you how to troubleshoot a delay that occurs when running a program as an Administrator. The User Account Control (UAC) prompt took several minutes to appear.
Trace a 36-second uac delay by analyzing the consent thread with in-focus and cpu graphs, uncovering a stale hostname reference in lsass registry keys; renaming fixes it.
Analyze the Explorer init phase and post boot phase to identify CPU bottlenecks, highlighting Sophos antivirus, rapport management service, and CCC.exe; disable startup items to improve boot time.
In this real case study, you will learn how to use Windows Performance Toolkit in order to improve Windows boot performance.
Stop Guessing! Troubleshoot Windows Performance Issues Like a Pro
Have you ever spent hours troubleshooting a slow Windows computer, only to end up reinstalling Windows — and discover that the problem comes back a few days later?
I've been there. And I know how frustrating it can be.
"I've Tried Everything, and the Computer Is Still Slow!"
A few years ago, I worked as a system administrator and desktop support engineer. One of my biggest challenges was troubleshooting Windows performance problems.
A computer took five minutes to boot. Windows Explorer took forever to display folder contents. Applications were painfully slow to launch.
I tried everything I could think of, spending hours investigating each problem. Sometimes, I eventually gave up and reinstalled Windows, hoping that would solve it.
But a few days later, the user would return with the same complaint — and even less patience.
I felt frustrated, ineffective, and unable to explain what was really going wrong.
The problem wasn't a lack of effort. I was missing the right troubleshooting method.
Everything Changed When I Discovered Windows Performance Toolkit
Windows Performance Toolkit changed the way I approached Windows troubleshooting.
Instead of guessing, repeatedly trying fixes, or reinstalling Windows as a last resort, I learned to capture and analyze performance traces to see what was actually happening inside the operating system.
This approach helped me identify performance bottlenecks and investigate problems that conventional troubleshooting methods couldn't diagnose.
And now, I'm going to teach you how to apply this approach yourself.
What Will You Learn in This Course?
This is a practical, hands-on course designed to help you develop a systematic approach to Windows performance troubleshooting.
By the end of the course, you will learn how to:
=> Capture Windows Performance Traces
Use Windows Performance Recorder (WPR) to capture detailed information about what happens inside Windows during a performance problem.
=> Analyze Traces with Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA)
Navigate performance data, examine relevant events, identify suspicious activity, and extract the information needed to investigate the root cause of a problem.
=> Troubleshoot Real-World Performance Issues
Follow step-by-step case studies based on problems I've personally investigated. Learn how to approach the evidence, interpret the results, and narrow down the potential causes.
=> Build a More Effective Troubleshooting Methodology
Move beyond trial and error. Learn to use performance data to support your diagnosis and make better-informed troubleshooting decisions.
Who Is This Course For?
This course is ideal for:
Windows system administrators who want to improve their troubleshooting skills.
IT support and help desk technicians who deal with slow or unresponsive computers.
Desktop support engineers who want to diagnose problems more efficiently.
IT professionals who want to add Windows performance analysis to their technical skill set.
You don't need to be a Windows internals expert to get started. A basic understanding of Windows administration and troubleshooting will help you get the most out of the course.
Why Should You Take This Course?
Imagine being able to investigate a slow Windows computer without immediately resorting to reinstalling the operating system.
Imagine replacing hours of trial and error with a structured investigation based on actual performance data.
And imagine becoming the person your colleagues turn to when conventional troubleshooting methods fail.
These skills can help you save time, improve your troubleshooting effectiveness, deliver better support to users and customers, and strengthen your professional profile.
This course is just the beginning of what you can do with Windows Performance Toolkit.
Stop Guessing. Start Investigating.
You can keep troubleshooting the same problems with the same methods, or learn a different approach that helps you understand what's happening under the hood.
Enroll today, follow the practical demonstrations, and start applying what you learn to your own Windows troubleshooting scenarios.
Become the IT professional who doesn't just try to fix the problem, but knows how to investigate it.