Read a Windows boot trace by treating it as a synchronized timeline of the activity that your Windows Performance Recorder (WPR) profile captured. WPR records Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) events into an ETL file; Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA) turns that file into graphs and pivotable tables. Find the interval that matches the startup symptom, zoom every relevant graph to that interval, then use the table to identify which recorded activity overlaps it. A long-looking bar is a lead, not automatically the root cause.
The complete workflow is: configure boot capture before restarting, reproduce the slow startup, stop and merge the trace after Windows loads, open the ETL in WPA, and analyze only the providers and detail that the selected profile actually recorded. WPA is included in the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK), and Microsoft documents that “WPA can open any event trace log (ETL) file for analysis.” Microsoft’s WPA overview
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What a Windows boot trace contains
WPR is the capture tool. It records system and application behavior, resource use, and ETW events according to a profile. A profile names the event providers and settings for a scenario, so it determines what evidence will exist in the resulting ETL. WPA is the analysis tool: it reads the ETL and creates graphs and data tables from those events. The two tools therefore answer different questions: WPR decides what was observed; WPA helps you inspect when and where the observed activity occurred. Microsoft’s introduction to WPR Microsoft’s Windows Performance Analyzer documentation
An ETL is not a recording of everything Windows did. If a provider, event type, stack, or detail level was not enabled by the profile, WPA cannot reconstruct it afterward. A trace can show timing and relationships among recorded events, but it cannot by itself prove that the visually longest event caused the startup delay. Start with the symptom you can describe, locate its time range, and test explanations against the activity captured in that range.
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Before you capture: define the startup problem
Write down what “slow startup” means on the affected machine. Examples include a long period before the sign-in screen, a delayed desktop after sign-in, a particular application taking a long time to become usable, or an intermittent pause that occurs only after a restart. The definition determines the interval you will select later and helps you choose a profile that records relevant providers.
Confirm the analysis tools
- Install WPA through the Windows ADK. WPA opens ETL files produced by WPR, Xperf, or an assessment.
- Have a WPR profile ready. It can be a built-in profile or a custom
.wprpprofile. The profile must match the behavior you want to investigate. - Plan enough disk space for the trace and decide where the merged ETL should be written. WPR’s documented default save location is
DocumentsWPR Fileswhen using its normal save behavior. - Record the exact reproduction steps, such as whether the test is a cold boot or restart and which action marks the end of the problem. This prevents you from analyzing the wrong portion of a long trace.
Do not promise a conclusion before checking the profile. A profile designed for one scenario may omit the providers needed to explain another, even though WPA can still open the resulting ETL.
Capture the boot trace correctly
Boot tracing is configured before the reboot being investigated. The -addboot operation writes autologger configuration for the selected profile; it does not begin recording immediately. Windows starts that autologger during the next boot. After the system has started and you have reproduced the issue, -stopboot removes the configuration, stops the session, and merges the data into the ETL filename you specify. WPR command-line options
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- Open an elevated command prompt or the WPR command environment appropriate to your installation.
- Configure the boot profile before restarting:
wpr -boottrace -addboot <profile>The
-boottracetoken is optional in current WPR syntax. Replace<profile>with the built-in profile name or the path to the custom.wprpprofile. - Restart Windows and reproduce the startup behavior you need to study. Do not stop the trace before this reboot; the autologger must run after the configuration is added.
- Once Windows is usable, stop and merge the boot session:
wpr -boottrace -stopboot <recording filename> <problem description>Use a descriptive ETL filename and a short problem description that identifies the reproduction. The stop command removes the boot configuration as part of the operation.
- Open the resulting ETL in WPA. If no reboot occurred after
-addboot, Microsoft notes that-stopbootonly removes the configuration; it does not produce a saved trace.
Choose recording detail deliberately
WPR supports light and verbose recording detail, as well as file and memory logging modes. These choices affect overhead, retention, and the evidence available for analysis.
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| Capture choice | What it provides | When it fits | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light recording | Lower overhead and less interference with the system | When you need a minimally intrusive view of a repeatable symptom | It contains less detail than verbose recording, so stack-level or fine-grained investigation may be limited. |
| Verbose recording | More detailed event information | When a thorough investigation needs additional providers or detail | It imposes more recording overhead than light mode. |
| File logging | Writes events to a finite log file | Finite, predictable events and measurements that span power on/off transitions | Microsoft identifies file logging as the only mode available for measurements across on/off transitions. |
| Memory logging | Uses circular buffers that retain the most recent data | Unpredictable events where you cannot know in advance when the problem will occur | Earlier events can be overwritten as the circular buffers fill. |
These are capture trade-offs, not performance scores. Select the least intrusive mode that still records the evidence your question requires; use verbose detail when missing information would prevent attribution. WPR recording modes Boot-trace behavior and syntax
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Open the ETL and establish a shared timeline
- In WPA, choose File > Open and select the merged ETL. If you used WPR’s default location, check
DocumentsWPR Files; otherwise browse to the path supplied to-stopboot. - In Graph Explorer, expand the available categories. The graphs shown are determined by the events and metadata present in the trace.
- Drag a graph to the Analysis tab or double-click it. WPA displays the graph together with its associated data table.
- Keep graphs that you need to compare on the same Analysis tab. They share one horizontal time axis, so activity in one graph can be aligned with activity in another.
- Drag across the suspicious part of a graph to select an interval. Right-click the selection and choose the zoom command to make that interval the working view.
- Create a separate Analysis tab when you need a different time scale or want to preserve an overview while examining a detail view.
Microsoft’s walkthrough covers this opening, graph, timeline, and table workflow in detail. Opening and analyzing ETL files in WPA
A symptom-first method for reading the trace
Do not begin by scanning every graph for the largest number. Begin with the user-visible failure and work backward through the interval in which it occurs.
1. Mark the interval that matters
Use your reproduction notes to identify the start and end of the delay: for example, the period between restarting and the sign-in screen, or the period between sign-in and the desktop becoming responsive. Select that range on a graph and zoom it. If the trace contains a long idle period before the symptom, keep an overview tab so you do not mistake the entire boot for the problem window.
2. Add graphs that answer the question
Use Graph Explorer to add graphs relevant to the symptom and the profile. A startup delay involving a process requires process or thread data only if the profile captured those providers. A question about storage activity requires corresponding disk or I/O events. There is no universally correct boot graph: the useful set depends on the scenario, the WPR profile, and the WPA version.
3. Compare aligned activity
With related graphs on one Analysis tab, look for activity that overlaps the selected interval. Compare its beginning, end, and gaps with the moment the symptom starts and clears. Overlap makes an activity worth investigating; it does not establish causality. Check whether the activity is continuous, repeated, or merely a single event inside a much longer delay.
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4. Use the table beneath the graph
The graph is a visual summary. The data table lets you sort and customize the view, then group or pivot by dimensions that matter to the question. In WPA’s pivot structure, keys identify categories, data columns contain measured values, and graphing elements determine what is plotted. Confirm which field you are sorting before treating a row as a process, thread, provider, or time measurement. A row with a large aggregate can combine many smaller events and may not represent one blocking operation.
5. Narrow the candidate
After sorting or pivoting, return to the timeline and see whether the candidate’s individual instances occupy the symptom interval. A high total outside that interval is less relevant than a smaller activity that coincides precisely with the delay. Keep the original time selection while changing table dimensions so that each view answers the same question.
6. Inspect stacks when attribution requires them
If the table or graph points to a call stack, load symbols before assigning responsibility to a function or module. Symbols can turn addresses into readable stack frames; without the required symbols, attribution may remain at a less specific level. Use WPA’s Diagnostic Console to review symbol-loading or decoding exceptions instead of silently trusting an incomplete stack.
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7. State the conclusion at the level the trace supports
A defensible conclusion describes recorded behavior and timing: for example, that a particular recorded activity overlaps the selected startup interval and deserves a configuration or application check. It does not claim that the event is the root cause unless another observation establishes that relationship. If the relevant provider was absent, say that the trace cannot answer that question and capture a profile that includes it.
How to interpret tables, durations, and apparent bottlenecks
Read what each duration actually measures
A duration may represent an event’s elapsed time, a summed total across instances, a wait interval, or the width of a visual bucket. Read the column heading and table definition before comparing values. A long bar can mean one long event, many short events aggregated together, or a graph element whose scale differs from another graph.
Separate activity from blocking
Windows can perform work in parallel during startup. Activity that overlaps a delay may be unrelated background work, while a short wait at a critical point may be more important. Use the shared timeline to check ordering and gaps, then use the table to determine whether the candidate actually occupies the affected process or interval. WPA provides evidence for this comparison; it does not apply a universal causal rule.
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Respect the profile boundary
ETW providers are enabled by the WPR profile. If the profile did not collect a provider, event, or stack detail, the absence of that information in WPA is not evidence that the activity never happened. It is simply outside the trace’s observation boundary. Record the profile and recording mode alongside the ETL so later readers know what the file can and cannot show.
Use separate time scales carefully
Graphs on one Analysis tab share a timeline, which is useful for overlap checks. A separate tab can use a different scale for a close-up. When moving between tabs, preserve the exact start and end of the interval in your notes; otherwise a visually similar region can refer to a different portion of the boot.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Symbols and the Diagnostic Console
Stack-level analysis is useful when you need to move from a process or provider to a function or module. Load symbols in WPA before interpreting stack frames. Microsoft’s troubleshooting guidance also recommends checking the Diagnostic Console for exceptions related to decoding and symbol loading. An exception can explain why a stack is incomplete or why a graph does not decode as expected; resolve or document it before making a fine-grained attribution. Microsoft’s WPR/WPA troubleshooting guidance
Capture choices that change what you can conclude
| Decision | Effect on the trace | Interpretation consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Scenario-specific profile versus an unrelated profile | Different event providers and fields are enabled | Graphs and tables may expose different evidence; do not assume a missing graph means no activity occurred. |
| Light versus verbose detail | Changes overhead and the amount of event detail | Verbose can support a more thorough investigation, while light reduces interference but may leave less attribution data. |
| File versus memory logging | Changes retention and behavior when the event timing is uncertain | File logging suits finite predictable measurements and is required for on/off-transition measurements; memory logging retains a moving window. |
| Boot capture configured before versus after reboot | Determines whether the autologger runs during the boot under investigation | Adding the configuration after the relevant boot cannot recreate that boot’s events. |
These choices should be recorded with the ETL. A second trace made with a different profile is not automatically comparable: a change in providers or detail can change what appears in WPA even when the machine behaves the same.
Common capture and analysis problems
Stopboot produces no usable ETL
Check whether the machine was rebooted after -addboot. The autologger starts only on a subsequent boot. If that reboot did not occur, -stopboot removes the setup but has no session data to merge. Configure again, reboot, reproduce the symptom, and then stop the trace.
The graph you expect is not available
Graph Explorer exposes views supported by the events in the ETL. A missing graph usually means the selected profile did not collect the provider or metadata that graph requires. Capture again with a profile designed for the scenario rather than inferring the missing activity from another graph.
The trace is too intrusive or too sparse
If recording changes the symptom, consider light detail or a narrower scenario profile. If the trace lacks the detail needed for attribution, use verbose recording and accept its higher overhead during a controlled reproduction. Keep the two captures distinct and note their settings.
Memory logging does not contain the beginning of the problem
Memory mode uses circular buffers, so older events can be overwritten. For a finite, predictable boot sequence, file logging preserves the complete session more reliably. Repeat the capture with file logging when you need the entire interval.
Symbols or decoding show exceptions
Open the Diagnostic Console and inspect the reported exception. A stack that cannot load symbols should not be treated as a fully resolved call path. Fix the symbol or decoding issue, or limit the conclusion to the process, provider, and timing that are actually decoded.
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Verify the graph’s measure, the selected interval, and the table’s pivot fields. Check whether the event overlaps the symptom and whether it belongs to the affected process or phase. Treat it as a candidate until those checks support a more specific explanation.
A repeatable investigation procedure
- Describe the symptom and define the interval that represents user-visible delay.
- Select a WPR profile whose providers can observe that symptom; note whether it is built in or custom.
- Choose light or verbose detail and file or memory logging according to predictability, overhead, and retention requirements.
- Run
wpr -boottrace -addboot <profile>before the reboot. - Reproduce the same steps on the next boot and avoid unrelated activity that would make the interval ambiguous.
- Run
wpr -boottrace -stopboot <recording filename> <problem description>after Windows starts. - Open the ETL through File > Open, add relevant graphs from Graph Explorer, and keep comparison graphs on one Analysis tab.
- Select and zoom the symptom interval, then sort or pivot the associated table by the dimensions that answer your question.
- Check overlap, ordering, and aggregation before calling anything a bottleneck.
- Load symbols and review the Diagnostic Console when stack-level attribution is required.
- Write the result with its boundary: identify what the trace records, what interval it overlaps, and which questions require another capture.
Practical checklist before you trust a conclusion
- The ETL was captured during the boot that exhibited the problem.
- The profile and recording mode are known and documented.
- The selected interval corresponds to a specific user-visible symptom.
- Graphs being compared share the same timeline and scale.
- The table fields were identified as keys, data columns, or graphing elements before sorting or pivoting.
- Aggregated totals were checked against individual instances in the timeline.
- Symbols and Diagnostic Console exceptions were handled before stack-level claims.
- The conclusion distinguishes recorded timing from proven causation.
Used this way, WPA is a disciplined way to connect a startup symptom to the activity captured around it. The quality of the answer depends first on capturing the right boot with the right providers, and then on narrowing the ETL to the interval and table dimensions that explain the symptom rather than merely displaying large numbers.
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