Storage Test FAQs (Continued)

How can I get these tests so I can examine the ratings my devices receive?

The tests are part of Windows 7 Beta, build 6951 or higher. To run the tests, execute the following command line from an elevated privilege command prompt :

Winsat disk –flush –xml DiskFlushResults.xml

Note : You can choose your own name in place of DiskFlushResults.xml

 The DiskFlushResults.xml results file will be in the following directory :

%windir%\performance\winsat\datastore\

In the DiskMetrics section of that results file, look at the scores listed for the MeanLatency and MaxLatency tags.  If the score is greater than 3.0, the tests did not detect significant latency issues and the Disk score has not been capped. For example:

<DiskMetrics>

<MeanLatency Kind="Read With Sequential Background Writes" units="us" score="5.9">5233</MeanLatency>

<MaxLatency Kind="Read With Background Writes" units="us" percentile="95" score="5.5">11634</MaxLatency>

<MaxLatency Kind="Read With Background Writes" units="us" percentile="100" score="7.8">72856</MaxLatency>

<MeanLatency Kind="Read With Random Background Writes" units="us" score="5.7">5868</MeanLatency>

</DiskMetrics>

Are the latency issues only relevant for older storage devices?

No, the latency issues are not limited to old or slow devices – even devices with higher throughputs and RPMs can exhibit long IOs that lead to transitory hangs.

Do the tests differ for Solid State Devices (SSDs) or conventional hard disk drives?

No, the assessments do not detect platter geometries, raid configuration, or storage technologies; the results are based on measured performance only.

Is there a Windows Vista version of the test?

The Windows 7 WinSAT (Windows System Assessment Tool) can be run down-level, on Windows Vista. Just copy winsat.exe and winsat.exe.mui  to the target system.

You can find WinSAT.Exe in %systemroot%\system32 and its corresponding english MUI file in %systemroot%\system32\en-us.

If WinSAT is a benchmark, should scores change across OS releases?

WinSAT is a tool to provide information about the performance characteristics of a system. In each OS release, the “max score“ can increase to accommodate performance improvements in newer components.

In addition, although Microsoft made an effort to keep scores for existing functionality consistent over OS releases, in cases where they identify real-world performance problems with considerable user impact, they will add tests to communicate that information to the user.

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