Why cann't MS write a decent multi-threadded installer

jimdempseyatthecove · ‎07-04-2020

This isn't an Intel Software issue, just venting a frustration.

Bought a new Windows 10 notebook and running the Visual Studio 2019 Installer (Install while downloading). The download/install is consuming 100% on all 8 HW threads. It's been running/stopping/retry/... for about 24 hours. Even when download file xxx failed Retry.... and waiting at dialog, all 8 HW threads still at 100%. I've disabled File Indexing and super fetch (SysMain), but still pegged at 100%. I suspect that the 100% busy load spin-waiting for something to do is causing the downloading to time out.

I haven't tried the Download then Install, nor offline install. My gripe is with a poorly written multi-threaded program.

Jim Dempsey

jimdempseyatthecove · ‎07-05-2020

After another 12 hours or so (every half hour issuing Retry), I got about 80% complete, then it seemed to be stuck on same file. Then Pause, Modify, changed to Download then Install. I feared this would start from the beginning of the 9.4GB installation archive, it didn't, it resumed. In inspecting the CPU times during this process, all 8 logical CPUs were pegged at 100% too...., however, similar issue in that the downloading KB/MB/sec would be very erratic, very slow at times, pausing significantly, then resuming.... But no download errors (suspect timeout). Near (very close) the end, I could see the 100% x8 CPU utilization start to drop off.

What it appears to be is that MS VS comes in multiple .zip/.cab/.... archives, and that the installer is performing multi-threaded un-zipping... AT the expense of the downloading thread. It appears that MS installer programmers did not set the downloading thread at a higher priority than the un-zipping threads. Thus causing the file downloading to timeout (under assumption of dropped connection).

Jim Dempsey

GouthamK_Intel · ‎07-07-2020

Hi Jim,

We are marking this as a community thread so that users can pitch in with their inputs.

Intel will no longer respond to this thread.

Thanks & Regards

Goutham