Windows HotStart

[Ian W]

I am dedicating this topic to a feature—one that served as part of Microsoft's mobility and entertainment efforts—that is scarcely discussed among the Windows community. This feature, named Windows HotStart, was introduced in Windows Vista and enables direct application launch during system startup or while resuming from sleep or hibernation via a press of a button; the ability to immediately launch an application has been referred to by Microsoft as appliance-like availability, which enables a PC to function in a manner similar to consumer electronic devices, and also allows it to take on a number of roles based on the type of application that is launched. A PC that instantly launches a multimedia application, for example, may effectively serve as a dedicated media player.


The first known reference to Windows HotStart comes from documentation displayed during WinHEC 2004 when Windows Vista was codenamed "Longhorn." As the slides above show, HotStart was tentatively named "Windows Direct" (and would later be referred to as "Direct Media Mode")—the latter name was apparently chosen in that the feature was developed with an emphasis on multimedia applications such as Windows Media Center and Windows Media Player. As one can see from the slides above, HotStart was also designed to replace the implementations (e.g., Dell's MediaDirect software) that manufacturers typically use for instant file and / or multimedia access.


Windows HotStart was later listed among documents such as Building a "Longhorn"-Ready Mobile PC and "Longhorn" Power Management Update that emphasized core aspects of Microsoft's mobile PC strategy during WinHEC 2005. Note in particular the first slide which states that the feature is designed to provide the instant on feature availability that mobile devices offer.

The initial documentation displayed during WinHEC 2004 focused on launching applications with the press of a button. Microsoft would expand upon this by stating that manufacturers could launch applications via an infrared remote control setup:

Manufacturers can take advantage of Windows HotStart to add consumer-friendly application-access buttons through chassis front panels or infrared (IR) remote controls to their system designs. A common example of such a control is a media playback button that starts or wakes the computer and immediately (as soon as the system is running) presents the user with a media player or dedicated media shell.

While HotStart emphasizes multimedia applications, it is not limited to them; a user can configure HotStart so that a form of input will open a preferred application during system startup or resume, such as a document editor or e-mail application.

Unfortunately, as with so many of Microsoft's earlier mobility efforts, HotStart did not receive the adoption that it deserves; few OEMs have supported the feature in spite of it being included in more recent versions of Windows such as Windows 7. Perhaps Microsoft is partly to blame for this as the feature has not been publicized well—for example, HotStart only receives what could be considered a passing mention within the Windows Vista Product Guide.

Edited September 6, 2015 by George P