VB6 application on Vista running slow w/ lots of “FAST IO DISALLOWED”

Question

I have a client that is running a custom VB 6 application they wrote on Vista. The application installs and runs fine on Vista. However, on one Vista PC the applcation loads and runs very slow. I had IT run a process moniter trace and I'm seeing a ton of "FAST IO DISALLOWED" results as well as other problems. What can cause "FAST IO DISALLOWED" and How can I fix it? See partial trace below:

Update: It seems the applcation loads ok, but runs slow when opening reports, etc.

Update: I have a trace froma PC that is working ok. However, I believe the slowness is because they left ODBC tracing on. There's a ton of these:

10:06:30.7641621 AM Cert.exe    2940    WriteFile   C:\Users\clw\AppData\Local\Temp\SQL.LOG SUCCESS Offset: 15,622,144, Length: 4,096, I/O Flags: Non-cached, Paging I/O, Synchronous Paging I/O, Priority: Normal

---

10:03:41.8117795 AM Cert.exe    2940    FileSystemControl   C:\Program Files    END OF FILE Control: FSCTL_FILE_PREFETCH
10:03:41.8120107 AM Cert.exe    2940    FileSystemControl   C:\Program Files\cert client    END OF FILE Control: FSCTL_FILE_PREFETCH
10:03:41.8132994 AM Cert.exe    2940    FileSystemControl   C:\Users    END OF FILE Control: FSCTL_FILE_PREFETCH
10:03:41.8135160 AM Cert.exe    2940    FileSystemControl   C:\Users\clw    END OF FILE Control: FSCTL_FILE_PREFETCH
10:03:41.8139291 AM Cert.exe    2940    FileSystemControl   C:\Users\clw\AppData\Local  END OF FILE Control: FSCTL_FILE_PREFETCH
10:03:41.8141457 AM Cert.exe    2940    FileSystemControl   C:\Users\clw\AppData\Local\Temp END OF FILE Control: FSCTL_FILE_PREFETCH
10:03:41.8143618 AM Cert.exe    2940    FileSystemControl   C:\Windows  END OF FILE Control: FSCTL_FILE_PREFETCH
10:03:41.8152178 AM Cert.exe    2940    FileSystemControl   C:\Windows\AppPatch END OF FILE Control: FSCTL_FILE_PREFETCH
10:03:41.8156104 AM Cert.exe    2940    FileSystemControl   C:\Windows\System32 END OF FILE Control: FSCTL_FILE_PREFETCH
10:03:41.8159341 AM Cert.exe    2940    FileSystemControl   C:\Windows\System32\en-US   END OF FILE Control: FSCTL_FILE_PREFETCH
10:03:41.8364376 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Users\clw\AppData\Local\Temp\~DF9022.TMP NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Data/List Directory, Execute/Traverse, Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Non-Directory File, Complete If Oplocked, Attributes: N, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8365446 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Users\clw\AppData\Local\Temp\~DFD6E5.TMP NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Data/List Directory, Execute/Traverse, Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Non-Directory File, Complete If Oplocked, Attributes: N, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8366473 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Users\clw\AppData\Local\Temp\~DFCFD9.TMP NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Data/List Directory, Execute/Traverse, Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Non-Directory File, Complete If Oplocked, Attributes: N, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8458081 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\MSVBVM60.DLL   FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8458819 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\MSVBVM60.DLL   NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8460056 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\msvbvm60.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8465561 AM Cert.exe    2940    RegOpenKey  HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Option   REPARSE Desired Access: Query Value, Set Value
10:03:41.8465840 AM Cert.exe    2940    RegOpenKey  HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Option   NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Query Value, Set Value
10:03:41.8466314 AM Cert.exe    2940    RegQueryValue   HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\safer\codeidentifiers\TransparentEnabled   NAME NOT FOUND  Length: 80
10:03:41.8466735 AM Cert.exe    2940    RegOpenKey  HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Safer\CodeIdentifiers  NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Query Value
10:03:41.8503387 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\shimeng.dll FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8513365 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\shimeng.dll FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8524301 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\apphelp.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8525127 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\apphelp.dll    NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8526418 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\apphelp.dll FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8535673 AM Cert.exe    2940    RegOpenKey  HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Option   REPARSE Desired Access: Query Value
10:03:41.8535961 AM Cert.exe    2940    RegOpenKey  HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Option   NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Query Value
10:03:41.8536132 AM Cert.exe    2940    RegOpenKey  HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\AppCompatibility  REPARSE Desired Access: Query Value
10:03:41.8536279 AM Cert.exe    2940    RegOpenKey  HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\AppCompatibility  NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Query Value
10:03:41.8536435 AM Cert.exe    2940    RegOpenKey  HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\AppCompat  NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Query Value
10:03:41.8540884 AM Cert.exe    2940    RegQueryValue   HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\ShowDebugInfo  NAME NOT FOUND  Length: 256
10:03:41.8554647 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcLayers.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8563921 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcLayers.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8584068 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\USERENV.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8584865 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\USERENV.dll    NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8586292 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\userenv.dll FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8596784 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\Secur32.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8597688 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\Secur32.dll    NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8598876 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\secur32.dll FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8609065 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\WINSPOOL.DRV   FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8609847 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\WINSPOOL.DRV   NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8611001 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\winspool.drv    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8621551 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\MPR.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8622367 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\MPR.dll    NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8623555 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\mpr.dll FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8635846 AM Cert.exe    2940    RegQueryValue   HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\DllNXOptions\MSVBVM60.DLL    NAME NOT FOUND  Length: 1,024
10:03:41.8640720 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcLayers.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8647012 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcLayers.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8652669 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcLayers.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8658389 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcGenral.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8671217 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcGenral.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8685097 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\UxTheme.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8685815 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\UxTheme.dll    NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8687057 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\uxtheme.dll FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8698204 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\WINMM.dll  FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8698927 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\WINMM.dll  NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8700262 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\winmm.dll   FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8710641 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\OLEACC.dll FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8711384 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\OLEACC.dll NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8712509 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\oleacc.dll  FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8731507 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\NETAPI32.dll   FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8732118 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\NETAPI32.dll   NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8733267 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\netapi32.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8744751 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\MSACM32.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8745411 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\MSACM32.dll    NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8746462 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\msacm32.dll FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8754788 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\VERSION.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8755423 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\VERSION.dll    NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8756391 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\version.dll FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8765001 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\sfc.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8765651 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\sfc.dll    NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8766658 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\sfc.dll FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8774055 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\sfc_os.DLL FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8774647 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\sfc_os.DLL NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8775795 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\sfc_os.dll  FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8787514 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\dwmapi.dll FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8788140 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\dwmapi.dll NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a
10:03:41.8789108 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\System32\dwmapi.dll  FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8809343 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcLayers.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8814584 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcGenral.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8819923 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcLayers.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8824723 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcLayers.dll    FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8828336 AM Cert.exe    2940    QueryOpen   C:\Program Files\cert client\SHUNIMPL.dll   FAST IO DISALLOWED  
10:03:41.8828918 AM Cert.exe    2940    CreateFile  C:\Program Files\cert client\SHUNIMPL.dll   NAME NOT FOUND  Desired Access: Read Attributes, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a

Answer 1

They had left ODBC tracing on and that was the cause of the slowness. Turning off ODBC tracing fixed it. Thanks everybody.

Answer 2

Did you have IT run the same monitor on working machine as a control test?

I think you might find that Fast IO failures are normal (the API is designed to attempt Fast IO first then fallback to more traditionl approach on failure). Either way this is going to be a machine configuration issue (such as driver problem) rather than a programming problem.

Answer 3

Try reinstalling the Microsoft VB6 Runtime components.