MATLAB: Does MATLAB R12 launch slowly

Question

The new MATLAB R12 desktop starts much slower than previous versions. I would like to make MATLAB launch faster. How do I make MATLAB R12 start faster

Answer 1

Many of the features in MATLAB 6.x (R12.x) and later were added to improve performance and speed. However, some tradeoffs were made that made MATLAB larger and may increase MATLAB's launch time. Additionally, there are some known conflicts that you may be encountering. Below are a few workarounds that may speed the launch of MATLAB.

Read through the following suggestions, explanations, and workarounds.

There are four phases during the launch of MATLAB.

In the first phase the Dynamic Linked Libraries are loaded into memory. These libraries are used to interpret, parse, and execute MATLAB functions and MATLAB files.

In the second phase, the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is loaded into memory. The JVM allows MATLAB to execute Java scripts which are an integral part of the application.

In the third phase, the path is loaded into memory. This way MATLAB can identify which products are installed and where they are located (on a network or local drive).

In the final phase, the desktop is loaded and rendered.

Here are some things that you can check and do that will help to alleviate the problem:

1. Make sure that the system on which MATLAB is running has enough RAM. This will depend on your OS - please review the system requirements to be sure you computer has enough available RAM.

If you have limited memory (RAM), your processor may start using virtual memory (from your hard drive). Accessing information from the hard drive is extremely slow compared to accessing information from RAM.

To speed up MATLAB See the Related Solution "Why does MATLAB run slowly?"

2. Choose only desired windows in Integrated Development Environment (IDE):

The final process in launching MATLAB is opening the IDE and other MATLAB windows. Decreasing the number of windows that open during the launch of the IDE will speed up the launch time.

3. HELP Browser

We have implemented a new HTML based HELP browser as of MATLAB 6 (R12). If it was open when MATLAB was last used, it will also be loaded on launch and add some extra time.

4. Starting while disconnected from the network:

When someone is using a standalone license and a network license on the same machine, they usually set up the network license manager (FLEXnet) to first look for the network license. If all licenses are checked out, the license manager goes for the standalone license. If the user is disconnected from the network, it takes the license manager some time to realize that it cannot connect to the server. At this point it falls back on the standalone license.

For a workaround for this problem, see Related Solution "Why does MATLAB get stuck in the "Initializing" state or take a long time to start on a Windows machine?"

5. If you have installed a newer version of MATLAB in the same folder as an older version of MATLAB, try removing all keys referencing MATLAB from the registry and then restarting MATLAB.

6. Check McAfee anti-virus setting:

If you use McAfee Anti-Virus make sure you set the 'Files to Check' field to "check program files only" and NOT "check ALL files". For more information on how McAfee Anti-Virus effects MATLAB's launch time, see Bug Report 96375 (on our external web site).

7. Windows shortcut icon has a target that points to a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) pathname:

If you have MATLAB installed on a local drive on a Windows machine, make sure that MATLAB's icon's target points to the local drive using the drive's letter, rather than the computer's UNC path. In some network setups, launching applications from a shortcut in a roaming profile on a remote machine can cause the shortcut's target to inherit the UNC pathname to the computer where the application is installed. For example, if the original target looks like:

D:\Applications\MATLAB6p1\bin\win32\matlab.exe

Launching from a roaming profile can change it to something like:

\\computername\driveletter\Applications\MATLAB6p1\bin\win32\matlab.exe

Try changing the "Target" and the "Start in" directory back to the original form. You can access these properties by right-clicking on the icon and selecting "Properties", and then selecting the "Shortcut" tab.

If after using the suggestions above, you continue to experience inexplicable slowness, send us the following information:

1. A detailed description of the problem.

2. An example of the commands that are slow, example code, relevant MATLAB files and data so that we can reproduce your observations.

3. Step by step instructions on how to reproduce the performance problem that you are experiencing.

4. The measurements of the elapsed time of computation using the TIC and TOC commands, the output of the PROFILE command, or an estimate of experienced delay.

5. The name and model of your graphics card and the version of the graphics driver you are using.

6. Your machine specifications: Processor and RAM

7. The Operating system you are running.

8. The output of the VER command.

9. Any other information you may think will help us identify the problem (i.e. screen shots, figures, documents, etc.)

You can send us this information through our web page:

https://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html