FULL PRODUCT VERSION :
java version "1.6.0_10-beta"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_10-beta-b25)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 11.0-b12, mixed mode, sharing)

ADDITIONAL OS VERSION INFORMATION :
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6001]

A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM :
When I launch Webstart from a local source (file://...) I see the following:

"Java6 ..." logo comes up in under a second
[4-8 seconds elapse]
"Downloading application" displays for a second
My application begins running

It isn't clear what Webstart is doing during those 4-8 seconds. The HD light barely flickers during this time, however I noticed 1 out of my 4 CPU cores registers 85% activity.

It looks like this is a performance bug in the Webstart cache, because invoking "javaws -uninstall" makes the problem go away. Still, if I flush the cache, then run the same local application 10-20 more times the problem comes back.

See http://forums.java.net/jive/thread.jspa?messageID=282478 for further detail.

To reproduce:
- Deploy the following webstart app with the same codebase.
- Use the cache in the bug report attachment
- Replace 6.0 with Deployment.dirty/cache/6.0
- Run the following webstart app

WebstartBug.java
-----------------------------------
public class Main
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
System.exit(1);
}
}

launch.jnlp
------------------------------------
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<jnlp spec="1.0+" codebase="file:/C:/Users/Gili/Documents/NetBeansProjects/WebstartBug/dist/" href="launch.jnlp">
<information>
<title>WebstartBug</title>
<vendor>Gili</vendor>
<homepage href=""/>
<description>WebstartBug</description>
<description kind="short">WebstartBug</description>
</information>
<resources>
<j2se version="1.6+"/>
<jar href="WebstartBug.jar" main="true" download="eager"/>
<jar href="lib/jfreechart-1.0.9.jar" download="eager"/>
<jar href="lib/jcommon-1.0.12.jar" download="eager"/>
</resources>
<application-desc main-class="webstartbug.Main">
</application-desc>
</jnlp>
-------------------------------------------------

EXPECTED VERSUS ACTUAL BEHAVIOR :
EXPECTED -
Webstart should begin downloading the application in under a second on a modern machine.
ACTUAL -
Webstart begins downloading the application after 4-8 seconds.

REPRODUCIBILITY :
This bug can be reproduced often.

CUSTOMER SUBMITTED WORKAROUND :
Invoke "javaws -uninstall" on a regular basis, but this isn't realistic for end-users.