prefetch question

  • Thread starter Thread starter sheila jones
  • Start date Start date
S

sheila jones

hi,
what is prefetch and can i safely clear the numerous items in this file.
thanks
sheila
 
: hi,
: what is prefetch and can i safely clear the numerous items in this file.
: thanks
: sheila
:
The Prefetch folder is used by Windows XP to speed the boot process. Windows
XP records information about each program that launches at boot and uses
that information to boot faster the next time. Because multiple files might
have the same name, it appends a "hash" of the file's location. That's the
odd string of numbers and letters between the filename and the .pf
extension.

This folder may accumulate useless junk, especially if you change your
configuration a lot. There's no harm in emptying it. Simply delete all the
files in that folder; Windows will rebuild it as needed.

Hope this helps.

Bquinn
 
Wquinn said:
The Prefetch folder is used by Windows XP to speed the boot process.
Windows XP records information about each program that launches at
boot and uses that information to boot faster the next time. Because
multiple files might have the same name, it appends a "hash" of the
file's location. That's the odd string of numbers and letters between
the filename and the .pf extension.

This folder may accumulate useless junk, especially if you change your
configuration a lot. There's no harm in emptying it. Simply delete
all the files in that folder; Windows will rebuild it as needed.

Hope this helps.

Bquinn
Click to expand...

Prefetch clears out thr useless junk every three days all on its own.
 
Mine doesn't, I have Prefetching turned off. Since 22 October 2005.

And I have not noticed any difference with booting or application opening
speeds.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
Doesn't need to be cleaned.

C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch is 66 bytes. Only because I kept the first two lines of
the layout.ini.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
Wesley Vogel said:
Mine doesn't, I have Prefetching turned off. Since 22 October 2005.
Click to expand...

*****************

That's "your" system!

*****************
And I have not noticed any difference with booting or application opening
speeds.
Click to expand...

*****************

I certainly have! But then I have 47 items in startup (68 processes running
as per task manager), in addition to all the usual services. I can affirm a
15 to 20 second decrease in boot-to usable-desktop time, after prefetch has
had a couple of days to stabelize the system.

*****************

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
Wesley said:
Mine doesn't, I have Prefetching turned off. Since 22 October 2005.

And I have not noticed any difference with booting or application
opening speeds.
Click to expand...

Hi Wesley,
Why did you turn it off?


Mike Pawlak
 
Hi Richard,

47 items in startup? Good golly, Miss Molly. ;-)

I have five, two are batch files that run and then quit and a program that
runs and then quits. AV and firewall start and stay running (I hope).

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
Hi Mike,

I got tired of looking at the useless *past* items in the layout.ini, so I
disabled the System Event Notification and Task Scheduler services. Just to
see if I noticed any difference and I don't, so I left those services
disabled. But I don't have 47 items that start at boot. ;-)

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
I forgot to ask, Richard, with 47 items running does the Notification area
in the Taskbar take over the Desktop? :-D

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
14 items in the notification area. They auto collapse quite nicely.

I have never had any problems so I have no incentive to try to minimize the
startups, especially since I have put them all there.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
Back
Top