V
vega
Hello,
What are prefetch files, *.pf. Are they necessary or can they be deleted?
Thank you, vega
What are prefetch files, *.pf. Are they necessary or can they be deleted?
Thank you, vega
R
Rich Barry
It's a good idea to every once in awhile clear out the Prefetch Folder.
You will find it in C:\Windows\Prefetch. You can delete them all.
You will find it in C:\Windows\Prefetch. You can delete them all.
S
Shenan Stanley
vega said:
Try Google. "What are prefetch files" is a valid search..
You could have found this:
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Operating_Systems/WinXP/Q_20711778.html
or this:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=2495
Which might not only answer your question, but give you the "control" over
them you want.
L
Larry(LJL269)
ALL u ever wanted to know @
http://www.tweakxp.com/search.asp?s=prefetch&btnFind=Search
HTH-Larry
Any advise given is my attempt to show appreciation for all
the excellent help I've received here but I'm no MVP so it
may only apply NUGS (Normally, Usually, Generally, Sometimes
A
Alex Nichol
vega said:
When a program is loaded, a record is put, or updated, in the
corresponding file in Prefetch, detailing what files it uses, in what
order. Boot of the system has such a record, too
From that two things happen.
One - when a load is started in future, the system arranges to get the
expected files into RAM straight away, without waiting to be asked, and
Two - every three days, a sort of semi-defrag run is done in a quiet
period, which arranges files so that such sets will be able to load as a
smooth stream without need to hunt around the disk for them. The boot
side of this speeds load of the system: the Bootvis program does a
preliminary optimisation of their layout, but it will take place, and
better, through the automatic process. The details of the best layout
are kept in the layout,inf file which is checked and updated each time
this optimisation runs, for the best overall performance. This can be
used for optimisation alternatively by some third party defrag programs,
eg Perfect Disk Pro
Two points:
Contrary to what is said , it is *not* necessary to empty prefetch.
Any program that does not get used for a week will have its file dropped
out anyway: ones that are rarely used get low priority in optimisation
and:
The optimisation at regular intervals is initiated by task scheduler so
you need to have it running for this to work (also for System Restore
to make its daily restore point) even though no scheduled task appears
if you look in control Panel - Scheduled tasks. Check the Advanced menu
there, and if it says 'Start Using. . ' click that so it says 'Stop
using . . .' It then looks for a time when the system is quiescent (I
think it waits for 15 mins of no disk activity, but am not sure on
that). This is one reason for the query 'my hard disk goes chattering
when I am doing nothing'; the other being search engine indexing.
L
Larry(LJL269)
Rather than trying to reduce 200msec to 100msec I've decided
to strike my keys 2x faster and saved 60000000msec.
Mostfertile ground 4 saving time is in the slowest tasks, not
fastest. So take typing course/run Dragon VR.
By disabling prefetch + Restore(I have a better routine) I
can also disable TSchedule => boot faster & have fewer
processes/services running.
Just my 2¢ worth which works 4 me perhaps due to dumb luck.
Bye- Larry
Any advise given is my attempt to show appreciation for all
the excellent help I've received here but I'm no MVP so it
may only apply NUGS (Normally, Usually, Generally, Sometimes