Prefetch was cleaned, what now?

[Jared]

Hey guys!

I have cleared _whole_ %SystemRoot%\prefetch\ folder and now it is empty
(there was a .ini file, which I saved just for in case - I deleted it from
Prefetch folder also).

System is booting faster indeed, however after login, when I have my desktop
shown, HD is working even for a minute, or more - of course I can do nothing
fast then; more, I would say it is now worse than it was before with
performance.

My question: how long is to take for Prefetch to fill itself with commonly
used data? I would like to see there "services.exe", "svchost.exe",
"winlogon.exe", etc. OR I have corrupted something by deleting whole folder
and now I must do something to recreate it? What to do?

Thanks in advance
Jared

 

[Guest]

You run system retore and NEVER delete the prefetch again.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Jared;

The Prefetch folder should be @
C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch
If it's not there, create one.
Highlight C:\WINDOWS | File | New | Folder | Name it: Prefetch | OK.

As has been mentioned, Task Scheduler needs to be set @ Automatic.
Start | Run | Type: services.msc |OK
Scroll down to and double click Task Scheduler | Startup type: Automatic |
Apply | OK |
Close Services.

Start | Run | Type: regedit |OK
Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory
Management\PrefetchParameters
Look for EnablePrefetcher in the right pane, if the value is not 3,
Double click EnablePrefetcher and change the value to 3.
Values are (0 = disabled, 1 = Application launch prefetching, 2 = Boot
prefetching, 3 = Both prefetching). 3 seems to be the preferred option.
Exit regedit
This will take effect on next reboot.
It will take three boots to rebuild the Prefetch file.
==============================
If for some reason layout.ini {C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch\layout.ini}does not get
recreated after three boots, try this:
Start | Run | Type: cmd | OK
Paste: rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks | Enter
At this point, the layout.ini should be rebuilt.
You can force a "boot optimization" by entering the command (in the command
prompt window):
defrag c: -boot | Enter

Open regedit and navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction
OptimizeComplete Yes?
Set the LcnStartLocation to zero and the LcnEndLocation to zero
Run the defrag c: -boot again.
This time running "defrag" may take longer.
Again open regedit and navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction
OptimizeComplete Yes?
LcnStartLocation
LcnEndLocation
Have the values changed from 0?
===========
By the way Prefetch will purge itself of unused *.pf files.
You don't have to clean it yourself. If you do, *don't* delete the Prefetch
folder, just the contents.

 

[mrtee]

Missed it in "general"?

The prefetch folder rebuilds itself every three (3) days. My prefetch folder has NEVER gone over 130 entries. Leave it alone, it takes care of itself.

--
Just my 2¢ worth
Jeff
__________in response to__________

|
| Thank you! I'm running chkdsk right now...
| Best
| Jared
|
|


--
Just my 2¢ worth
Jeff
__________in response to__________

| Hey guys!
|
| I have cleared _whole_ %SystemRoot%\prefetch\ folder and now it is empty
| (there was a .ini file, which I saved just for in case - I deleted it from
| Prefetch folder also).
|
| System is booting faster indeed, however after login, when I have my desktop
| shown, HD is working even for a minute, or more - of course I can do nothing
| fast then; more, I would say it is now worse than it was before with
| performance.
|
| My question: how long is to take for Prefetch to fill itself with commonly
| used data? I would like to see there "services.exe", "svchost.exe",
| "winlogon.exe", etc. OR I have corrupted something by deleting whole folder
| and now I must do something to recreate it? What to do?
|
| Thanks in advance
| Jared
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

 

[Jared]

Thank you very much for your reply! Prefetch folder started recreating today
(msimn.exe, iexplore.exe). I'm waiting for boot - up programs like
services.exe, lssass.exe or svchost.exe.
Regards
Jared

 

[Jared]

Again thank you for reply - after enabling Task Scheduler, everythings go
back to normal - I did have indeed Task scheduler disabled.
After defrag c: -boot, zeroing two registry values and defrag c: -boot these
values are set to zeros. What does it mean?
Anyway, system is booting up a lot, lot faster. Thank you for very
professional and constructive reply.
Best regards
Jared

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction
OptimizeComplete Yes?
LcnStartLocation
LcnEndLocation
Have the values changed from 0?

No, as I wrote above.

===========
By the way Prefetch will purge itself of unused *.pf files.
You don't have to clean it yourself. If you do, *don't* delete the Prefetch
folder, just the contents.

Hopefully I created Prefetch folder again and it is slowly growing up with
files suffixed .pf.

I have still one question... Can I disable Task Scheduler at all, after
filling up prefetch folder, or it is really required by system to work
properly? I do not use any scheduled task, do virus scans and Windows Update
by myself.
Thank you for reply and sorry for very messy post
Jared

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Jared;

You;re welcome.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Jared;

LcnStartLocation, LcnEndLocation are the logical cluster numbers
of the beginning and end of the boot optimization zone on your
hard drive.

I just looked at mine.
LcnStartLocation = 1932079
LcnEndLocation = 2006145

You can disable the Task Scheduler, but Prefetch won't add or
delete any *.pf files from C:\Windows\Prefetch. It won't do anything,
i.e. it won't work. Some people swear by it. I happen to think
that it helps performance.

Supposedly if you have Prefetch set to Application launch prefetching
and Boot prefetching these files get defragged more often, besides
where they get located on the hard drive. If Task Scheduler is disabled,
Idle Task Scheduling won't work (I think).

[[Windows XP is a dynamic, self-tuning operating system, and has built-in
features that support this both at setup and during continued use.]]
Meaning you can't just run Prefetch for a week and that
will be good enough.

Good info here:
Benchmarking on Windows XP
Idle Task Scheduling: The ProcessIdleTask API
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hwdev/platform/performance/benchmark.mspx#XSLTsection126121120120

[[The file placement optimization is an example of a task that is carried
out when the system is deemed to be idle.]]