This data is located in \Windows\Prefetch, and, as the theory goes, periodically
clearing out the data in this folder (say, once a month) will improve performance.
As new applications are subsequently started, new prefetch data
will be created, which may mean slightly reduced performance at first. But
with older entries gone, there will be less data to parse, and Windows should
be able to locate the data it needs more quickly. Any performance gains you
may see will be minor (if you see any at all), but those users wishing to
squeeze every last CPU cycle out of their computers will want to try this one.
Note that deleting Prefetch data may increase boot time slightly, but only the
next time you boot Windows. Each subsequent boot should proceed normally,
since the prefetch data will already be present for the programs Windows
loads when it boots.
If you want to disable Prefetch, open your Registry Editor (Chapter 3), navigate
to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\
Memory Management\PrefetchParameters, and change the EnablePrefetcher
value to 0. (Other supported values: 1 to Prefetch applications only, 2 to
Prefetch boot processes, and 3 to Prefetch both.)
* This feature is only available on NTFS-formatted drives. See ???Choose the Right Filesystem,??? later
in this chapter, for details. It??™s also mutually exclusive of the Encrypt contents to secure data
option we??™ll discuss in Chapter 8.
248 | Chapter 5: Performance
Whether you need a particular file can be subjective; some might consider
the 11 MB of .
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