Performance Tip: Prune Your Prefetch

[netmasta]

I got this tip from a PC Pitstop E-mail:

"Windows XP speeds up boot time using information that it keeps

in the Prefetch folder under the Windows folder (usually this

is C:WindowsPrefetch on most PCs). Over time as many programs

are installed and removed, the prefetch information can actually

hurt performance. If your startup times are lagging, you can

delete the .pf files in the Prefetch folder and Windows XP will

rebuild them as needed. While you're cleaning, it's a good time

to empty the Recycle Bin, clear your IE cache, and defrag the

drive for best performance."

I tried it and it seems to work pretty good. Of course I was also deleting some start-up items at the same time. I'm down to about 170MB at startup.

[Cobra]

I read another article about it that was really in-depth about Prefetching and how to control it. You should take a look- [link]. I believe that it also states in the article that clearing it out too often is also a bad thing, because prefetching can also help the computer, and recommends clearing it out about once a month. I'd say clear it about every two weeks, though, because it works for me. Sometimes, however, I'll also go in and delete the .pf file of a program that I've run and won't run again for awhile because I don't want it slowing everything else in the prefetch down.

[Guest helloimtim]

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4194.html  This free handy little xp tool will do that for you, Its the only "tweak" program I use and probally ever will.