Comments on: Clear your Prefetch http://www.pcmech.com/article/clear-your-prefetch/ Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:23:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Larry Millerhttp://www.pcmech.com/article/clear-your-prefetch/comment-page-1/#comment-17071 Larry Miller Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:17:59 +0000 http://746837391#comment-17071 Yet another uninformed prefetch article. Do not do as thia author suggests, he clearly does not understand how prefetch works. Prefetch files are used to optimize both boot and application launch times. Application prefetch files are referenced only after application launch has been initiated, NOT at bootup. Unused or rarely used entries will not be referenced and will have virtually no inpact on performance, even if in large numbers. Manual deletion of these files will deprive Windows of a valuable resource and has no benefits. In any event the folder is self cleaning after 128 entries. All of this has been extensively tested.Prefetch requires the Task Scheduler Service be enabled and set to Automatic. If it is not prefetch will be crippled, leading to impaired performance.References: http://home.comcast.net/~SupportCD/XPMyths.html http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000024.html http://blogs.msdn.com/ryanmy/archive/2005/05/25/421882.aspxLarry Miller Microsoft MCSA Yet another uninformed prefetch article.
Do not do as thia author suggests, he clearly does not understand how prefetch works. Prefetch files are used to optimize both boot and application launch times. Application prefetch files are referenced only after application launch has been initiated, NOT at bootup. Unused or rarely used entries will not be referenced and will have virtually no inpact on performance, even if in large numbers. Manual deletion of these files will deprive Windows of a valuable resource and has no benefits. In any event the folder is self cleaning after 128 entries. All of this has been extensively tested.

Prefetch requires the Task Scheduler Service be enabled and set to Automatic. If it is not prefetch will be crippled, leading to impaired performance.

References:
http://home.comcast.net/~SupportCD/XPMyths.html
http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000024.html
http://blogs.msdn.com/ryanmy/archive/2005/05/25/421882.aspx

Larry Miller
Microsoft MCSA

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