The Windows XP prefetch folder:
What is the prefetch folder?
XP gathers information about each program that you launch and stores that information in the \Windows\Prefetch folder. What actually happens when you click an icon is that Windows uses the information in the Prefetch folder to decide which program segments to load and in what order to load those pages.
Why should I clean out the prefetch folder periodically?
Because it can accumulate way too much information over time, which makes the operating system boot up a little slower because of all these items that have built up in this folder.
There is a lot of debate among the IT world about whether this tip actually has any benefit. There are many variables that could affect whether cleaning the folder out will make any difference or how much. One thing I have noticed is that some spyware programs put info here that will reload the spyware after you delete it from it's primary location. That in itself is reason enough to clean out the folder when you are doing a spyware removal, if at no other time.
Some argue that you shouldn't be worried about shaving a few seconds off the boot time at the cost of application load time. But XP will quickly rebuild this folder with those applications that you use frequently, so those applications will load more quickly after the first time. If you run a lot of programs once and then don't use them again for a long time, then you will probably see more of an improvement than someone who uses the same programs every day and nothing else. If you decide to try this tip, time the bootup process a couple times beforehand, as well as how long it takes to load a few of the applications that you use every day. Then time it after doing the cleanup. I would be very interested to see the results, so feel free to email them to me.
How do I clean out the prefetch folder?
- 1. Click Start and then "Run..." (or if you prefer the keyboard shortcut - hold down the Windows key and press R).
- 2. Type in the word "prefetch" and click OK.
- 3. Select all the files (keyboard shortcut - Ctrl A).
- 4. Press Delete.
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