Control How NTFS Reserves Space for its Master File Table (Windows NT/2000/XP)

Registry Guide for Windows
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Registry tweaks, tricks & hacks to optimize, enhance and secure Microsoft Windows.

Control How NTFS Reserves Space for its Master File Table (Windows NT/2000/XP)
Category: Home > Windows > File System > Maintenance

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The NTFS file system contains at its core a file called the master file table (MFT). For every file on an NTFS volume there is at least one entry in the MFT. This setting controls the amount of space reserved for the MFT so that it does not become fragmented and slow system performance.

Open your registry and find the key below.

Create a new DWORD value called "NtfsMftZoneReservation" and set it to one of the values from the table below.

1 - Small Zone Reservation (Default)

2 - Medium Zone Reservation

3 - Large Zone Reservation

4 - Maximum Zone Reservation

Restart Windows for the change to take effect.

Note: This is a run-time parameter and does not affect the format of a volume. Rather, it affects the way NTFS allocates space on all volumes on a given system. Therefore, to be completely effective, the parameter must be in effect from the time that a volume is formatted throughout the life of the volume.


(Default)	REG_SZ	(value not set)
NtfsMftZoneReservation	REG_DWORD	0x00000001 (1)


	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem

Settings:

System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem]
Name: NtfsMftZoneReservation
Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value: 1 (default) - 4 (maximum)

Disclaimer: Modifying the registry can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. We cannot guarantee that problems resulting from modifications to the registry can be solved. Use the information provided at your own risk.

Last Modified: March 9, 2002

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