Manage the Windows Prefetcher Service (Windows XP)

Registry Guide for Windows
Part of the WinGuides Network

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

Manage the Windows Prefetcher Service (Windows XP)
Category: Home > Windows > Startup and Shutdown

This tweak can be easily applied using WinGuides Tweak Manager.
Download a free trial now!

The Windows XP Prefetcher component helps to shorten the amount of time it takes to start programs by fetching and storing commonly used files. This tweak allows you to manage the service and cache.

Open your registry and find or create the key below.

Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, called "EnablePrefetcher" and set it according to the value data below.

To clear the Prefetcher cache, delete all the files in the Prefetch sub-directory (e.g. "C:\Windows\Prefetch").

Exit your registry and restart Windows for the change to take effect.


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


	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memo...

Settings:

System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\
Memory Management\PrefetchParameters]
Name: EnablePrefetcher
Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value: (0 = disabled, 1 = Application launch prefetching, 2 = Boot prefetching, 3 = Both prefetching)

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: August 26, 2002

Return to Index