Disable the NTFS Last Access Time Stamp (Windows NT/2000/XP)

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

Disable the NTFS Last Access Time Stamp (Windows NT/2000/XP)
Category: Home > Windows > File System

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When Windows accesses a directory on an NTFS volume, it updates the LastAccess time stamp on each directory it detects. Therefore, if there are a large number of directories, this can affect performance.

Open your registry and find the key below.

Create a new DWORD value, or modify the existing value, named "NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate" and set it to "1" to prevent the LastAccess time stamp from being updated.

Restart Windows for the change to take effect.


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


	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem

Settings:

System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem]
Name: NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate
Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value: (0 = disable, 1 = enable)

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 5, 2002

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