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Windows Prefetching Reference


Mastertech

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With full version u get probably the result that prefetching needs to be on, and below 200mb, u get the result that it needs to be off... at least I think that will be.

Still, with Prefetch turned off sure I won a second in boot time, but lost another when starting Firefox, which is just one of many programs I use daily, others are MSN Messenger, Foobar, Apache Server, Alcohol 120%, Thunderbird, Photoshop etc etc. And if that gain with Prefetch on is true for all those programs then I can't se any reason not to have it on. It does not just apply to the boot sequence.

I'd say we need more and perhaps more precise tests before any real conclusion that works in most cases kan be drawn. Just five test each is to few to really smooth out the small differences in reaction from the tester etc. Someone with alot of time on their hands should run the test with 20-50 reboots with every option :P

Btw, updated my previous post with my computers stats and Session.ini etc.

Edited by Ibis
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@ibis nlite already has an option, called leave prefetch functionality, its there, so nlite has already done all it should.

@everyone

i cant even use prefetch on that computer, it needs many services. too many, so the gains from services being able to be remove, are outweights what you need to keep, for prefetch to remain running

id enable the services again, but i cant, workstation service, disappears from the list, if you put it on disable, for too long

the laws of prefetch, do not apply to many nlite users.

but if you'd like, i cant make up some numbers even with bootvis too, i can not click the username for 3 minutes showing prefetch taking 3 minutes and 30 seconds longer, than disabling prefetch, even with bootvis. It can always be flawed, and cheated.

but in the end, prefetch doesn't apply to me, i know this for a fact. I did over 2 weeks of testing a year ago, and nothing showed a noticable benifit except for when its disabled, which gave me a 20 second or more decrease in boot times. All my taskbar items, took just as long to load with prefetch on. The point of this being, i only loaded 100MB of stuff into memory @ startup, removed event log, which is probbally what calls for prefetch, causing this slowdown in boot times some people are noticing, that make prefetching being off look like its not a huge gain. But for some minimalist out there, using the best of the best software. Test your own, dont trust others therories. And give this settings.ini a try.

@mastertech , b4 you reply, with lies lies lies, like always. Get an amd64 2800+ overclock it to 3280+ on a dfi nf3 250GB, with kingmax hardcore ddr 500 @ 570 , with an WD80GBSE 8MB cache, and use my settings.ini and my software.

but one question. as you know this is purly off topic, why did you bring this thread back? why didn't you post it in a windows xp section of this forum, or the tips and tweaks.

Edited by gdogg
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With full version u get probably the result that prefetching needs to be on, and below 200mb, u get the result that it needs to be off... at least I think that will be.

Still, with Prefetch turned off sure I won a second in boot time, but lost another when starting Firefox, which is just one of many programs I use daily, others are MSN Messenger, Foobar, Apache Server, Alcohol 120%, Thunderbird, Photoshop etc etc. And if that gain with Prefetch on is true for all those programs then I can't se any reason not to have it on. It does not just apply to the boot sequence.

I'd say we need more and perhaps more precise tests before any real conclusion that works in most cases kan be drawn. Just five test each is to few to really smooth out the small differences in reaction from the tester etc. Someone with alot of time on their hands should run the test with 20-50 reboots with every option :P

Btw, updated my previous post with my computers stats and Session.ini etc.

Yeh but as I said, under the 200mb it aint nescesary, my firefox launches in 1sec. MSN and other similair programs etc all very fast as well 0.5-2sec. But I just have 8 serviceses on, u got like 15+. So if u have many stuff, it helps, if u got less stuff, ur better of without. I think I dont have to test this anymore, wot I will test is game start up performance. But wots that 2sec longer waiting for a game, while the level loading in bf2 for example takes 30sec.. then that 2sec is nothing.

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I've delete two prior threads because of the flaming going on in them. Next person I see from this post on, will have posting suspended for a period or depending on the severity, permanently BANNED from the forum as a whole.

This thread by no means belongs to the nLite forum, and as such I'm moving it to the XP forum.

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Yeh but as I said, under the 200mb it aint nescesary, my firefox launches in 1sec. MSN and other similair programs etc all very fast as well 0.5-2sec. But I just have 8 serviceses on, u got like 15+. So if u have many stuff, it helps, if u got less stuff, ur better of without. I think I dont have to test this anymore, wot I will test is game start up performance. But wots that 2sec longer waiting for a game, while the level loading in bf2 for example takes 30sec.. then that 2sec is nothing.

Under 200MB what? :S ISO? Mine's at ~135 or some such :P But I understand what you mean and I think you're right. The less you have to load in the bootup and the less programs you use after, the less Prefetch does for you. And yeah, I need those services started, or else I loose functionality with some things, I'm not after the smallest Windows possible, but the smallest I can get without loosing any functionality I can't be without. I could probably kill a few more, but I haven't really looked into it :P (got any tips you can share by just looking at what I have there?) I think my gaming system is more up to your standard and there I haven't planned on using Prefetch either, but for my workstation OS, I couldn't live without it. I do so much in that, as opposed to the Gaming OS where I only do one thing at a time.

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Ibis,

I think I know partly what is wrong with your testing. You have to have had Prefetching on for over 3 boot ups. Then you had to have the defragmenter layout the files. Do this:

Testing Prefetching At Bootup - Moved to Page 1.

Edited by Mastertech
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so what your saying is, that prefetch only makes a difference if you defragment your hard disk

hmm, knew something was fishy with your numbers

@ibis , not 200MB cd, 200MB of ram usage

@mastertech so when are you gonna accept, my computer boots faster without prefetch on?

along with alot of nlite users who remove next to everything, mess with services.msc, and so on

oh and can i edit this post more times that you can read it, before posting your message?

oh and please, dont give me another bigg long story, i dont want it! but on the other hand, prefetch 0 works well for me, giving me lower boot times!

mastertech, ill give you this much though, on your computer, with the stuff you use, turning prefetch off would be a mistake :P

Edited by gdogg
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gdogg, seriously already, part of prefetching is laying out the files that are prefetched. This is done using the defragmenter but is not done by doing a regular defrag. This is a one time process for boot optimization unless you change something at boot up, such as add a new application to load or remove one. The prefetcher will automatically every three days use the defragmenter to layout files relating to applications. It does not run a full defrag.

It is also very possible that nLite users can remove enough components that the Prefetcher is broken and not working at all. This is where my concerns are because you can never get accurate test results if it is broken.

Edited by Mastertech
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even on my dads laptop, with a 5400RPM drive, with bootvis.

prefetch 3 took 35 seconds longer to boot then

prefetch 0 took

this was a intel p4 lappy, with ddr memory.

on a full version of windows mce 2004.

@mastertech its really wierd this is happening. what type of pc do you use?

Also, this layout thing? where is it? is it in a file somewhere? i want to see it. I think it would be very insightful.

Do third party defrag tools make use of this layout thing too? if so does perfect disk or diskeeper use them?

Edited by gdogg
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Ibis,

I think I know partly what is wrong with your testing. You have to have had Prefetching on for over 3 boot ups. Then you had to have the defragmenter layout the files. Do this:

I've had the prefetch on since I installed windows, that is a couple of weeks ago, I've done a number of reboots since then, so that can't be the case. I didn't just turn it on for this test. And I don't use the Windows Defragmenter, removed it with nLite so can't use that, I use perfect disk :) It places files by how much they are accessed, that should do.

gdogg: I guess he's talking about that thing about Windows optimizing files for boot during idleness, there's a option in nLite to disable it, that's why I remember it.

Edited by Ibis
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Ibis do your know where this layout thing is? that Mastertech is talking about, if i could find that, then couldn't i edit it to only put what i want it to @ start of drive?

It's nothing like that, I think it runs in the background, don't even know if there is any option to control it. I think bootvis does exactly that though, that you can run the optimization whenever you want, not just when it's scheduled. But power over what to place? No, just automatically after how they are used and accessed, which is the better way anyhow. Probably why Task Scheduler is needed for Prefetch to work as intended, and the defragment-program.

Mastertech: Hehe, read my test again, after I tested with prefetch off and cleared the cache (I can only clear something that is there from the beginning, right ;)) I restored it from the backup I took, I have the files there, 129 if I can remember it correctly, maybe some hidden also. Prefetch works for me, not just the defragment part. I actually used the option in nLite to preserve Prefetch functionality.

Edited by Ibis
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It is the layout.ini file in the C:\Windows\Prefetch If the file is not there then Prefetching is not working. Also check the dates on the layout.ini and boot.pf file, they need to be recent or it can mean at some point Prefetching was disabled or broken. As for editing it, it is not a good idea.

It's nothing like that, I think it runs in the background, don't even know if there is any option to control it. I think bootvis does exactly that though, that you can run the optimization whenever you want, not just when it's scheduled. But power over what to place? No, just automatically after how they are used and accessed, which is the better way anyhow. Probably why Task Scheduler is needed for Prefetch to work as intended, and the defragment-program.
Yes Bootvis will let you run the optimization whenever you want instead of every three days. Task Scheduler needs to be set to automatic for prefetching to work. Check the prefetch folder to see if it is on.
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