Prefetch

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The Problem 

On your desk, you might keep a notepad, a pen, a pencil, a stapler, some paper clips -  tools you need to use often. You wouldn't keep putting them away after each use. You want them right next to you, where you're working. In a sense, your computer does this with software programs (applications) that are frequently used.  To Prefetch means to fetch before it is actually required. All the files or applications, which are to be prefetched, are stored in the C:\Windows\Prefetch folder, from where they are loaded into RAM each time you boot up your computer. The problem is, XP will do this little process with programs you rarely use. Remember those items on your desk - the notepad, pen, pencil etc? Now imagine dumping the contents of all your desk drawers on top of your desk, so "everything" would be within easy reach. It would take you longer to find that little pencil then if you just kept it in the drawer. Likewise, if you have too many  items in the Prefetch folder, over time your system will actually run more slowly. This is especially true in a computer with limited resources,  i.e., a small amount of RAM.

 

The Solution

Delete all the files in the Prefetch folder when the folder starts getting too big as seen below.

 

Here is a screenshot of a sample Prefetch folder:

 

 

The Method

In order to clean (delete all files in) the Prefetch folder, follow the steps given below. Please be warned that after you delete all the files in the Prefetch folder, your computer will take a little longer to boot up the next two or three times. It has to rebuild the Prefetch list with a few necessary applications. After that, you should see a real improvement in your computer's general speed.

 

  1. Place your mouse arrow or cursor on the My Computer icon on your Desktop and click your left mouse button. A new window will open.
  2. Double Left Click on  C: and a new window will open.
  3. Double Left Click on the Windows folder. A new window will open.
  4. Double Left Click on the Prefetch folder. A new window will open.
  5. Left Click on Edit at the top left of the new window. A drop-down menu will open.  Left Click on Select All in the drop-down menu . (You can see that all the items have now changed color which means they are selected.)
  6. Hit the Delete button on your keyboard and Left Click Yes in the Confirm Multiple Delete box . You will now see that all the items have been deleted and the folder is empty.

 

Extra Tip:

You may also use Prefetch to make an application load (or start up)  faster. Let's use Microsoft Word as an example.

  1. Left Click on the Start button at the bottom left of your screen. A pop-up menu will open.

  2. Place your mouse arrow or cursor on All Programs and another pop-up menu will open.

  3. Right Click on Microsoft Word. (Make sure you are pointing to an individual program, not a folder) A drop-down menu should open.

  4. Left Click on Properties. A properties box will open which should look like the one below:

 

 

  1. Notice that the box (or field) marked Target is an editable area (you can type in it). If this box is grayed out, the shortcut is not an original. (Skip to Search below if you have this problem)

  2. Place your cursor right at the end of the line (after the .EXE"  in the above example)

  3. Hit your space bar once and then type: /prefetch:1 (Don't forget the forward slash)

  4. Left click on OK at the bottom of the properties box and you're done!

 

Search:

 

If your Shortcut Properties Box did not have an editable Target field (box to type in), do the following:

  1. Left Click on the Start button at the bottom left of your screen.. A pop-up window will open.

  2. Left Click on Search.

  3. In the field just below the words, "All or part of a file name:"  type word.exe

  4. In the field just below the words, "Look in:" left click on the arrow and a drop-down menu will appear.

  5. Left Click on Local Disk (C:).

  6. Left Click on OK.

  7. The results of the search should include a shortcut which will probably say Shortcut to Winword.exe. (Make sure it is within a folder marked Documents and Settings)

  8. Right Click on the file. A drop-down menu will open.

  9. Continue with #4 in the above section, Extra Tip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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