Windows 7 Perfetch files

[lefty1953]

I know on older Windows it was safe to delete these files. Is it OK for Windows 7 to delete all the files in this folder of just the .pf files?

I have a ready Boot folder ,Data Base files and a Configuration Settings file other than the PF files. The configuration settings file is an ini file. Is it created when the first pf file goes into this folder? And continues to grow as more pf files goes in?

[TheTerrorist_75]

The only time I clean the prefetch folder is after I uninstall a bunch of old programs that I will no longer use or after a major virus infection. I have found no difference in performance with the prefetch cleaned out or disabled.

[lefty1953]

I know on older Windows it was safe to delete these files. Is it OK for Windows 7 to delete all the files in this folder of just the .pf files?

I have a ready Boot folder ,Data Base files and a Configuration Settings file other than the PF files. The configuration settings file is an ini file. Is it created when the first pf file goes into this folder? And continues to grow as more pf files goes in?

I'll just leave it alone then. I don't install and uninstall much of anything. Thanks!

[Pete_C]

Written for Vista but applies ot others too

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/What-is-the-prefetch-folder

Each time you turn on your computer, Windows keeps track of the way your computer starts and which programs you commonly open. Windows saves this information as a number of small files in the prefetch folder. The next time you turn on your computer, Windows refers to these files to help speed the start process.

The prefetch folder is a subfolder of the Windows system folder. The prefetch folder is self-maintaining, and there's no need to delete it or empty its contents. If you empty the folder, Windows and your programs will take longer to open the next time you turn on your computer.

Basically if you clear it out, things slow down until it gets repopulated. If you leave it alone , eventually unused entries will get removed.

You can think of it as bunch of shortcut links sort of, it keeps track of where on the hard drive files you use a lot when you run programs you use a lot or which load during windows startup and it tells windows to prefetch a copy from the hard drive to RAM or at least swap file (depending on when it will be needed) so that it is pre loaded when it is needed.

So instead of waiting for when it is actually needed (and a bunch of other things are trying to load from hard drive tor RAM at the same time) windows grabs them ahead of time while the CPU is doing something else or a piece of hardware is being configured so that the hard drive and RAM are not being used.

[lefty1953]

Written for Vista but applies ot others too

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/What-is-the-prefetch-folder

Each time you turn on your computer, Windows keeps track of the way your computer starts and which programs you commonly open. Windows saves this information as a number of small files in the prefetch folder. The next time you turn on your computer, Windows refers to these files to help speed the start process.

The prefetch folder is a subfolder of the Windows system folder. The prefetch folder is self-maintaining, and there's no need to delete it or empty its contents. If you empty the folder, Windows and your programs will take longer to open the next time you turn on your computer.

Basically if you clear it out, things slow down until it gets repopulated. If you leave it alone , eventually unused entries will get removed.

You can think of it as bunch of shortcut links sort of, it keeps track of where on the hard drive files you use a lot when you run programs you use a lot or which load during windows startup and it tells windows to prefetch a copy from the hard drive to RAM or at least swap file (depending on when it will be needed) so that it is pre loaded when it is needed.

So instead of waiting for when it is actually needed (and a bunch of other things are trying to load from hard drive tor RAM at the same time) windows grabs them ahead of time while the CPU is doing something else or a piece of hardware is being configured so that the hard drive and RAM are not being used.

Thanks Pete, if they remove themselves once never used I am fine with that.