Boot Windows XP lots faster...

[scrible88]

1. Open notepad.exe, type "del c:\windows\prefetch\ntosboot-*.* /q" (without the quotes) & save as "ntosboot.bat" in c:\
2. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "gpedit.msc".
3. Double click "Windows Settings" under "Computer Configuration" and double click again on "Shutdown" in the right window.
4. In the new window, click "add", "Browse", locate your "ntosboot.bat" file & click "Open".
5. Click "OK", "Apply" & "OK" to exit.
6. Reboot and be amazed.

I'm not sure exactly what it does. All I know is it adds a shutdown script...

Cuts my Thinkpads boot time by nearly 75%

Try it!

[saywhat]

Anyone else tried this yet? I'm scared.

[scrible88]

It won't hurt anything at all...

If you don't like it just go back into gpedit.msc and remove the file.

[LtTPfan]

It actually increased my bootup time. Before trying it I shut down then measured the time till my wireless icon appeared. It took 6:33! After doing the mentioned mod it appeared to load the desktop icons faster but it took 6:58 till my wireless icon appeared. (It actually takes another 40 seconds till WinXP is totally stabilized, before or after the mod.) And yes, if you don't like it, you can easily remove it as mentioned.

[scrible88]

Every system I have ever tried it on, the mod has decreased the total boot time significantly. (at least 20 seconds)

I'd be interested to know what it does for everyone.

[davidspalding]

[edited]

I'm not sure exactly what it does. All I know is it adds a shutdown script...

Well, kiddo, if you really want to know ... Google is your friend. This cyberban myth has been around at least two years, and it's still dicey at best.

http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000743.html
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issue ... fault.aspx

Just my 2¢.... When in doubt ... don't hack your OS without knowing what the hack does. There are better alternatives: regular use of the DFRG.MSC disk defragging utility. Or if you want to be clever like my superhero alter-ego thinks I am, use www.SysInternals.com's CONTIG and PAGEDFRG utilities, along with XP's defrag.exe command line utility. "defrag c: -b" as Ed Bott pointed out will do as much, or better, to speed up reboots. I use a batch file that does selected, automated backup and defragging on multiple drives using the three command line utilities, and it works great.

There are even other ways to keep your C: volume booting super-fast, but that's another topic....

[Sasha]

From what i infer from teh code, it deletes all the Prefetch files. I have a command line batch file I run every other day which does more or less the same thing and also deletes a lot of other junk.

No harm in trying it, coz I have been deleting my Prefetch files for ages now.

[ibmuser]

From what i infer from teh code, it deletes all the Prefetch files. I have a command line batch file I run every other day which does more or less the same thing and also deletes a lot of other junk.

No harm in trying it, coz I have been deleting my Prefetch files for ages now.

The prefetch thing is rather hyped from what I can make out -

http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000024.html

http://www.besttechie.net/forums/index. ... entry38988

But more interestingly,

http://blogs.msdn.com/ryanmy/archive/20 ... 21882.aspx

[Sasha]

It might be, based on the wonderful articles you have linked to. Going by the first link, as long as you don't delete the layout.ini file from the Prefetch folder, you are not doing much harm.

Still, I have commented out the line in my batch file which deletes all the *.pf files, based on the info you provided.

Thanks

[davidspalding]

http://blogs.msdn.com/ryanmy/archive/20 ... 21882.aspx

"... So, first off, it is a bad idea to periodically clean out that folder as some tech sites suggest. "

Need we say anything more?

[edit]
Hey mod: Maybe we ought to lock this thread, or rename it, as it is discussion regarding questionable advice, at best. Your call.