Cleaning out the Prefetch Folder Winxp

danjo-xx

Seem to have a lot of junk in here and been reading that it's a good idea to delete everything but very rarely though, as the files are needed to run programmes quickly.

I've never cleared this folder out ~ ever so might get rid of some junk.


Thinking of doing a complete removal of all files and then a re-boot to get going again.


Is it ok to delete everything or do I need to keep the ini file.

tnks

Verres

You can delete everything here.

But easier than this, and safer in general than manually trashing files on C:\ is just to install CCleaner and run it regularly.

This will clean out all your temp folders / other unnecessary files. It can also tidy up the registry too. It's a tiny, free, lightweight app from a crowd called Piriform. I've been using it for years without a hitch. Give it a go; I highly recommend it.

danjo-xx

Verres wrote: »

You can delete everything here.

But easier than this, and safer in general than manually trashing files on C:\ is just to install CCleaner and run it regularly.

This will clean out all your temp folders / other unnecessary files. It can also tidy up the registry too. It's a tiny, free, lightweight app from a crowd called Piriform. I've been using it for years without a hitch. Give it a go; I highly recommend it.

Yeah I use that on a daily basis, it's a great little tool. Doesn't clean the prefetch but then this folder should be left alone really.

Some suggest cleanining it but others advise strongly again doing that.

no worries

Verres

Cleaning the prefetch folder won't do any harm (it might temporarily slow down an app from opening) but on the other hand it won't do much harm if you leave it be.

yoyo

I'd reccomend leaving the prefetch folder alone. As Verres says it helps applications load quicker, more efficiently, you can tick the option in CCleaner to empty the folder if you like though!

Nick

Nothingbetter2d

the best way to safely clear out the prefetch folder is to disable system restore on all harddrives.... reboot the pc to clear out all the old files... then reenable system restore set a new restore point (for future use if needed) and reboot... this will help get rid of alot of unnecessary prefetch files from months ago. And free up a fair bit of hard drive space.

Dude111

Verres wrote:

You can delete everything here.

I agree!!!!

Whenever im using an XP machene,i always delete the "prefetch" folder and notice excellent results right after! (Seems silly to collect that stuff as when you remove it,the response is better! (Stuff opens faster,etc))