Windows 7 - Superfetch... how exactly does it work

Just a little knowledge building here, i understand that superfetch loads applications most used into the memory for easier access, but i read an article explaining it, and it seemed to contradict itself, it said that it optiises boot times, but doesnt start fetching until the CPU is idling after boot, can someone please explain to me how both are possible?

read this white paper article, it'll explain it. Understand how SuperFetch uses RAM to enhance system performance, from Greg Shultz - White Papers, Webcasts and Case Studies - ZDNet

In other words, is it essential to use it and can it be turned off, it can save a fair bit of CPU power apparently.

Thanks

for best performance it is recommended to leave it running. however many people turn it off and nothing bad happens.

My bad, after some forum reading and some conclusions, it is pretty much essential to keep it turned on if you want to keep your O/S running smooth and fast!

I'll leave my turned on!

interesting valton, but doesnt answer my question, if it doesnt start fetching until the cpu reaches idle, how does it optimise boot? or is it simply in the way that it arranges the boot files on the HDD?

well idk i didn't read the white paper article on it, i just pointed you in the right direction. but if it doesn't start up until the cpu comes to idle then i'd say it doesn't help boot times out much. but according to the above poster disabling it can cause system instability so thats something to think about before messing with it. personally i don't see a reason to turn it off myself and like i've said many times on these forums if it ain't broke don't fix it.

oh i have no intention of switching it off, i was just curious about the boot thing, never mind, ill keep on wondering, thanks for the article though, interesting read

sorry i couldn't be more helpful, i've just never worried enough to check into it.

You do that if your OS runs off an SSD. But for a HDD it is improving performance. Turning it off is counterproductive.