Superfetch registry entries

[davexnet]

Because this old Dell Dimension 4600 has such slow SATA performance
Superfecth disk activity lasts forever.
In this registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters


I have set EnableSuperfetch to 1, which is supposed to enable Superfetch for the boot
files only. My thinking is that this would reduce the disk activity that runs about 5 minutes
after you logon. But it still seems to be accessing some application files,
why I don't know ( see these two images)

How does superfetch get involved in the boot? Surely there is nothing in RAM to speed
up the process since you just turned on the PC.
Thanks for any info

 

[Ranger4]

Hi davexnet. welcome to the Forum.

Fiddling with the registry very often results in tears, so it's best to leave it alone.

A slow boot up is usually caused by having too many programs loading at start up. Click on the Start button & type msconfig in the search box. Then select the Start Up tab to see what gets started when you boot the computer.

Then post a screen shot of the Start Up tab using the following tutorial:

Screenshots and Files - Upload and Post in Seven Forums - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

[davexnet]

The boot up is not slow. From the Bios POST, typing in my password, and the desktop appearing
is about 20 - 25 seconds. I only have one entry in the startup and it's for the Creative soundcard.

I acquired this PC used and have taken some time to clean and optimize as best as I can.
The Windows 7 Home that was in the PC is still there, I did not reinstall. In my opinion,
it's in good shape


My question has to do with the furious HDD activity that takes place about 5 minutes after I've logged
on. This activity usually lasts about 10 minutes. The images I posted appear to show Superfetch
as the culprit - hence my specific questions about the working of Superfetch


EDIT for now I've disabled the SF service. I only use this PC for a bit of light-weight
web browsing. Having it hammer the HDD for 10, 15 minutes made no sense at all.

 

[Megahertz07]

The furious HDD activity that takes place about 5 minutes after I've logged on can be the Antivirus checking for an update and doing a quick scan.

 

[davexnet]

Regarding the A/V updates. Thanks for the suggestion, by using the Task Manager
and Resmon.exe I do see some activity that appears to be related.


Bottom line, I think the slow HDD is the real problem, I might look around to see if I
can find an add on card (pci) that I can run / boot the disk from.
Thanks

 

[Megahertz07]

The boot up is not slow. From the Bios POST, typing in my password, and the desktop appearing is about 20 - 25 seconds.

I would say that is very fast for a HDD and an old computer.
Don't spent too much money on it.
You can add a small SSD (128G) for windows and programs and use the HDD for data. It will cost you ~US$50.

 

[davexnet]

I would say that is very fast for a HDD and an old computer.
Don't spent too much money on it.
You can add a small SSD (128G) for windows and programs and use the HDD for data. It will cost you ~US$50.

Thanks for the info, that's interesting because it seems to be the HDD that is the bottleneck.
However, it is old, it's barely powerful enough to play Youtube video (the AGP video card installed
does not offer any acceleration)

I was having some problems with the Panda Dome free A/V so I uninstalled and reinstalled
Microsoft Security Essentials for the time being. After two or three boots it settled down and I got a
notification from Windows Update about a newer version if IE11. I never use it, but I thought
it may benefit the system due to the possibility of updated core files. I updated IE11
and I was surprised to see this version seems to have also installed the DISM subsystem;
it don't believe it was there before, I've never seen it until now.
Any pros/cons of this? After a couple of more boots it seems transparent, doesn't seem
as if there is anymore overhead to the system

One weird thing, when DISM was first installing it was running a process called dismhost.exe out of
the temp folder which I thought was a little strange

 

[Megahertz07]

If you want to improve your computer, install more memory (2+2)G and a small (128G) SSD.
Over the years, Windows collects a lot of trash (specially on the register) that slows down the computer. I have a disk image from a fresh install (Windows and Office) and I load it every two years. I then install the other software.
I have a small SSD for Windows and programs and I have moved C:\users to D:\Users using Kari tutorial. I have the speed of a SSD and the space of a HDD at low cost.
In other words, I recommend you to install more memory (2+2)G and a small (128G) SSD and do a fresh install.
I can guide you on moving C:\users to D:\Users using Kari tutorial.