Lost Prefetch (XP Pro/SP1)

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hi —

as everyone suggested, i periodically go into c:windowsPrefetch and empty the entries there so my OS can refresh its prefetch … well, the other day, when i went to that location there was no Prefetch folder … so, i created one to see if it would be populated by windows … but it hasn’t … i also checked the registry key that enables/disables prefetch, and that key is properly set to enabled … anyone know how i can get prefetch back?

thanks

Steve Weiss

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no i have not … and, to be frank, while i think i have heard of such an animal, i don’t see it on my start menu anyware … what’s the exe file called and where is it located?

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You can run the system file checker by clicking Start – Run and entering SFC /scannow. Have your Windows CD handy.

I doubt that this will recreate the prefetch folder, though. What might be a better option than clearing it manually is to peridiocally run the BootVis tool and allow it to optimize the boot process. You can also use this tool to check and see what is delaying the startup process, if you are curious. It is a little bit of a high-level tool, meaning it’s interface is somewhat vague, so if you decide to run it and have question, post back.

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Mark,

BootVis hasn’t been available on the MS site for some time. Other locations perhaps?

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Hmmn, just noticed that when I was digging for it. I found a download at Soft32 but I’m not sure what Microsoft would think of this. True to form, they did not provide a reason as to why they yanked the download, I suspect it was because end users misunderstood its uses and it resulted in too many support issues.

That said, it appears that using it is a “buyer beware” situation; meaning, don’t bother the Softies with questions relating to it. Since I refuse to pay top dollar for their support when I have a resource like the Lounge , that’s not an issue for me – but it may be for others.

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hmmm … well, i don’t think that my prefectch stopped working at the same time that i fine-tuned my services, but stranger thanings have happened … attached is a snapshot of my services … (sorry if it’s not readable, if you open it in word perfect it will become more readable) … i fined-tuned my services based on the black viper web page … see what you think …and, i agree that my bootvis did not work because of services … i saw somewhere i need to turn on task scheduler and one other service

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hmmm … well, i don’t think that my prefectch stopped working at the same time that i fine-tuned my services, but stranger thanings have happened … attached is a snapshot of my services … (sorry if it’s not readable, if you open it in word perfect it will become more readable) … i fined-tuned my services based on the black viper web page … see what you think …and, i agree that my bootvis did not work because of services … i saw somewhere i need to turn on task scheduler and one other service

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Try re-enabling the Task Scheduler service. Personally I see little benefit in disabling it because many other applications use it as well, including but not limited to Norton Antivirus.

The text file you posted is skewed whether in Word or notepad, by the way – the tabs and fixed font make it difficult to read, thank goodness for UltraEdit!

Edited to add: I should have thought of Excel first, I was able to import the file into columns there and read it better. You might also consider re-enabling the WMI Performance Adapter as well.[/i]

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well, i re-enabled task scheduler and changed a few services from manual to automatic, in anticipation of solving the prefetch problem as well as the bootvis issue … i am happy to report that prefetch is now working, ie, there are now files in the prefetch folder …. however, my version of bootviz does not seem to work … i can get it to run, but after reboot, it says that the system configuration trace file was invalid … i have downloaded a later version of bootvis, but have not had a chance to install it … i will try to see if that helps and will report back on my experience

i also tried to use the SFC … it is requesting my Windows XP Pro SP1 cd-rom … i don’t have an sp1 CD … there is a sp1.cab in c:windowsdriver cachei386, but i can’t get to it since there is no BROWSE button on the pop up box … any suggestions?

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Great! At least you got prefetch working again, that’s a big step in the right direction.

Let me clarify on your question, though: did the System File Checker ask for both the Windows installation CD, as well as the SP1 CD? Or did it just ask for the latter? You can modify the install path for both the initial installation and also the location of Service Pack Files via the registry. The location in the registry is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionSetupServicePackSourcePath

Note that for the value SourcePath, the location of the Windows installation files, the proper setting leaves off the i386 value. It is silently appended to whatever value you enter there, so if your Windows CD lives on the hard drive at, say, C:i386, the proper syntax for that key would be simply C: – the i386 portion is assumed.

Check articles 222193: Description of the Windows File Protection Feature and 222473: Registry Settings for Windows File Protection for more information.

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the prompt box only asked for the sp CD, but i since i did not have cd, i cancelled the operation … so, if i had left it to run more, i don’t think it would have asked for the install cd (which i also don’t have), but possibly ….

and, my other question is: are there other files on the sp1 cd that are not in the sp1.cab that i need (or is windows looking for a certain file/file structure that i should be aware of)?

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The CAB file should contain everything you need for SP1. To answer your question about a certain file structure, the answer is yes – detailed in my previous post.

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well, i tried to change the location of sp1 source in the registry but i kept getting the same error message … so, i reinstalled sp1 … it left a new folder in windows — Service Pack Files — and changed the registry reference back to c:windowsServicePack Files … and then SFC worked fine … i think what happened was, stupid me, i should have extracted the sp1.cab into a folder and referred to that folder …. anyway, my system is now checked!

but, i still cannot get boot vis to work .. i downloaded the latest version that i could find bootvis 1.3.370 and i got the same error message after the pgm reboots windows … i will attach a screen capture of the error msg … any suggestions?

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well, i tried to change the location of sp1 source in the registry but i kept getting the same error message … so, i reinstalled sp1 … it left a new folder in windows — Service Pack Files — and changed the registry reference back to c:windowsServicePack Files … and then SFC worked fine … i think what happened was, stupid me, i should have extracted the sp1.cab into a folder and referred to that folder …. anyway, my system is now checked!

but, i still cannot get boot vis to work .. i downloaded the latest version that i could find bootvis 1.3.370 and i got the same error message after the pgm reboots windows … i will attach a screen capture of the error msg … any suggestions?

Reply | Quote

The CAB file should contain everything you need for SP1. To answer your question about a certain file structure, the answer is yes – detailed in my previous post.

Reply | Quote

the prompt box only asked for the sp CD, but i since i did not have cd, i cancelled the operation … so, if i had left it to run more, i don’t think it would have asked for the install cd (which i also don’t have), but possibly ….

and, my other question is: are there other files on the sp1 cd that are not in the sp1.cab that i need (or is windows looking for a certain file/file structure that i should be aware of)?

Reply | Quote

Great! At least you got prefetch working again, that’s a big step in the right direction.

Let me clarify on your question, though: did the System File Checker ask for both the Windows installation CD, as well as the SP1 CD? Or did it just ask for the latter? You can modify the install path for both the initial installation and also the location of Service Pack Files via the registry. The location in the registry is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionSetupServicePackSourcePath

Note that for the value SourcePath, the location of the Windows installation files, the proper setting leaves off the i386 value. It is silently appended to whatever value you enter there, so if your Windows CD lives on the hard drive at, say, C:i386, the proper syntax for that key would be simply C: – the i386 portion is assumed.

Check articles 222193: Description of the Windows File Protection Feature and 222473: Registry Settings for Windows File Protection for more information.

Reply | Quote

well, i re-enabled task scheduler and changed a few services from manual to automatic, in anticipation of solving the prefetch problem as well as the bootvis issue … i am happy to report that prefetch is now working, ie, there are now files in the prefetch folder …. however, my version of bootviz does not seem to work … i can get it to run, but after reboot, it says that the system configuration trace file was invalid … i have downloaded a later version of bootvis, but have not had a chance to install it … i will try to see if that helps and will report back on my experience

i also tried to use the SFC … it is requesting my Windows XP Pro SP1 cd-rom … i don’t have an sp1 CD … there is a sp1.cab in c:windowsdriver cachei386, but i can’t get to it since there is no BROWSE button on the pop up box … any suggestions?

Reply | Quote

Try re-enabling the Task Scheduler service. Personally I see little benefit in disabling it because many other applications use it as well, including but not limited to Norton Antivirus.

The text file you posted is skewed whether in Word or notepad, by the way – the tabs and fixed font make it difficult to read, thank goodness for UltraEdit!

Edited to add: I should have thought of Excel first, I was able to import the file into columns there and read it better. You might also consider re-enabling the WMI Performance Adapter as well.[/i]

Reply | Quote

Hmmn, just noticed that when I was digging for it. I found a download at Soft32 but I’m not sure what Microsoft would think of this. True to form, they did not provide a reason as to why they yanked the download, I suspect it was because end users misunderstood its uses and it resulted in too many support issues.

That said, it appears that using it is a “buyer beware” situation; meaning, don’t bother the Softies with questions relating to it. Since I refuse to pay top dollar for their support when I have a resource like the Lounge , that’s not an issue for me – but it may be for others.

Reply | Quote

Mark,

BootVis hasn’t been available on the MS site for some time. Other locations perhaps?

Reply | Quote

You can run the system file checker by clicking Start – Run and entering SFC /scannow. Have your Windows CD handy.

I doubt that this will recreate the prefetch folder, though. What might be a better option than clearing it manually is to peridiocally run the BootVis tool and allow it to optimize the boot process. You can also use this tool to check and see what is delaying the startup process, if you are curious. It is a little bit of a high-level tool, meaning it’s interface is somewhat vague, so if you decide to run it and have question, post back.

Reply | Quote

no i have not … and, to be frank, while i think i have heard of such an animal, i don’t see it on my start menu anyware … what’s the exe file called and where is it located?

Reply | Quote

Hey, I was quicker on the draw than the Cowboy!

Reply | Quote

my xp pro is installed on my toshiba laptop so i don’t have a retail os install, just the recovery disk … i don’t need that, right (ie, the system will find the necessary cabs on my hard drive)? and, i have had some trouble getting bootvis to work … i had gotten an error … it may have been due to the fact that i turn off lots of “unncessary services” as many pundits recoommend … i kinda gave up … are you suggesting that i should try using that util again (and have you guys help me debug my problem?!)

Reply | Quote

Aye, you’ve turned off “unnecessary services.” I would suspect that THIS is why your prefetch folder is not being populated. It is also possibly why BootVis fails, for the same reason. I don’t recall which service prefetching depends on, so if you could provide a list of what you have disabled, that would be helpful. Alternatively, if you have Disabled services instead of setting them to Manual, this could contribute. The general recommendation is to set services you do not want to run to Manual, which allows Windows to start them if needed.

I would recommend BootVis only if you are interested in making it work, certainly I and other Loungers would jump in and assist with any questions you might have!

Reply | Quote

Aye, you’ve turned off “unnecessary services.” I would suspect that THIS is why your prefetch folder is not being populated. It is also possibly why BootVis fails, for the same reason. I don’t recall which service prefetching depends on, so if you could provide a list of what you have disabled, that would be helpful. Alternatively, if you have Disabled services instead of setting them to Manual, this could contribute. The general recommendation is to set services you do not want to run to Manual, which allows Windows to start them if needed.

I would recommend BootVis only if you are interested in making it work, certainly I and other Loungers would jump in and assist with any questions you might have!

Reply | Quote

my xp pro is installed on my toshiba laptop so i don’t have a retail os install, just the recovery disk … i don’t need that, right (ie, the system will find the necessary cabs on my hard drive)? and, i have had some trouble getting bootvis to work … i had gotten an error … it may have been due to the fact that i turn off lots of “unncessary services” as many pundits recoommend … i kinda gave up … are you suggesting that i should try using that util again (and have you guys help me debug my problem?!)

Reply | Quote

Hey, I was quicker on the draw than the Cowboy!

Reply | Quote