Windows XP: Disable the Windows XP Prefetcher - Windows-Help.NET
Windows XP: Disable the Windows XP Prefetcher - Windows-Help.NET : "Windows XP has a Prefetcher component, which shortens the amount of time it takes to start Windows and programs. When trouble shooting either Windows or program start-up issues, it might be helpful to disable the prefetcher, because it runs as a background service while other applications are running or loading.
To disable the prefetcher:
Start the Registry Editor
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ SessionManager \ Memory Management \ PrefetchParameters
Double-click the EnablePrefetcher value (remember the value that EnablePrefetcher is set to!)
Change the Value data to 0 to disable the prefetcher
Close the registry editor and reboot the computer for the changes to take effect
When done troubleshooting, you can re-enable the prefetcher by changing the Value data to its original value.
Values for EnablePrefetcher are:
0 - no prefetch
1 - prefetch applications only