Remove Ntfs Timestamps to speed up Vista

If you are using the nfts filesystem in windows xp you might know this registry hack to speed things up a little bit. The default mode is that every time you alter a file a timestamp will be saved which is for most users completely useless. Some backup programs or synchronizers use this feature but most others don’t.

If you are not using a program that needs the timestamp you can easily edit the registry key in vista to speed up your system. Hit Windows + R, type regedit and press enter.  Navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem

Right-click the key NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate and change the value of it to 1. While you are there you could also disable the creation of files in Dos format (8+3) by altering the value of the key NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation to 1 as well.

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Tags: ntfs, ntfsdisablelastaccessupdate, timestamp, tips, tricks, tweak, vista, Windows
Categories: Operating Systems, Windows

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7 Responses to “Remove Ntfs Timestamps to speed up Vista”

1. MrBuddha says:

   January 6, 2007 at 11:59 am

   Not sure whether this works in Vista, but in XP you can also do that on the command line without the need to modify the registry directly:

   fsutil behavior set disablelastaccess 1

   and

   fsutil behavior set disable8dot3 1

   Providing a 0 instead of the 1 activates the features again.

   Reply
2. Martin says:

   January 6, 2007 at 12:17 pm

   I try that out the next time I boot into Vista.

   Reply
3. Martin says:

   January 7, 2007 at 10:09 am

   MrBuddha yes it is working

   Reply
4. Thomas says:

   February 13, 2007 at 6:54 pm

   On Windows Vista, updating last access timestamps is disabled by default, so the “trick” doesn’t do anything useful.

   You can use “fsutil behavior query” to check that this is true.

   Reply

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1. Remove Ntfs Timestamps to speed up Vista : Tech Tips says:

   January 9, 2007 at 5:54 am

   [...] Remove Ntfs Timestamps to speed up Vista [...]

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2. Windows arbeitet ständig ... - Seite 2 - Die Hardware-Community für PC-Spieler - PC GAMES HARDWARE EXTREME says:

   February 14, 2009 at 6:53 pm

   [...] nach Hinweisen, wie man den Timestamp von Vista entfernen kann. Einen hab ich hier, auf Englisch: Remove Ntfs Timestamps to speed up Vista __________________ Warnung: Lesen gefährdet die [...]

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3. things to do to SSD - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net says:

   October 15, 2009 at 7:41 pm

   [...] -Disable System restore service -Disable Windows defender service -Disable Windows Prefetch -Disable timestamp for last access to a file (fsutil behavior set disablelastaccess 1 (admin.mode cmd prompt) -Disable Automatic Short File 8.3 [...]

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