Enable or Disable SysMain & Prefetch for SSD in Windows 11/10 (2023)

FAQs

Should I disable SysMain with SSD? ›

In Microsoft Windows 8 and newer, Superfetch functions differently than in previous versions of Windows and should not be disabled for the SSD.

While it should be fine to keep SysMain enabled, you might want to disable it and see if you're experiencing sluggishness on your PC. Disabling it can improve speeds and boot time.

It is stated by Microsoft that SuperFetch and PreFetch should be disabled, if the OS is installed on a ssd, according to article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2727880. But SuperFetch is used for loading data parts of applications, which have been used very often, to RAM.

Answer: Sysmain is not a mandated program and disabling it won't turn out to be a BSoD error. But it is a beneficial service, so it is advisable to keep the service running.

You should disable Superfetch if you notice that it's increasing CPU usage, eating up RAM, or throwing your hard disk into overdrive. With Superfetch overusing disk resources, it could cause a noticeable drop in your computer's speed and performance. This can happen even if you're using an SSD instead of an older HDD.

While keeping SysMain enabled should be acceptable, you might want to turn it off to determine whether your PC is running slowly. Speeds and boot times can be increased by disabling it.

While prefetching resources does use additional bandwidth, it can improve most performance metrics. Time to First Byte (TTFB) will often be much lower, as the document request results in a cache hit.

Does Prefetch increase performance? ›

Runtime cache prefetching shows better performance. On an Itanium 2 based Linux workstation, it can increase performance by more than 20% over static prefetching on some benchmarks. For benchmarks that do not benefit from prefetching, the runtime optimization system adds only 1%- 2% overhead.

The objective of SSD write caching is to temporarily store data until slower persistent storage media has adequate resources to complete the write operation. The SSD write cache can boost overall system performance.

PSA: Be sure to disable the SuperFetch service ("SysMain") on upgrade. Microsoft re-enables it if you had it disabled. SuperFetch (aka SysMain).... that piece of crap service that constantly reads your HDDs/SSDs and decides for you what fills up your RAM.

Contrary to many blog posts, disabling Prefetch and SuperFetch for SSD drives is actually unnecessary. It IS true that Prefetch and SuperFetch won´t provide a huge advantage for starting applications from SSD drives, as they are fast anyway. In this respect one could actually switch off the service.

SysMain service can cause computers to run slowly because they use system resources like CPU cores, Disk space, and memory.

So, you need to check and optimize SSD performance in Windows 11 to get the best end-user experience. Most users install Windows in C Drive and use it for their storage too. However, you should use other Drives for saving your data and keep the Windows in a separate Drive for the best experience.

If your device includes a Solid-State Drive (SSD), you probably notice that the performance slows down dramatically as it fills up. You'll see this when opening apps and copying files will take longer than usual, and sometimes this will also cause freezing issues making your device harder to use.

What is the biggest drawback to SSD? ›

Price: The biggest disadvantage of a solid state drive is the cost. SSD costs more than a conventional hard disk drive. Recovery of Lost Data: The inability to recover old data is one of the biggest disadvantages of a SSD. Data is permanently and completely deleted from the drives.

It analyzes your computer usage patterns and optimizes app launching and programs on your computer. If you end this tasks this process will stop and there may not be any noticeable difference for your performance.In many of the cases it lags the performance by causing high disk usage.

Locate the SysMain entry here, right-click on it, and select Properties from the context menu. Alternatively, you can double-click on the service. Now, click on the Startup type dropdown menu, and select Disabled from the list of options.

Running lots of applications at once may cause 100% disk usage in Windows 10. Uninstalling these programs often isn't possible, because you may need them. Manually pausing the background apps is only a short-term solution, as many will restart upon bootup or run quietly in the background.

By turning on the Memory integrity setting, you can help prevent malicious code from accessing high-security processes in the event of an attack.

Windows 11 is worth the update for most people. It comes with a wide range of new features, performance improvements, and design changes. As the latest Windows OS, it usually gets more attention than Windows 10, too. There's not too much risk in upgrading to Windows 11, either.

Prefetching suffers from certain disadvantages such as an increase in memory traffic, an increase in the number of executed instructions, and an increase in mem- ory requirement for some cases.

Should hardware prefetcher be on or off? ›

Hardware Prefetcher:

This default setting is "Enabled". In some cases, setting this option to Disabled may improve performance. Users should only disable this option after performing application benchmarking to verify improved performance in their environment.

Since Windows XP, Windows creates a prefetch file every time you run an app for the first time. This file contains data the OS needs to speed up the app's load time whenever you run it. And this is a big help during the startup process since it helps Windows load faster.

Hardware-based prefetching schemes have two main advantages over software-based schemes: (1) they have better dynamic information, and therefore can recognize things such as unexpected cache conflicts that are difficult to predict in the compiler, and (2) they do not add any instruction overhead to issue prefetches.

One main advantage of software prefetching is that it reduces the number of compulsory cache misses. The following example shows how a prefetch instruction would be added into code to improve cache performance. - which means that we prefetch 7 elements ahead.

Prefetch files are used by Windows to store information in relation to software activity, including the number of times software has run and associated files used by the software.

There are two reasons for that difference in speed. First, the memory chips in SSDs are slower than those in RAM. Second, there is a bottleneck created by the interface that connects the storage device to the computer. RAM, in comparison, has a much faster interface.

To summarize, do not defrag an SSD

The answer is short and simple — do not defrag a solid state drive. At best it won't do anything, at worst it does nothing for your performance and you will use up write cycles. If you have done it a few times, it isn't going to cause you much trouble or harm your SSD.

Luckily, it isn't an essential system process and can be disabled if necessary. If you think that SysMain is causing you issues, it's better to disable it. Using our methods below, you can find a solution to help restore your computer.

You can also delete Prefetch files, which are created by the operating system each time an app is launched for the first time. These files are designed to make apps open faster and don't use too much disk space, but if you're running low, you can delete them without causing any problems.

Can data prefetching be harmful for the performance of a system? ›

Prefetching hazards. A naive deployment of a data prefetcher not only may not improve the system performance but also may significantly harm the performance and energy efficiency [9]. The two well-known major drawbacks of data prefetching are (1) cache pollution and (2) off-chip bandwidth overhead.

There are no side effects if you decide to turn it off. If your system is running well, leave it on. But if you have high HDD usage issues, high RAM usage, or degraded performance during RAM-heavy activities, try turning it off and see if it helps. If it does, keep it off.

In the latest versions of Windows 10, the Superfetch service now shows up under the name SysMain. In the Task Manager, it shows up as Service Host: SysMain. If you're running an older version of Windows 10 or any version of Windows 7 or 8, this will show up in the Task Manager as Service Host: Superfetch.

You shouldn't optimize or defrag your SSDs, as it does nothing for the drive's performance. On the contrary, it can decrease your SSDs lifespan.

The rule of thumb to keep SSDs at top speeds is never completely to fill them up. You should never use more than 70% of the total capacity to avoid performance issues. When you get close to the 70% threshold, you should consider upgrading your computer's SSD with a larger drive.

SSDs work without moving parts, giving them an advantage over HDDs. Games launch and levels load faster when installed on an SSD. SSDs provide a smoother experience in games that stream assets from storage.

SSDs require a capacitor and power supplies, which are vulnerable to malfunctions—especially in the case of a power surge or power failure. In fact, in the case of a power failure, SSDs have been known to corrupt existing data, too, even if the drive itself hasn't failed completely.

How do I manage my SSD in Windows 11? ›