Disable NTFS Last Access Timestamp via Regedit

Disabling the NTFS last access timestamp update prevents Windows from writing metadata to the drive every time a file or folder is read, reducing unnecessary drive writes and improving overall disk I/O performance. This guide provides a direct, step-by-step walkthrough on how to use the Windows Registry Editor (regedit) to disable this feature across your NTFS drives.

Step 1: Open the Registry Editor

  1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box.
  2. Type regedit and press Enter or click OK.
  3. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click Yes to grant administrative privileges.

Step 2: Navigate to the FileSystem Key

In the Registry Editor address bar at the top, paste the following path and press Enter:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem

Alternatively, navigate through the left sidebar folder tree: - Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE - Expand SYSTEM - Expand CurrentControlSet - Expand Control - Select FileSystem

Step 3: Modify NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate

  1. In the right pane of the FileSystem folder, locate the DWORD (32-bit) Value named NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate. (Note: If this value does not exist, right-click an empty space in the right pane, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate.)
  2. Double-click on NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate to open its edit prompt.
  3. Set the Base to Hexadecimal.
  4. In the Value data field, enter 1 (User-managed, disabled) or 80000001 (System-managed, disabled). Setting the value to 1 completely disables last access updates.
  5. Click OK to save the changes.

Step 4: Restart Your Computer

Close the Registry Editor and restart your system. The changes will take effect immediately upon reboot, eliminating the read-induced write overhead on all connected NTFS file systems.