Registry Guide for Windows

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Registry tweaks, tricks & hacks to optimize, enhance and secure Microsoft Windows.

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Windows Explorer caches DLLs (Dynamic-Link Libraries) in memory for a period of time after the application using them has been closed. This can be an inefficient use of memory on low memory systems, and may cause problems or delays for programmers developing with Windows DLL files.

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Open your registry and find the key [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer].

Create a new sub-key named 'AlwaysUnloadDLL' and set the default value to equal '1' to disable Windows caching the DLL in memory.

Restart Windows for the change to take effect.


		(Default)	REG_SZ	"1"


	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion...

Registry Settings

System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
AlwaysUnloadDLL]
Value Name: Default
Data Type: REG_SZ (String Value)
Value Data: (1 = enable)

Disclaimer: Modifying the registry can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. We cannot guarantee that problems resulting from modifications to the registry can be solved. Use the information provided at your own risk.

Last Modified: October 21, 2001