When Windows NT loads, it reads the first 100 entries in the LMHOSTS file marked with #PRE. You can increase the number of #PRE entries that will load into memory at logon by adding the MaxPreLoad entry in the registry. This entry should be added to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT\Parameters section of the registry. This could have an effect on performance. Some computers are able to parse or search through more entries in the LMHOSTS file than others. Based on system performance, Windows NT usually searches through about 1000 entries before timing out (15 seconds).
