ReadyBoost - USB Flash Drive to speed up WIndows
By dUKe0912
@dUKe0912 (98)
India
May 11, 2009 4:39am CST
Windows Vista and Windows 7 have a new performance feature called ReadyBoost.
This feature enables the use of a USB storage device instead of the slow paging file on your hard disk when you're low on physical memory (RAM).
The logic is simple - the USB storage device is faster than your Hard Disk.
In order for ReadyBoost to work in Windows Vista or Windows 7, your USB storage device must meet the following requirements:
- at least 64MB storage.
- USB 2.0 compatible.
- minimum read speed of 3.5 MB/s.
- minimum write speed of 2.5 MB/s.
Follow these steps to enable ReadyBoost:
1. Plug in USB storage device.
2. Go to Computer, right-click on the removable storage device and select Properties.
3. Click on the ReadyBoost tab.
4. Select Use This Device and set the amount of space to use for the system file.
5. Click OK.
Alternatively, you can also select ReadyBoost from the AutoPlay menu (if AutoPlay is enabled).
3 responses
@John4Christ (1597)
• India
11 May 09
Oh that sounds cool......but have few questions for you.....
1) Does it act like a RAM to boost our memory.....
2) Do i need to format my memory stick before i can use this feature, or it can use whatever space is available on that memory stick......
and does it really have any difference to the whole systems performance......because i keep getting errors sometimes as my page memory is low.....so i guess this can come as a relief......
@dUKe0912 (98)
• India
11 May 09
It acts exactly like your paging file, but faster.
Of course, physical RAM is always better.
You can use whatever free memory is available on your flash drive, as long as it is 64MB+.
If you have a RAM around 1GB, you'll notice the change.
If you're using anything greater than 1GB or a DDR3, there's not likely to be much improvement.
Also, remember that ReadyBoost is used only when you run out of physical memory, just like paging files.
@Sprakie (31)
•
11 May 09
This has already been done before. I also use a USB flash drive for installing/repairing windows in the computer shop i work in because it is so much faster than the cd.
But this is very un-reliable, and i hate leaving any usb device sticking out just incase someone stands on it or drops something on it, then your computer can become k-nackered.
@dUKe0912 (98)
• India
11 May 09
If you read the post, you'll notice that this is not about installing or repairing Windows, but speeding up your system.
This is absolutely reliable. And if you consider it unreliable, you should consider paging files as unreliable too.
In this case, you'll do better to use XP or Windows 98.
@snam23 (3157)
• United States
13 May 09
That is very cool. I never knew about that. But of course, I use a Macbook and it is running Mac OS X 10.5.6 a.k.a. Leopard and I'm loving it. However, I will have to try this whenever I run Windows 7 RC on Virtualbox on my Macbook as it slows down my computer considerably. Thanks for sharing!
