ReadyBoost is a component of Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system. It works by using flash memory, USB 2.0 drive, SD card, CompactFlash or any kind of portable flash mass storage system as a drive for disk cache. ReadyBoost is present, with fewer restrictions than in Vista, in the beta version of Windows 7. ReadyBoost is also used to facilitate SuperFetch, an updated version of Windows XP’s prefetcher which performs analysis of boot-time disk usage patterns and creates a cache which is used in subsequent system boots.
In order to take advantage of this feature and boost performance as stated above you will need a flash memory device. But if you really want to see the boost your device should meet some minimum performance and space requirements:
• The device must be at least 64 MB
• The device must be USB 2.0
• It has to be able to read at 3.5 MB/s
• It has to be able to write at 2.5 MB/s
But don’t worry if you do not know the device’s specs or is unsure about it, just give it a try. To get started using ReadyBoost, follow these steps:
• First, plug in USB storage device.
• If autorun is enabled, Vista or Windows 7 will ask you what you want to do with it. Just select the option that says “Speed up my system”
- If your device is fast enough you will see a properties dialog box for further configuration.
- Select “Use this device”
- Select the amount of space on it you want to dedicate for the ReadyBoost system file.
- Click OK and you are finished.
• If autorun is disabled, then go to Computer and right click on the removable storage device and select Properties.
- If your device is compatible, you will see a ReadyBoost tab. Select that tab by clicking on it.
- Then select “Use this device”
- Select the amount of space on it you want to dedicate for the ReadyBoost system file.
- Click OK and you are finished.
From now on your memory device will be used instead of hard disk as virtual memory. If you have any questions regarding ReadyBoost you can visit Tom Archer’s blog. Feel free to comment below your experience with ReadyBoost.
