How To:Boost System Performance With ReadyBoost Feature In Windows Vista
Windows Vista has a new interesting feature that’s designed to give users a quick, simple and cheap way to boost the performance of their Vista-powered PC’s – it’s called ReadyBoost.
ReadyBoost is a Windows Vista feature that allows the user to plug a USB flash memory device into a USB 2.0 port on the PC and use it as a cache or virtual memory. The advantage being that it is much faster to cache to the USB drive than caching to your hard disk, speeding up your system and enhancing overall performance.Acting as a fast store for frequently accessed data, the average random 4K read from a flash device is about ten times faster than accessing the same information from the hard drive.
When you use more RAM than your computer can handle, the computer will create a swap file on the hard drive and use that as virtual memory. Data is harder to read on hard drives than they are on memory chips, which drastically slows down your system.ReadyBoost allows Windows Vista to use a USB flash drives as cache. This is much faster than using the hard drive because reading and writing from a flash drive is eight to ten times faster than caching them to your hard drive. In effect, it adds system memory (RAM) to your PC, automatically boosting performance without you having to install additional RAM.
Windows Vista ReadyBoost will work with compatible USB flash drives with at least
- 1 gigabyte of storage, 512 megabytes of free space,
- 5 megabytes per second of throughput for random 4k reads, and
- 3 megabytes per second throughput for random 512k writes.
Look for the icon labeled “Enhanced for ReadyBoost” when you purchase a flash drive for ReadyBoost.You can use ReadyBoost immediately in Windows Vista because you can enable it once you plug in a compatible flash drive.
Enable ReadyBoost on your Windows Vista PC
- Plug the USB flash drive into your PC’s USB drive. Click on the option “Speed up My System Using ReadyBoost.” Select the option “Use This Device” in the window that appears.
- Specify the amount of space that you want allocated to ReadyBoost. You may accept the suggested size or, alternatively, adjust the amount using the slider that’s labeled “Space to Reserve for System Speed.” For maximum efficiency, select a 1:1 ratio to your hard drive.
- Click on “Apply” and then click “OK” when you are done. ReadyBoost is now enabled.
Disable ReadyBoost on your Windows Vista PC
- Click on the Windows Vista “Start” button in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. Click on “Control Panel” and then “Performance Information and Tools.” Click on “Advanced Tools” and then click “Configure my Windows ReadyBoost Device”.
- Select “Do not Use This Device” in the Windows ReadyBoost Properties screen that appears.
- Click on “Apply.” Click “OK,” and you are done.
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Written by Tony on August 7th, 2008 with
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