A ReadyBoost enabled USB flash drive can be used as extra RAM on your Vista andWindows 7 computer to increase your system speed dramatically! While it is very easy to do, keep in mind that even if you have auto-run enabled for external devices, you will still probably have to manually enable ReadyBoost. Keep in mind that only high-speed ReadyBoost drives will work – and not all USB Flash Drives are ReadyBoost capable. You can only use ReadyBoost if you’re using Windows Vista or Windows 7 … just to make that clear.
Here is a short tutorial:
Step I: Insert the USB, open My Computer, then right click on the drive letter that corresponds with the USB.
Step II: Choose Properties from the dropdown menu as shown in this screenshot
Step III: When you choose Properties, a new window will open. Choose the ReadyBoost tab as shown below. If you do not see this tab, then the USB you have inserted is not ReadyBoost compatible.
Step IV: You can choose to dedicate the entire USB to ReadyBoost, or a percent of the freespace on the USB. If you have an extra USB we suggest you plug it into a port on the back of your PC, set it to “Dedicate this device to ReadyBoost” and just leave it there all the time.
If you only want to dedicate part of it for ReadyBoost, click the “use this device” option. Then, using the slider, decide how much space you want to use for ReadyBoost. This is a good option if you just want a temporary boost in RAM to complete a project or for a particular session.
Keep in mind that space reserved for ReadyBoost cannot be used to store files. Also, once you choose to use a USB for ReadyBoost, you can change your mind easily and go back to storing files on it.
Thanks for the nicely illustrated article.
It would have been helpful to actually list speeds comparing hard drives to RAM and USB flash drives.
However ,it make me wonder why this fallacy is being perpetuated.Even high speed USB flash drives don’t approach hard drive speeds.So why bother?
The average USB flash drive is glad to get 30 MB/s ,whereas hard drives are in the 100 MB or more.
I’m not talking about SSD.Those are much higher yet.
Buying a high speed USB flash drive (expensive) is a waste of money if to be used for ReadyBoost.
That money is better spent on
a couple of sticks of RAM ,which will blow flash drive speeds out of the water.
This nonsense started with Vista ,because it was so slow
compared to XP and still is compared to Win7.
It was nothing but a marketing ploy by Microsoft to supposedly assist machines that were low on RAM and couldn’t handle the hog that Vista was.