PrintThis document pertains to HP Notebook PCs with Windows Vista.
Understanding Windows Vista ReadyBoost
Windows Vista ReadyBoost is a tool that can help speed up your PC when using a removable media device as additional memory, such as a USB flash drive. If you have a limited amount of RAM memory, such as 512MB, use the additional memory in the flash drive as part of the PC's cache.
You can only use one flash memory drive at a time to speed up your PC with ReadyBoost. Not all flash drives will work with ReadyBoost. Make sure that the flash drive that you intend to use meets the prerequisites.
Prerequisites
For ReadyBoost to work, the PC must have a USB 2.0 port. The capacity of the USB device must be at least 256MB. Additionally, the USB device must have a minimum of 2.5MB of throughput for 4K random reads, and 1.75MB of throughput for 512K random writes. This should be clearly labeled on the packaging. If the packaging is no longer available, it does not harm the PC to try this procedure with any USB memory device. An error message appears if the flash memory device will not work with ReadyBoost.
It is recommended that you delete all of your files from the flash memory device prior to use with ReadyBoost.
Using ReadyBoost
To use ReadyBoost, follow the steps below.
- Turn your PC on.
- Insert the USB device into a USB 2.0 port.Windows runs a quick test to make sure the device is compatible with ReadyBoost, and then the AutoPlay window opens (see the note just below if it does not).
- In the AutoPlay window under General Options, click Speed up my system to open the ReadyBoost tab window.ReadyBoost tab view
NOTE:If AutoPlay does not open automatically: click Start
,Computer
, and then right-click the USB device. On the drop-down menu, click Properties
, and then click the ReadyBoost
tab. - Select Use this device .Enable or disable Windows ReadyBoost for a specific flash drive. If ReadyBoost is using the USB memory device, and now you need to use it for file storage, select Do not use this device from the ReadyBoost window. You can now use the USB device for file storage and file transfer again.
- Use the Space to reserve for system speed: slider to assign the amount of space to be used for ReadyBoost.If you do not assign 100% space, you can use the remaining space for file storage (but, not while ReadyBoost is using it for performance enhancement).
- Click Apply , and then click OK .ReadyBoost is now enabled for use with your USB device for more efficient processing.
Troubleshooting ReadyBoost errors
Second USB device not ReadyBoost-capable
The PC can only run one USB device, even if many USB devices are connected to the PC.
Error with USB device and ReadyBoost
Make sure that your USB device meets all of the necessary prerequisites
and that it has ReadyBoost capabilities.
ReadyBoost can be slow in accepting USB devices. To speed up the amount of time that it takes ReadyBoost to accept USB devices, try the following.
- Copy a few small files to the drive, and then retest.
- If the testing dialog appears, click the option that says do not retest the device every time it is inserted. Then disconnect the device and reinsert it.
- Disconnect the USB drive from the PC (using the Safely Remove Hardware feature on the taskbar), and then reinsert it. Try this a few times.
- Try to delete any files residing on the USB device (if you need the files, copy them to the PC first), and then retry the device.
Device does not improve performance
USB devices are varied. They contain both slow and fast flash memory, but for the purposes of ReadyBoost, the most important quality is consistency. Additionally, the recommended amount of memory on the flash drive for use as ReadyBoost acceleration should be larger than the amount of RAM in the PC. For instance, if the PC has 512MB of RAM and the flash drive has only 256MB of memory, the performance enhancement is negligible.
