Tip #4299 - Vista's ReadyBoost
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Vista's
ReadyBoost
The Windows Vista
operating system has a new feature that is designed to give users
a quick, simple and cheap way to boost the performance of their Vista
powered PC. It is called ReadyBoost and trust me,
it does just that! So, what is ReadyBoost? How does it work and how
effective is it? Well, let’s take a look!
Basically, ReadyBoost
allows you to use a flash memory stick (flash drive) or SD card on
your computer to store commonly used files so that you can access
them much faster than off of your hard drive. Turning the ReadyBoost
feature on couldn't be any easier as well. To do so, just plug a flash
drive, SD card or whatever flash device you'd like to use into your
computer. You'll then see this dialogue box pop up:
Click the "Speed
up my system" link and you'll be taken to the ReadyBoost
panel for the flash drive, which looks like this:
Just select Use
this device and then set the amount of space you want to
use. Vista will then create what is essentially a paging file on that
drive and you will then be able to use it for quicker access. Note:
This will only work with USB 2.0 devices or SD cards.
The advantage
of ReadyBoost is that it is much faster to cache to a USB drive than
to your hard drive. That then speeds up your system and enhances its
overall performance. For example, acting as a fast store for frequently
accessed data, the average random 4K document read from a flash device
is about ten times faster than accessing the same information from
the hard drive. That's pretty darn fast, if you ask me. Check it out!
~ Ramachandran
Kumaraswami
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