ReadyBoost drive format

[Guest]

What is the best format for a ReadyBoost USB drive? I got a SanDisk 2 Gb,
plugged it in and after a few prompts Vista had ReadyBoost runing. I noticed
I had 2 more drives in My Computer. I had the USB removable storage drive and
another drive listed as CD Drive (H U3 system. I decide this must be
something SanDisk sent on the flash drive and it only shows 1.91 Gb so I'll
format it. Vista wouldn't allow a format as the drive was in use and I wasn't
Vista savvy enough to turn it off at this time. I booted into XP and went to
format the drive and only had FAT or FAT32 options. I format it in FAT32 and
rebooted into Vista, pluged the drive in and ReadyBoost sets it up again with
1.91 Gb. I figure out how to turn off ReadyBoost and format the USB drive in
NTFS. I restart the system, plug the drive back in and Vista says this drive
isn't fast enough for ReadyBoost. I click retest and it comes back, sets up
ReadyBoost and appears to be running. My system seems much quicker but am I
in the right format?
This all started from this article I caught;
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2017844,00.asp

 

[Beck]

What is the best format for a ReadyBoost USB drive? I got a SanDisk 2 Gb,
plugged it in and after a few prompts Vista had ReadyBoost runing. I
noticed
I had 2 more drives in My Computer. I had the USB removable storage drive
and
another drive listed as CD Drive (H U3 system. I decide this must be
something SanDisk sent on the flash drive and it only shows 1.91 Gb so
I'll
format it. Vista wouldn't allow a format as the drive was in use and I
wasn't
Vista savvy enough to turn it off at this time. I booted into XP and went
to
format the drive and only had FAT or FAT32 options. I format it in FAT32
and
rebooted into Vista, pluged the drive in and ReadyBoost sets it up again
with
1.91 Gb. I figure out how to turn off ReadyBoost and format the USB drive
in
NTFS. I restart the system, plug the drive back in and Vista says this
drive
isn't fast enough for ReadyBoost. I click retest and it comes back, sets
up
ReadyBoost and appears to be running. My system seems much quicker but am
I
in the right format?
This all started from this article I caught;
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2017844,00.asp

Does readyboost really make things that much faster?
Where have you seen the most speed improvements?

 

[Guest]

I have 2 gigs of RAM and although I've read that with that much memory Ready
Boost doesn't help, I have a very nice performance increase with Internet
Explorer and it seems my Outlook is also quicker. I am still working with all
my programs as I just got Ready boost up and running Friday evening. My
system just seems real zippy.

 

[Richard G. Harper]

U3 is, in my opinion, a noxious "utility" that you are best rid of as soon
as possible. You can't format the drive to get rid of it since it's hidden
on the drive and will simply re-create itself the next time you insert it.
You need a special utility to remove it from your flash drive and you'll
need to run it under Windows XP. This is what you need:

http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1415

I would not recommend trying it under compatibility mode - I'd go straight
to a Windows XP box and run it.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

 

[Guest]

You are exactly right. I finaly got to SanDisk's web site and found the
removal tool. I was having some strange lockups until I got rid of U3. It may
be useful to someone but all I want my flash drive for is Ready Boost. I am
running smoothly now and I don't quite understand why but I have 2 gigs of
RAM and this 2 gig flash drive still gave me a performance increase with
Ready Boost.
--
Sam

U3 is, in my opinion, a noxious "utility" that you are best rid of as soon
as possible. You can't format the drive to get rid of it since it's hidden
on the drive and will simply re-create itself the next time you insert it.
You need a special utility to remove it from your flash drive and you'll
need to run it under Windows XP. This is what you need:

http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1415

I would not recommend trying it under compatibility mode - I'd go straight
to a Windows XP box and run it.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

What is the best format for a ReadyBoost USB drive? I got a SanDisk 2 Gb,
plugged it in and after a few prompts Vista had ReadyBoost runing. I
noticed
I had 2 more drives in My Computer. I had the USB removable storage drive
and
another drive listed as CD Drive (H U3 system. I decide this must be
something SanDisk sent on the flash drive and it only shows 1.91 Gb so
I'll
format it. Vista wouldn't allow a format as the drive was in use and I
wasn't
Vista savvy enough to turn it off at this time. I booted into XP and went
to
format the drive and only had FAT or FAT32 options. I format it in FAT32
and
rebooted into Vista, pluged the drive in and ReadyBoost sets it up again
with
1.91 Gb. I figure out how to turn off ReadyBoost and format the USB drive
in
NTFS. I restart the system, plug the drive back in and Vista says this
drive
isn't fast enough for ReadyBoost. I click retest and it comes back, sets
up
ReadyBoost and appears to be running. My system seems much quicker but am
I
in the right format?
This all started from this article I caught;
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2017844,00.asp

 

[Guest]

Interesting tidbits. The original questions still stands, however. Has anyone
found information on the best file format of the USB drive for use with
ReadyBoost?

Thanks

You are exactly right. I finaly got to SanDisk's web site and found the
removal tool. I was having some strange lockups until I got rid of U3. It may
be useful to someone but all I want my flash drive for is Ready Boost. I am
running smoothly now and I don't quite understand why but I have 2 gigs of
RAM and this 2 gig flash drive still gave me a performance increase with
Ready Boost.
--
Sam

U3 is, in my opinion, a noxious "utility" that you are best rid of as soon
as possible. You can't format the drive to get rid of it since it's hidden
on the drive and will simply re-create itself the next time you insert it.
You need a special utility to remove it from your flash drive and you'll
need to run it under Windows XP. This is what you need:

http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1415

I would not recommend trying it under compatibility mode - I'd go straight
to a Windows XP box and run it.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

What is the best format for a ReadyBoost USB drive? I got a SanDisk 2 Gb,
plugged it in and after a few prompts Vista had ReadyBoost runing. I
noticed
I had 2 more drives in My Computer. I had the USB removable storage drive
and
another drive listed as CD Drive (H U3 system. I decide this must be
something SanDisk sent on the flash drive and it only shows 1.91 Gb so
I'll
format it. Vista wouldn't allow a format as the drive was in use and I
wasn't
Vista savvy enough to turn it off at this time. I booted into XP and went
to
format the drive and only had FAT or FAT32 options. I format it in FAT32
and
rebooted into Vista, pluged the drive in and ReadyBoost sets it up again
with
1.91 Gb. I figure out how to turn off ReadyBoost and format the USB drive
in
NTFS. I restart the system, plug the drive back in and Vista says this
drive
isn't fast enough for ReadyBoost. I click retest and it comes back, sets
up
ReadyBoost and appears to be running. My system seems much quicker but am
I
in the right format?
This all started from this article I caught;
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2017844,00.asp

 

[Bill Walter]

I am running VISTA 32 RTM on a P4 3.4GHz system with 2G ram. I have a Apacer
4G USB memory stick that claims to be 150X and it often claims to not be
fast enough to be used as ReadyBoost. When it does say it is fast enough it
defaults to about 3.8G of readyboost which seems strange since it results in
about 6G on a 32 bit system! The other strange thing is that it is very
inconsistent in thinking it is fast enough. Actually I have a dozen or so
USB memory stick and they all are recognized as fast enough fro ReadyBoost
from time to time but none of them are consistent. My Laptop has USB 4 ports
so maybe I have a marginal USB controller.

Bill Walter

Interesting tidbits. The original questions still stands, however. Has
anyone
found information on the best file format of the USB drive for use with
ReadyBoost?

Thanks

You are exactly right. I finaly got to SanDisk's web site and found the
removal tool. I was having some strange lockups until I got rid of U3. It
may
be useful to someone but all I want my flash drive for is Ready Boost. I
am
running smoothly now and I don't quite understand why but I have 2 gigs
of
RAM and this 2 gig flash drive still gave me a performance increase with
Ready Boost.
--
Sam

U3 is, in my opinion, a noxious "utility" that you are best rid of as
soon
as possible. You can't format the drive to get rid of it since it's
hidden
on the drive and will simply re-create itself the next time you insert
it.
You need a special utility to remove it from your flash drive and
you'll
need to run it under Windows XP. This is what you need:

http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1415

I would not recommend trying it under compatibility mode - I'd go
straight
to a Windows XP box and run it.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


message What is the best format for a ReadyBoost USB drive? I got a SanDisk 2
Gb,
plugged it in and after a few prompts Vista had ReadyBoost runing. I
noticed
I had 2 more drives in My Computer. I had the USB removable storage
drive
and
another drive listed as CD Drive (H U3 system. I decide this must
be
something SanDisk sent on the flash drive and it only shows 1.91 Gb
so
I'll
format it. Vista wouldn't allow a format as the drive was in use and
I
wasn't
Vista savvy enough to turn it off at this time. I booted into XP and
went
to
format the drive and only had FAT or FAT32 options. I format it in
FAT32
and
rebooted into Vista, pluged the drive in and ReadyBoost sets it up
again
with
1.91 Gb. I figure out how to turn off ReadyBoost and format the USB
drive
in
NTFS. I restart the system, plug the drive back in and Vista says
this
drive
isn't fast enough for ReadyBoost. I click retest and it comes back,
sets
up
ReadyBoost and appears to be running. My system seems much quicker
but am
I
in the right format?
This all started from this article I caught;
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2017844,00.asp

 

[Rich Milburn [MVP]]

I'm not sure if this is still the case, but while it was beta there was a comment from one of the ReadyBoost people that the drive should be formatted NTFS for optimum usage. It might be worth a try...
Rich
I am running VISTA 32 RTM on a P4 3.4GHz system with 2G ram. I have a Apacer
4G USB memory stick that claims to be 150X and it often claims to not be
fast enough to be used as ReadyBoost. When it does say it is fast enough it
defaults to about 3.8G of readyboost which seems strange since it results in
about 6G on a 32 bit system! The other strange thing is that it is very
inconsistent in thinking it is fast enough. Actually I have a dozen or so
USB memory stick and they all are recognized as fast enough fro ReadyBoost
from time to time but none of them are consistent. My Laptop has USB 4 ports
so maybe I have a marginal USB controller.

Bill Walter

Interesting tidbits. The original questions still stands, however. Has
anyone
found information on the best file format of the USB drive for use with
ReadyBoost?

Thanks

You are exactly right. I finaly got to SanDisk's web site and found the
removal tool. I was having some strange lockups until I got rid of U3. It
may
be useful to someone but all I want my flash drive for is Ready Boost. I
am
running smoothly now and I don't quite understand why but I have 2 gigs
of
RAM and this 2 gig flash drive still gave me a performance increase with
Ready Boost.
--
Sam

U3 is, in my opinion, a noxious "utility" that you are best rid of as
soon
as possible. You can't format the drive to get rid of it since it's
hidden
on the drive and will simply re-create itself the next time you insert
it.
You need a special utility to remove it from your flash drive and
you'll
need to run it under Windows XP. This is what you need:

http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1415

I would not recommend trying it under compatibility mode - I'd go
straight
to a Windows XP box and run it.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


message What is the best format for a ReadyBoost USB drive? I got a SanDisk 2
Gb,
plugged it in and after a few prompts Vista had ReadyBoost runing. I
noticed
I had 2 more drives in My Computer. I had the USB removable storage
drive
and
another drive listed as CD Drive (H U3 system. I decide this must
be
something SanDisk sent on the flash drive and it only shows 1.91 Gb
so
I'll
format it. Vista wouldn't allow a format as the drive was in use and
I
wasn't
Vista savvy enough to turn it off at this time. I booted into XP and
went
to
format the drive and only had FAT or FAT32 options. I format it in
FAT32
and
rebooted into Vista, pluged the drive in and ReadyBoost sets it up
again
with
1.91 Gb. I figure out how to turn off ReadyBoost and format the USB
drive
in
NTFS. I restart the system, plug the drive back in and Vista says
this
drive
isn't fast enough for ReadyBoost. I click retest and it comes back,
sets
up
ReadyBoost and appears to be running. My system seems much quicker
but am
I
in the right format?
This all started from this article I caught;
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2017844,00.asp

 

[John Barnes]

I have a similar inconsistency though mine is that about once a week a popup
appears saying readyboost would work faster if it were on a USB2 port. When
it shows the ports it shows it on a USB2 port, which all my ports are. Just
another one of the annoying popups that are meaningless.

I am running VISTA 32 RTM on a P4 3.4GHz system with 2G ram. I have a
Apacer 4G USB memory stick that claims to be 150X and it often claims to
not be fast enough to be used as ReadyBoost. When it does say it is fast
enough it defaults to about 3.8G of readyboost which seems strange since it
results in about 6G on a 32 bit system! The other strange thing is that it
is very inconsistent in thinking it is fast enough. Actually I have a dozen
or so USB memory stick and they all are recognized as fast enough fro
ReadyBoost from time to time but none of them are consistent. My Laptop has
USB 4 ports so maybe I have a marginal USB controller.

Bill Walter

Interesting tidbits. The original questions still stands, however. Has
anyone
found information on the best file format of the USB drive for use with
ReadyBoost?

Thanks

You are exactly right. I finaly got to SanDisk's web site and found the
removal tool. I was having some strange lockups until I got rid of U3.
It may
be useful to someone but all I want my flash drive for is Ready Boost. I
am
running smoothly now and I don't quite understand why but I have 2 gigs
of
RAM and this 2 gig flash drive still gave me a performance increase with
Ready Boost.
--
Sam


:

U3 is, in my opinion, a noxious "utility" that you are best rid of as
soon
as possible. You can't format the drive to get rid of it since it's
hidden
on the drive and will simply re-create itself the next time you insert
it.
You need a special utility to remove it from your flash drive and
you'll
need to run it under Windows XP. This is what you need:

http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1415

I would not recommend trying it under compatibility mode - I'd go
straight
to a Windows XP box and run it.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


message What is the best format for a ReadyBoost USB drive? I got a SanDisk
2 Gb,
plugged it in and after a few prompts Vista had ReadyBoost runing. I
noticed
I had 2 more drives in My Computer. I had the USB removable storage
drive
and
another drive listed as CD Drive (H U3 system. I decide this must
be
something SanDisk sent on the flash drive and it only shows 1.91 Gb
so
I'll
format it. Vista wouldn't allow a format as the drive was in use and
I
wasn't
Vista savvy enough to turn it off at this time. I booted into XP and
went
to
format the drive and only had FAT or FAT32 options. I format it in
FAT32
and
rebooted into Vista, pluged the drive in and ReadyBoost sets it up
again
with
1.91 Gb. I figure out how to turn off ReadyBoost and format the USB
drive
in
NTFS. I restart the system, plug the drive back in and Vista says
this
drive
isn't fast enough for ReadyBoost. I click retest and it comes back,
sets
up
ReadyBoost and appears to be running. My system seems much quicker
but am
I
in the right format?
This all started from this article I caught;
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2017844,00.asp

 

[Rich Milburn [MVP]]

Are you using an extension cable by any chance? I have seen some USB devices have issues with extension cables...
I have a similar inconsistency though mine is that about once a week a popup
appears saying readyboost would work faster if it were on a USB2 port. When
it shows the ports it shows it on a USB2 port, which all my ports are. Just
another one of the annoying popups that are meaningless.

I am running VISTA 32 RTM on a P4 3.4GHz system with 2G ram. I have a
Apacer 4G USB memory stick that claims to be 150X and it often claims to
not be fast enough to be used as ReadyBoost. When it does say it is fast
enough it defaults to about 3.8G of readyboost which seems strange since it
results in about 6G on a 32 bit system! The other strange thing is that it
is very inconsistent in thinking it is fast enough. Actually I have a dozen
or so USB memory stick and they all are recognized as fast enough fro
ReadyBoost from time to time but none of them are consistent. My Laptop has
USB 4 ports so maybe I have a marginal USB controller.

Bill Walter

Interesting tidbits. The original questions still stands, however. Has
anyone
found information on the best file format of the USB drive for use with
ReadyBoost?

Thanks

You are exactly right. I finaly got to SanDisk's web site and found the
removal tool. I was having some strange lockups until I got rid of U3.
It may
be useful to someone but all I want my flash drive for is Ready Boost. I
am
running smoothly now and I don't quite understand why but I have 2 gigs
of
RAM and this 2 gig flash drive still gave me a performance increase with
Ready Boost.
--
Sam


:

U3 is, in my opinion, a noxious "utility" that you are best rid of as
soon
as possible. You can't format the drive to get rid of it since it's
hidden
on the drive and will simply re-create itself the next time you insert
it.
You need a special utility to remove it from your flash drive and
you'll
need to run it under Windows XP. This is what you need:

http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1415

I would not recommend trying it under compatibility mode - I'd go
straight
to a Windows XP box and run it.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


message What is the best format for a ReadyBoost USB drive? I got a SanDisk
2 Gb,
plugged it in and after a few prompts Vista had ReadyBoost runing. I
noticed
I had 2 more drives in My Computer. I had the USB removable storage
drive
and
another drive listed as CD Drive (H U3 system. I decide this must
be
something SanDisk sent on the flash drive and it only shows 1.91 Gb
so
I'll
format it. Vista wouldn't allow a format as the drive was in use and
I
wasn't
Vista savvy enough to turn it off at this time. I booted into XP and
went
to
format the drive and only had FAT or FAT32 options. I format it in
FAT32
and
rebooted into Vista, pluged the drive in and ReadyBoost sets it up
again
with
1.91 Gb. I figure out how to turn off ReadyBoost and format the USB
drive
in
NTFS. I restart the system, plug the drive back in and Vista says
this
drive
isn't fast enough for ReadyBoost. I click retest and it comes back,
sets
up
ReadyBoost and appears to be running. My system seems much quicker
but am
I
in the right format?
This all started from this article I caught;
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2017844,00.asp

 

[Bill Walter]

It is plugged directly into the side of the laptop case. There are 4 ports and they all seem to operate about the same. I have just reformatted the Apacer 4G as NTFS and it seem to work fine now. I try it for a few days and if it continues to work I will reformat the other ones NTFS. The default format was FAT32 when I got them and I was not even sure NTFS would work.

Bill Walter

Are you using an extension cable by any chance? I have seen some USB devices have issues with extension cables...
I have a similar inconsistency though mine is that about once a week a popup
appears saying readyboost would work faster if it were on a USB2 port. When
it shows the ports it shows it on a USB2 port, which all my ports are. Just
another one of the annoying popups that are meaningless.

I am running VISTA 32 RTM on a P4 3.4GHz system with 2G ram. I have a
Apacer 4G USB memory stick that claims to be 150X and it often claims to
not be fast enough to be used as ReadyBoost. When it does say it is fast
enough it defaults to about 3.8G of readyboost which seems strange since it
results in about 6G on a 32 bit system! The other strange thing is that it
is very inconsistent in thinking it is fast enough. Actually I have a dozen
or so USB memory stick and they all are recognized as fast enough fro
ReadyBoost from time to time but none of them are consistent. My Laptop has
USB 4 ports so maybe I have a marginal USB controller.

Bill Walter

Interesting tidbits. The original questions still stands, however. Has
anyone
found information on the best file format of the USB drive for use with
ReadyBoost?

Thanks

You are exactly right. I finaly got to SanDisk's web site and found the
removal tool. I was having some strange lockups until I got rid of U3.
It may
be useful to someone but all I want my flash drive for is Ready Boost. I
am
running smoothly now and I don't quite understand why but I have 2 gigs
of
RAM and this 2 gig flash drive still gave me a performance increase with
Ready Boost.
--
Sam


:

U3 is, in my opinion, a noxious "utility" that you are best rid of as
soon
as possible. You can't format the drive to get rid of it since it's
hidden
on the drive and will simply re-create itself the next time you insert
it.
You need a special utility to remove it from your flash drive and
you'll
need to run it under Windows XP. This is what you need:

http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1415

I would not recommend trying it under compatibility mode - I'd go
straight
to a Windows XP box and run it.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


message What is the best format for a ReadyBoost USB drive? I got a SanDisk
2 Gb,
plugged it in and after a few prompts Vista had ReadyBoost runing. I
noticed
I had 2 more drives in My Computer. I had the USB removable storage
drive
and
another drive listed as CD Drive (H U3 system. I decide this must
be
something SanDisk sent on the flash drive and it only shows 1.91 Gb
so
I'll
format it. Vista wouldn't allow a format as the drive was in use and
I
wasn't
Vista savvy enough to turn it off at this time. I booted into XP and
went
to
format the drive and only had FAT or FAT32 options. I format it in
FAT32
and
rebooted into Vista, pluged the drive in and ReadyBoost sets it up
again
with
1.91 Gb. I figure out how to turn off ReadyBoost and format the USB
drive
in
NTFS. I restart the system, plug the drive back in and Vista says
this
drive
isn't fast enough for ReadyBoost. I click retest and it comes back,
sets
up
ReadyBoost and appears to be running. My system seems much quicker
but am
I
in the right format?
This all started from this article I caught;
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2017844,00.asp

 

[Richard Urban]

Did you go into device manager, to where the USB thumb drive is located, and
optimize the drive for performance? If you didn't, the drive will run at USB
1.1 speed, I believe.

I DO know that this setting makes a big difference in the performance of
"any" USB connected drive, either thumb drive or hard drive.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

I have a similar inconsistency though mine is that about once a week a
popup appears saying readyboost would work faster if it were on a USB2
port. When it shows the ports it shows it on a USB2 port, which all my
ports are. Just another one of the annoying popups that are meaningless.

I am running VISTA 32 RTM on a P4 3.4GHz system with 2G ram. I have a
Apacer 4G USB memory stick that claims to be 150X and it often claims to
not be fast enough to be used as ReadyBoost. When it does say it is fast
enough it defaults to about 3.8G of readyboost which seems strange since
it results in about 6G on a 32 bit system! The other strange thing is that
it is very inconsistent in thinking it is fast enough. Actually I have a
dozen or so USB memory stick and they all are recognized as fast enough
fro ReadyBoost from time to time but none of them are consistent. My
Laptop has USB 4 ports so maybe I have a marginal USB controller.

Bill Walter

Interesting tidbits. The original questions still stands, however. Has
anyone
found information on the best file format of the USB drive for use with
ReadyBoost?

Thanks

:

You are exactly right. I finaly got to SanDisk's web site and found the
removal tool. I was having some strange lockups until I got rid of U3.
It may
be useful to someone but all I want my flash drive for is Ready Boost.
I am
running smoothly now and I don't quite understand why but I have 2 gigs
of
RAM and this 2 gig flash drive still gave me a performance increase
with
Ready Boost.
--
Sam


:

U3 is, in my opinion, a noxious "utility" that you are best rid of as
soon
as possible. You can't format the drive to get rid of it since it's
hidden
on the drive and will simply re-create itself the next time you
insert it.
You need a special utility to remove it from your flash drive and
you'll
need to run it under Windows XP. This is what you need:

http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1415

I would not recommend trying it under compatibility mode - I'd go
straight
to a Windows XP box and run it.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


message What is the best format for a ReadyBoost USB drive? I got a SanDisk
2 Gb,
plugged it in and after a few prompts Vista had ReadyBoost runing.
I
noticed
I had 2 more drives in My Computer. I had the USB removable storage
drive
and
another drive listed as CD Drive (H U3 system. I decide this must
be
something SanDisk sent on the flash drive and it only shows 1.91 Gb
so
I'll
format it. Vista wouldn't allow a format as the drive was in use
and I
wasn't
Vista savvy enough to turn it off at this time. I booted into XP
and went
to
format the drive and only had FAT or FAT32 options. I format it in
FAT32
and
rebooted into Vista, pluged the drive in and ReadyBoost sets it up
again
with
1.91 Gb. I figure out how to turn off ReadyBoost and format the USB
drive
in
NTFS. I restart the system, plug the drive back in and Vista says
this
drive
isn't fast enough for ReadyBoost. I click retest and it comes back,
sets
up
ReadyBoost and appears to be running. My system seems much quicker
but am
I
in the right format?
This all started from this article I caught;
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2017844,00.asp

 

[Jim]

Did you go into device manager, to where the USB thumb drive is located, and
optimize the drive for performance? If you didn't, the drive will run at USB
1.1 speed, I believe.

I DO know that this setting makes a big difference in the performance of
"any" USB connected drive, either thumb drive or hard drive.

Nice one, I hadn't seen that option.

Does anyone know if there's any way to check if ReadyBoost is actually
achieving anything? I've got a Core 2 Duo E6700 @ 3.2Ghz and 4GB DDR
II RAM. I've installed a 4GB Lexar JumDrive Lightning and enabled it
for ReadyBoost. But is there anywhere in Vista that says "Yes,
ReadyBoost is running it's giving you an x% boost" ?


Jim

 

[MICHAEL]

Nice one, I hadn't seen that option.

Does anyone know if there's any way to check if ReadyBoost is actually
achieving anything? I've got a Core 2 Duo E6700 @ 3.2Ghz and 4GB DDR
II RAM. I've installed a 4GB Lexar JumDrive Lightning and enabled it
for ReadyBoost.

But is there anywhere in Vista that says "Yes,
ReadyBoost is running it's giving you an x% boost" ?

Not that I'm aware of. With 4GB of RAM, I don't think you
are going to see any difference. It seems to me, ReadyBoost
really helps those with RAM under 2GB. On the two machines
that I have had Vista on, both with 2GB of RAM, I was really
unable to tell any difference with ReadyBoost or without.
Also, I can't prove it, but on my desktop, it seemed to me that
ReadyBoost may have actually slowed things down ever so
slightly on a few occasions. I tried two different flash drives.


-Michael

 

[Jim]

Not that I'm aware of. With 4GB of RAM, I don't think you
are going to see any difference. It seems to me, ReadyBoost
really helps those with RAM under 2GB. On the two machines
that I have had Vista on, both with 2GB of RAM, I was really
unable to tell any difference with ReadyBoost or without.
Also, I can't prove it, but on my desktop, it seemed to me that
ReadyBoost may have actually slowed things down ever so
slightly on a few occasions. I tried two different flash drives.


-Michael

Thanks Michael. I had my own suspicions abotu ReadyBoost. After all,
even with a 4GB flash drive, Vista still inists on creating a huge
swapfile on one of my hard drives!

I think I just bought myself a new memory stick



Jim

 

[John Barnes]

No. Connected directly to mobo usb connection.
Are you using an extension cable by any chance? I have seen some USB devices have issues with extension cables...
I have a similar inconsistency though mine is that about once a week a popup
appears saying readyboost would work faster if it were on a USB2 port. When
it shows the ports it shows it on a USB2 port, which all my ports are. Just
another one of the annoying popups that are meaningless.

I am running VISTA 32 RTM on a P4 3.4GHz system with 2G ram. I have a
Apacer 4G USB memory stick that claims to be 150X and it often claims to
not be fast enough to be used as ReadyBoost. When it does say it is fast
enough it defaults to about 3.8G of readyboost which seems strange since it
results in about 6G on a 32 bit system! The other strange thing is that it
is very inconsistent in thinking it is fast enough. Actually I have a dozen
or so USB memory stick and they all are recognized as fast enough fro
ReadyBoost from time to time but none of them are consistent. My Laptop has
USB 4 ports so maybe I have a marginal USB controller.

Bill Walter

Interesting tidbits. The original questions still stands, however. Has
anyone
found information on the best file format of the USB drive for use with
ReadyBoost?

Thanks

You are exactly right. I finaly got to SanDisk's web site and found the
removal tool. I was having some strange lockups until I got rid of U3.
It may
be useful to someone but all I want my flash drive for is Ready Boost. I
am
running smoothly now and I don't quite understand why but I have 2 gigs
of
RAM and this 2 gig flash drive still gave me a performance increase with
Ready Boost.
--
Sam


:

U3 is, in my opinion, a noxious "utility" that you are best rid of as
soon
as possible. You can't format the drive to get rid of it since it's
hidden
on the drive and will simply re-create itself the next time you insert
it.
You need a special utility to remove it from your flash drive and
you'll
need to run it under Windows XP. This is what you need:

http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1415

I would not recommend trying it under compatibility mode - I'd go
straight
to a Windows XP box and run it.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


message What is the best format for a ReadyBoost USB drive? I got a SanDisk
2 Gb,
plugged it in and after a few prompts Vista had ReadyBoost runing. I
noticed
I had 2 more drives in My Computer. I had the USB removable storage
drive
and
another drive listed as CD Drive (H U3 system. I decide this must
be
something SanDisk sent on the flash drive and it only shows 1.91 Gb
so
I'll
format it. Vista wouldn't allow a format as the drive was in use and
I
wasn't
Vista savvy enough to turn it off at this time. I booted into XP and
went
to
format the drive and only had FAT or FAT32 options. I format it in
FAT32
and
rebooted into Vista, pluged the drive in and ReadyBoost sets it up
again
with
1.91 Gb. I figure out how to turn off ReadyBoost and format the USB
drive
in
NTFS. I restart the system, plug the drive back in and Vista says
this
drive
isn't fast enough for ReadyBoost. I click retest and it comes back,
sets
up
ReadyBoost and appears to be running. My system seems much quicker
but am
I
in the right format?
This all started from this article I caught;
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2017844,00.asp

 

[Dave Johnson]

Optimize for performance vs optimize for removal...

If your device is optimized for performance, then reads and writes are
bufferred in memory. This will allow the application performing the
read/write to return faster, but if you unplug your device before the
buffers are flushed by the OS you WILL lose data. Using Safely Remove
Hardware will ensure buffers are flushed.

Absolutely nothing to do with running at USB 1.1 speed, trust me.

Dave

Did you go into device manager, to where the USB thumb drive is located,
and optimize the drive for performance? If you didn't, the drive will run
at USB 1.1 speed, I believe.

I DO know that this setting makes a big difference in the performance of
"any" USB connected drive, either thumb drive or hard drive.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

I have a similar inconsistency though mine is that about once a week a
popup appears saying readyboost would work faster if it were on a USB2
port. When it shows the ports it shows it on a USB2 port, which all my
ports are. Just another one of the annoying popups that are meaningless.

I am running VISTA 32 RTM on a P4 3.4GHz system with 2G ram. I have a
Apacer 4G USB memory stick that claims to be 150X and it often claims to
not be fast enough to be used as ReadyBoost. When it does say it is fast
enough it defaults to about 3.8G of readyboost which seems strange since
it results in about 6G on a 32 bit system! The other strange thing is
that it is very inconsistent in thinking it is fast enough. Actually I
have a dozen or so USB memory stick and they all are recognized as fast
enough fro ReadyBoost from time to time but none of them are consistent.
My Laptop has USB 4 ports so maybe I have a marginal USB controller.

Bill Walter

Interesting tidbits. The original questions still stands, however. Has
anyone
found information on the best file format of the USB drive for use with
ReadyBoost?

Thanks

:

You are exactly right. I finaly got to SanDisk's web site and found
the
removal tool. I was having some strange lockups until I got rid of U3.
It may
be useful to someone but all I want my flash drive for is Ready Boost.
I am
running smoothly now and I don't quite understand why but I have 2
gigs of
RAM and this 2 gig flash drive still gave me a performance increase
with
Ready Boost.
--
Sam


:

U3 is, in my opinion, a noxious "utility" that you are best rid of
as soon
as possible. You can't format the drive to get rid of it since it's
hidden
on the drive and will simply re-create itself the next time you
insert it.
You need a special utility to remove it from your flash drive and
you'll
need to run it under Windows XP. This is what you need:

http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1415

I would not recommend trying it under compatibility mode - I'd go
straight
to a Windows XP box and run it.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


in
message What is the best format for a ReadyBoost USB drive? I got a
SanDisk 2 Gb,
plugged it in and after a few prompts Vista had ReadyBoost runing.
I
noticed
I had 2 more drives in My Computer. I had the USB removable
storage drive
and
another drive listed as CD Drive (H U3 system. I decide this
must be
something SanDisk sent on the flash drive and it only shows 1.91
Gb so
I'll
format it. Vista wouldn't allow a format as the drive was in use
and I
wasn't
Vista savvy enough to turn it off at this time. I booted into XP
and went
to
format the drive and only had FAT or FAT32 options. I format it in
FAT32
and
rebooted into Vista, pluged the drive in and ReadyBoost sets it up
again
with
1.91 Gb. I figure out how to turn off ReadyBoost and format the
USB drive
in
NTFS. I restart the system, plug the drive back in and Vista says
this
drive
isn't fast enough for ReadyBoost. I click retest and it comes
back, sets
up
ReadyBoost and appears to be running. My system seems much quicker
but am
I
in the right format?
This all started from this article I caught;
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2017844,00.asp

 

[Byron Hinson]

It's supposed to create the swapfile on the hard drive still just incase you
decide to pull out the readyboost stick so it can drop back.

 

[AJR]

U3 was deveopled by Scandisk to provide for running applications via
autop[lay from USB devices. When the device is installed two drives are
created - a ROM CD drive (provide simulation means of "copying"
applications) and an USB drive representing the data portion of the device.

Device must meet the following minimum specs:
2.5 MB/sec throughout for 4 KB random reads
a.. 1.75 MB/sec throughout for 512 KB random writes
However if the read/write specs of the HD are "better" Vista will not use as
ReadyBoost. Performance depends on type of HD activity - non-sequential
read/writes (random) go to ReadyBoost and sequential to the HD.
ReadyBoost "actually" sees file system as FAT32 - data is encrypted to
prevent accidental exposure when device is removed - device can be removed
at any time without affecting Vista - data is a copy?
Readyboost also "monitors" boot proceedure over a period of time and
improves performance. ReadyBoost is one of three "Ready...." functions,
including ReadyDrive - sorry do not remember the third.