Flash as RAM?

Michael · Sep 11, 2006

I remember reading Vista has a feature to use Flash memory (ex. USB memory
stick) as (extra)RAM. I tried to find this feature in RC1 - USB attached but
no sign of it in Task Manager/Physical Memory.
Michael

Sascha Benjamin Jazbec · Sep 11, 2006

first you must use the Motherboards direct USB 2.0 ports ( e.g. No
PCI-Addon-Card with USB-Extraports )

second : this feature is only available at some USB-thumbdrives.
If you plug a Readyboost-compatible USB-Flashdrive in, then Windows will
present the Autoplay-window which offers ( depends on what is on the stick )
:

* "Open files"
* "Play Mp3s" etc.. and
* "Speed up my system"

you can also do a rightclick on the USB-drive's icon and see under
properties the tab "ReadyBoost" - there you can see if this is an option or
not.

I have a 500MB Stick from LG that uses this technology, but another no-name
1GB-stick doesn't offer this.

My System (Duron 1800/ 512 DDR-RAM/Geforce 6200 AGP with Aero) is indeed a
bit faster than without the stick inserted, specially when running games I
feel it.

Also it depends on various factors : how much RAM has your System already
and how much space is on the stick.

So far these one have been tested :

ReadyBoost-compatible USB flash drives:
- 512MB Kungston U3 Datatraveler
-512MB LG Electronics "Silverline" Thumbdrive
- 1GB Verbatim Store'n'Go U3
- 2GB Verbatim Store'n'Go Pro
- 2GB Patriot Xporter XT
- 2GB Samsung Mighty Drive

ReadyBoost-incompatible USB flash drives:
- 1GB Corsair Voyager
- 1GB Corsair Readout
- 1GB PQI Cool Drive
- 8GB TrekStor

more info :
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/features/foreveryone/performance.mspx
http://blogs.msdn.com/tomarcher/archive/2006/04/14/576548.aspx
http://hwspirit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=398

SBJ

dotcom · Sep 11, 2006

Sascha,
I have seen it posted before that you cannot use an USB 2.0 Add-On card
however I indeed am using one along with a supported flash drive and it
works great! Do you happen to know the reason for this claim that add-on
cards are not supported? I know that the *speed* of the flash drive has to
been fast enough in order to be supported but I don't see any reason why an
add-on card would eliminate it's support.
dotcom

Sascha Benjamin Jazbec · Sep 11, 2006

Ok, if it is so than I will in future not claim this to be a fact.

On my own PC it is indeed not working on a PCI Card with Viachipset with 4 x
USB 2.0 Ports,
but on the Mainboards own Ports ( 6x USB 2.0 - also Viachipset )
That means I have 10 USB Ports total ( 2 on the front, 4 native ones on the
I/O shield and the 4 extraones ).

Also I have read that somewhere on the Web while searching for Vistas
special features

But alright then, as usual when new tech is aproaching - one is the lucky
guy, others have to struggle a bit .

### ########## The may we say so from now on :
###################
********* try ALL your USB2.0 ports out - if at least one of them enables
this or not. ********
############################################################################

Happy crawling under your desks :-}

SBJ

Alan Simpson · Sep 12, 2006

It's not really RAM. It's alternative storage for the pagefile. You can use
a flash drive it its capacity and random I/O are fast to enough to justify
using it for that purpose. Some motherboard and hybrid hard drives will have
tha built in.

Guest · Sep 15, 2006