Is ReadyBoost working?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Abhishek Baxi
  • Start date Start date
A

Abhishek Baxi

How do I know if ReadyBoost is speeding my machine?

I have one gig of RAM, and use a one gig flash drive for ReadyBoost.
 
When you plug the flash drive in, it will automatically ask you if you want
to use it for ReadyBoost. If the drive is not suitable, it will tell you.

Larry
 
Use the Sidebar with the CPU and Memory Usage Gauges. Ready Boost really
doesn't do anything to improve speed. It's no substitute for more real ram
memory. I have a 2Gig flash drive set up for Ready Boost and see absolutely
no difference. All reviews I've read say it is a gimmick. Save the money to
buy more memory.
 
Mary, ReadyBoost will access the RAM on the flash drive before it access the
hard drive and that is the benefit of ReadyBoost.
 
Larry E said:
When you plug the flash drive in, it will automatically ask you if you
want
to use it for ReadyBoost. If the drive is not suitable, it will tell you.
Click to expand...

Yes, but sometimes it stops working.

Right click toolbar (usually bottom of screen)
Select Task Manager
Select Performance
Click Performance Monitor
When that comes up, expand the "Disk" section
Sort by writes (click the "Write (B/min)" column so the tiny arrow above it
points down).

If it's working, you'll see at, or near, the top the drive letter for your
flash drive and the file "ReadyBoost.sfcache"

I find that sometimes, if the system is quite idle, I have to sort on reads
instead, or even scroll the list looking for it. I've even, rarely, not
seen it there at all even when it was working. Starting up some program
(such as Windows Mail) makes it appear, if it's working.

I've discovered that if the machine crashes, when it comes back up the
system discovers the device again and it come up optimized for quick removal
rather than for performance. When this happens, it doesn't get set up as a
ReadyBoost device and I have to switch it to performance mode then re-test
it for ReadyBoost and it'll get picked up.

- Bill
 
LOL Well, I didn't say it was "perfect". Thanks for that info Bill. I guess
I'm one of the lucky ones and it has always worked for me. Of course, I've
never had a crash either. LOL
 
Larry E said:
LOL Well, I didn't say it was "perfect". Thanks for that info Bill. I
guess
I'm one of the lucky ones and it has always worked for me.
Click to expand...

When it works, it works very nicely. A quite noticable improvement in
performance, and reduction in disk activity.
Of course, I've never had a crash either. LOL
Click to expand...

I've had two, and I wasn't around for either of them. I just found that the
machine had crashed, and come back on it's own, when I started to use it in
the morning. Perhaps the most favorable thing for me is that this is the
first time since I ran OS/2 (for a PC, that is) that the machine stays up
for days and days. In fact, the only time I reboot these days is if I've
installed something that requires it to finish installation or changed
something that requires one to make the adjustment.

- Bill
 
Larry said:
Mary, ReadyBoost will access the RAM on the flash drive before it access the
hard drive and that is the benefit of ReadyBoost.
Click to expand...

That's how it works (it's Flash memory instead of RAM, but that's just
a detail), but does it actually *keep* working for you?

It happens often that I notice the activity LED on my USB pen doesn't
show any life anymore, usually after restarting the system from
standby. I mean no activity for a long period, when I'd normally have
expected some RB activity.

What I find at those times is always the same: the readyboost.sfcache
file is gone, but its space is still allocated. Running chkdisk
'recovers' a lost file of nearly 2GB. Delete, re-enable ReadyBoost,
and it works again.

I haven't had any crashes or power failures, so there must be another
reason.


Probably related: in device manager, the USB drive often shows up with
a yellow icon as "This device cannot start. (Code 10)" - yet it is
working. I just restarted RB again per the above procedure: I can see
the activity LED flash from time to time right while I'm typing this,
while device manager in another window is telling me that it doesn't
work.
 
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