Readyboost: NTFS, FAT or FAT32 ?

O

Olivier Marquet

Can someone tell me whether I should use NTFS, FAT or FAT32 when formatting
my Readyboost USB drive?

Thanks in advance.
 
K

Ken Gardner

Olivier Marquet said:
Can someone tell me whether I should use NTFS, FAT or FAT32 when
formatting my Readyboost USB drive?

FAT32. I disagree with those who said NTFS. I read somewhere that FAT32
requires less disk reads and writes than NTFS, meaning that your flash drive
will last longer.

Ken
 
G

Gazwad

Ken Gardner <[email protected]>, the wobbly-vagrant and jazzy
hip-hitter who likes merciless zipper surfing with moray eels, and whose
partner is a cab-moll with a nauseating hey nonny nonny, wrote in
FAT32. I disagree with those who said NTFS. I read somewhere that FAT32
requires less disk reads and writes than NTFS, meaning that your flash
drive will last longer.

LOL


--
For my own part, I have never had a thought which I could not set down
in words with even more distinctness than that with which I conceived
it. There is, however, a class of fancies of exquisite delicacy which
are not thoughts, and to which as yet I have found it absolutely
impossible to adapt to language. These fancies arise in the soul, alas
how rarely. Only at epochs of most intense tranquillity, when the
bodily and mental health are in perfection. And at those weird points
of time, where the confines of the waking world blend with the world of
dreams. And so I captured this fancy, where all that we see, or seem,
is but a dream within a dream.
 
C

cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 13:38:45 -0600, "Robert Firth"

It prolly doesn't matter that much, as you'd get 4k clusters with NTFS
or FAT32, and I suspect the process creates the file once and from
then on works within it, ignoring file system and directory mechanics.


--------------- ---- --- -- - - - -
Saws are too hard to use.
Be easier to use!
 
K

Ken Gardner

Michal Kawecki said:

I didn't find those specific sites, but I found others like it. But doesn't
Vista encrypt the contents of the ReadyBoost cache? If so, isn't NTFS
better suited for it despite the shorter shelf life? [Note: not that I am
going to change to NTFS solely for this reason -- the ability to encrypt the
cache file alone is not enough reason for me to switch the flash drive to
NTFS.]

Ken
 
M

Michal Kawecki

Ken Gardner said:
Michal Kawecki said:
FAT32. I disagree with those who said NTFS. I read somewhere that
FAT32 requires less disk reads and writes than NTFS, meaning that
your flash drive will last longer.
[...]

http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbstick_e.html
http://www2b.abc.net.au/science/techtalk/newposts/423/topic423591.shtm

I didn't find those specific sites, but I found others like it. But
doesn't Vista encrypt the contents of the ReadyBoost cache?

It will be encrypted also on FAT32.
If so, isn't NTFS better suited for it despite the shorter shelf life?
[Note: not that I am going to change to NTFS solely for this reason --
the ability to encrypt the cache file alone is not enough reason for
me to switch the flash drive to NTFS.]

If a wear-levelling mechanism is poorly implemented then flash memory
will be quickly wear-out, because NTFS make write operations even when
you only read files. But I think in case of ReadyBoost pagefile it's not
very important; it's a single file only, and it's accessed by system
differently than normal files (by direct addressing 4 kB chunks).

P.S. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wear_levelling
 
C

cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)

If a wear-levelling mechanism is poorly implemented then flash memory
will be quickly wear-out, because NTFS make write operations even when
you only read files. But I think in case of ReadyBoost pagefile it's not
very important; it's a single file only, and it's accessed by system
differently than normal files (by direct addressing 4 kB chunks).

I can't see how wear-levelling can work when the entire capacity of
the device is in use...


--------------- ---- --- -- - - - -
Saws are too hard to use.
Be easier to use!
 
D

DevilsPGD

In message <[email protected]> "cquirke (MVP
Windows shell/user) said:
I can't see how wear-levelling can work when the entire capacity of
the device is in use...

If specific portions of the drive are written repeatedly whenever ANY
portion of the drive is written (for example, if the last-accessed date
is written over and over) you may run into problems.
 
M

Michal Kawecki

cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user) said:
I can't see how wear-levelling can work when the entire capacity of
the device is in use...


On my 1,90 GB pendrive Vista created 1,79 GB pagefile only, so there is
plenty space for wear-levelling and spare sectors.
 

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