ReadyBoost requirements?

[Brian Wescombe]

I've just plugged in my 1GB PNY USB2 Flash drive, and Vista tells me that it
doens't meet the necessary spec for use as a ReadyBoost device. So what sort
of flash drive would work? Does it need to meet certain speed requirements?

 

[Zack Uribe]

Do you actually get a "message" which says that the device does not meet the
requirements, or do you just not get the option to use it as a ReadyBoost
device?

I have tried 2 different USB flash devices(2GB PNY Attache and Memorex
Traveldrive) and neither have shown the "use as system memory tab" on their
properties tabs. I am not sure if I have something disabled, or if they did
not qualify, and thus not shown the tab. I never got any warning or notice
that they are not capable though...

Here are the stats:
Q: What perf do you need on your device?
A: 2.5MB/sec throughput for 4K random reads and 1.75MB/sec throughput for
512K random writes

 

[Brian Wescombe]

Do you actually get a "message" which says that the device does not meet
the requirements, or do you just not get the option to use it as a
ReadyBoost device?

Yes, I got a message which said that my device did not meet ReadyBoost
performance requirements and therefore it couldn't be used for such.

 

[Zack Uribe]

DARN!!!!

That means I have something wrong with my install, I get NO information,
just the generic Autoplay which does not include the "use this for systme
memory" option..

Does ANYONE have any idea what setting I might have disabled(services, etc)
which would deny ReadyBoost from testing USB flash drives?

The ports on my machine are supposed to be USB 2.0, and I tried both sticks
in several different ports..

I serached online for ReadyBoost info, and as expected it was lacking, also
the online help in Vista could not find anything related to ReadyBoost

 

[Brian Wescombe]

Do you actually get a "message" which says that the device does not meet
the requirements, or do you just not get the option to use it as a
ReadyBoost device?

I have tried 2 different USB flash devices(2GB PNY Attache and Memorex
Traveldrive) and neither have shown the "use as system memory tab" on
their properties tabs. I am not sure if I have something disabled, or if
they did not qualify, and thus not shown the tab. I never got any warning
or notice that they are not capable though...

It's an Attache drive that I have, but mine's 1GB

Here are the stats:
Q: What perf do you need on your device?
A: 2.5MB/sec throughput for 4K random reads and 1.75MB/sec throughput for
512K random writes

That's not excessively fast really!

 

[Guest]

Was this a built in Card reader, or an external card reader that worked with
your CF card????

I started with a 1GB CF card in an external reader and did not get the
PowerBoost test. I then read the Q& Aand decided that was why I did not get
the test...

I wonder if my initial try with the CF card "tweaked" Vista so it no longer
tries to do PowerBoost...


Since No one replied, I guess I am the only person who does not get any
PowerBoost info....

 

[milleron]

Was this a built in Card reader, or an external card reader that worked with
your CF card????

I started with a 1GB CF card in an external reader and did not get the
PowerBoost test. I then read the Q& Aand decided that was why I did not get
the test...

I wonder if my initial try with the CF card "tweaked" Vista so it no longer
tries to do PowerBoost...


Since No one replied, I guess I am the only person who does not get any
PowerBoost info....

I got ReadyBoost info the first time I inserted my thumb drive. The
second time, I got two beeps but NO info. Checking the properties of
the drive, however, shows that it does have a ReadyBoost tab and that
it is using 840MB for that function.

 

[Zack Uribe]

An update...
It looks like I had disabled the service which controls ReadyBoost....or
else it was disabled when I installed...

It now works for me...and since I had returned the 2 2gb cards I tried, I
was able to suffer and get a 4gb one at Fry's today ;-)

In case anyone cares, the service that was disabled was: External Memory
Devices Management Service..which had no description about what it does...

 

[Zack Uribe]

AHA!!! I finally found out my problem...

I followed the suggestions at VistaBase...which was recommended here, and
under the services you could safely disable it said:

External Memory Devices Management Service - Manual, Stopped
This is for users who have flash USB drives. I have this set to Manual so
that if I plug one in, the service will start. Other than that (and I only
use it to transport things from college to home, not even things from other
computers in the house), then leave it stopped. If you have no USB hard
drives, disable this service.

SO I performed that action, and ReadyBoost did not work. I will also email
them to suggest they mention ReadyBoost will be disabled in their
suggestions.

 

[Jc]

I have 3 flash drives. A Memorex Travel Drive 1GB, a Verbatim 2GB, and a
Lexar JumpDrive 1GB. The Memorex and the Lexar both work, but the Verbatim
does not. They are all USB 2.0, the Memorex and Verbatim were purchased
less than a montha ago and the Lexar about 6 months ago. All were purchased
at OfficeMax. Is it possible 2GB drives are considered slower to Vista than
1GB?

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

I don't think so. I have a Sony Vaio 8GB Vault. While I have had problems
with it as a usb device it has not been a speed problem.

 

[milleron]

I have 3 flash drives. A Memorex Travel Drive 1GB, a Verbatim 2GB, and a
Lexar JumpDrive 1GB. The Memorex and the Lexar both work, but the Verbatim
does not. They are all USB 2.0, the Memorex and Verbatim were purchased
less than a montha ago and the Lexar about 6 months ago. All were purchased
at OfficeMax. Is it possible 2GB drives are considered slower to Vista than
1GB?

Don't know about the speed/size issue, but it's not the brand, because
I have a new Verbatim 1GB that does work nicely.