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ReadyBoost - Using Your USB Key to Speed Up Windows Vista

  • Artigo

One very cool feature of Windows Vista – especially for machines not natively equipped with the kind of horsepower to fully enjoy the rich visuals of Windows Presentation Foundation (Avalon) applications is ReadyBoost. ReadyBoost enables you to plug a USB key into your machine and have Windows Vista use it as memory. I hadn’t actually used this myself, but had heard of it long ago. When a reader emailed me asking if this was an urban legend, I decided to check it out for myself and was very impressed with how easy and seamless the process is.

Installing/Configuring the USB Key as Memory

First I took a standard USB 2.0 key (I’ll list the prerequisites shortly) and plugged it into my machine. I’m running Windows Vista Beta 2, Build 5346, but I’m told that this works with the latest CTP made available to beta and TAP members as well as MSDN Subscribers. Upon plugging the USB key into my computer, I was greeted with the standard "AutoPlay" dialog box asking how I wanted to the operating system to treat the USB key. However, with ReadyBoost I get the additional option (circled below in the screen capture) of using the key to "speed up my system".

AutoPlay dialog box displayed when a valid USB Key is inserted into a machine running Windows Vista

Once I click the "Speed up my system" option, the Properties dialog box for the device is displayed where I can specify to start/stop ReadyBoost usage of the device and how much space I want used as a memory cache. (Actually, according to one of the Product Specialists here, this space is used more as a flash-based page file than true RAM, but the impact is that the more space you choose here, the more benefit you’ll get in terms of overall system performance.)

The device Properties dialog box allows you to turn on/off ReadyBoost for that device and to set the exact size of the cache.

(In order to return to this dialog box, open the Computer window, right-click the drive (F: in this case) and select Properties. From there, click the Memory tab (as shown in the previous screen capture and adjust the settings as needed).

For the inquisitive, opening the drive in an Explorer window reveals that ReadyBoost has created a cache file of the specified size.

Example cache file created by ReadyBoost on a USB Key

Things to Know About ReadyBoost

If you have a USB key configured to use ReadyBoost and then insert a second key, Windows Vista will display the Properties dialog box where you’ll see the message on the Memory tab as shown in the following screen capture.

Example of a USB Key that cannot be used by ReadyBoost as it doesn’t have enough free space for a cache

While ReadyBoost will work with other devices – such as SD Card, CompactFlash, etc. – I’ve only used it with a USB key and here are the baseline requirements the team gave me regarding what ReadyBoost will work with:

  • The USB Key must be at least USB 2.0
  • The device must be able to do 3.5 MB/s for 4 KB random reads uniformly across the entire device and 2.5 MB/s for 512 KB random writes uniformly across the device.
  • The USB Key has to have at least 64mb of free space

 

Update: Due to so many questions about this feature, I've tracked down the Program Manager (owner) of this feature - Matt Ayers. Matt has put together a complete ReadyBoost FAQ for everyone that I've posted in a separate blog entry.
Therefore, feel free to make comments here, but if you have any questions, first check out the FAQ and if it's not answered there, post me a question and I'll see if Matt can update the FAQ with your question/answer.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    April 14, 2006
    Thanks Tom! I have been looking for this info for a very long time. Now I can see why my SD and Sony Memory Stick does not work, none of them get even closer to 3.5 MB/s

    Time to go to Frys to get a 1 GB USB 2. Wait, need to check if my laptop USB are 2.0!! Maybe when I am at Frys I'll check for better hardware, is not that what Vista wants, make us all purchase new computers? :-)

    Again, thanks Tom for the fast info into this issue.
    Al

  • Anonymous
    April 14, 2006
    One very cool feature of Windows Vista – especially for machines not natively equipped with the...

  • Anonymous
    April 14, 2006
    So what happens when you yank the USB key out of the USB port?

  • Anonymous
    April 16, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 16, 2006
    Rosyna: What happens when you "yank" memory - or any other devices - out of your running machine? Who knows? Not exactly recommended. That's why you have a tray app to remove devices - so that the system can properly stop using those devices and write any data that has been cached.

  • Anonymous
    April 16, 2006
    Lapi, notice it says 3.5 MB/s for RANDOM reads. I don't know of any hard drive that can read that fast at random.

  • Anonymous
    April 16, 2006
    Eli, I think that random here is the same random as in RAM (random means at a random location, i.e. to access any address the time required is the same)

  • Anonymous
    April 17, 2006
    How about turning off Avalon?! I like appealing visual styles a lot, don't get me wrong, but after using XP on Pentium 2s @ 333MHz and with only 128 MB RAM, I started turning off the XP styles and deactivated the design service in order to speed up things a little...

  • Anonymous
    April 17, 2006
    @ Lapi
    We already can have multiple swap files on different partitions and therefore phisical drives. Many users, anyway, don't have more than one HDD.

  • Anonymous
    April 19, 2006
    That's a bit of a let down. When I first read about the feature I pictured a 4 port USB hub with 2GB sticks in each slot giving a massive cache to really boost the operating system. I wonder why it has been limited to one?

  • Anonymous
    April 20, 2006
    I really agree with you steve not only that but it would be nice to get all of the swap off the HDD to a faster device without using alot of memory. Maybe use like 1GB or even 512MB and the rest on thumb drives... Even a 2GB thumb drive should do just fine forever.

  • Anonymous
    April 24, 2006
    I would have to agree with Lapi. This feature is cool, but not particularly useful at this moment in time. It would probably suit the user better to just upgrade their RAM. However, I am guessing that improvements to USB are forthcoming and this will become more practical.

  • Anonymous
    April 24, 2006
    Capture By George! is an advanced Windows screen capture application that offers an easy and intuitive method of making screen captures.

    http://www.yaodownload.com/video-design/screencapture/capture-by-george_screencapture.htm

  • Anonymous
    April 25, 2006
    uoo

  • Anonymous
    April 25, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 30, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 30, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 01, 2006
    >> It would probably suit the user better to just upgrade their RAM.

    One thing worth considering is a business environment where there is no business-condoned option to enhance the hardware but you really need more headroom to effectively work.  Just pop in your own USB stick (if they haven't previously gone and disabled the USB ports) and voila, you can get some work done (or get it done faster).

  • Anonymous
    May 01, 2006
    i agree with remford..
    ofcourse its better to upgrade your ram. the argument about harddrives beeing faulty as we are talking about random accsess here.. pages beeing swapped. not alot of seqencial stuff goin on there.. also he listed the MINIMUM reqs. usb2 is alot faster than 3.5 mbs/sec
    this feature is prolly aimed at laptops were memory is expensive and harddrives usualy slow. at least on a system that does not have enuf memory for vista already.

    so microsoft, please ignore this whiners and keep up the good work

  • Anonymous
    May 02, 2006
    Just a question: is there an official roadmap for Windows Vista? I searched almost everywhere and I couldn't find it.
    Thanks.

  • Anonymous
    May 02, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 03, 2006
    Why are you guys removing posts which are unpleasant?
    What is it for then? To show only covenient posts so that people buy it as a great product?

  • Anonymous
    May 04, 2006
    Will it support all USB drives, regardless of how they are ID'd to the OS ("hard disk drive" or "Device with Removable Storage")?

  • Anonymous
    May 04, 2006
    This seems like the same thing as swap, err... "Virtual Memory" to me.

  • Anonymous
    May 06, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 07, 2006
    will it just be usb keys or would you be able to plug in say a normal usb 2.0 hard drive of a few gb?

  • Anonymous
    May 07, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 08, 2006
    I agree to the fullest with Remford.
    Now, come on. The same protest were made when XP launched. (Though people decided to deactivate a lot of features in XP to make it run smooth.)
    We are in fact moving into a new age of computer technology and we will addapt to improved requirements. Just as games?, anybody that have bought a new graphic card to run a brand new game??? Doom III - enthusiast, raise your hands. Or did u change resolution? Haha...
    This is a great way to boost your system performance, and I would have been dissapointed if it didn't work at all.
    And another point... Vista releases in dec-2006. Were were USB-sticks back in beg. of 2005?
    PS. Pardon my english. I'm swedish.
    PS2. Im ready for vista with 64-bit and all :)

  • Anonymous
    May 08, 2006
    Some think comments are anti-microsoft.  Others realize comments are not so much anti-microsoft so much as constructive critisism.  Microsoft has come a long way.... but some anti-microsoft / constructive critisism continues to go unresolved.  Things like the fact that Microsoft (continuing again with Vista) has always been the most unsecure, unstable, unscaleable, monopolistic tactic driven OS provider.
    They don't even seem to care since they've got a good marketing department that lies to public and does a great job selling.  We've all got a love-hate relationship with Microsoft eh?

  • Anonymous
    May 08, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 09, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 10, 2006
    lev: The only posts I've intentionally removed are those that where one person has used inappropriate language or attacked another poster. I have absolutely no problem - and even welcome - contradictory opinions.

    If you feel like I've unfairly removed a comment of yours, please let me know by emailing me directly and I'll definitely reconsider putting it back in. (It might just be that I misunderstood something you said or simply removed a comment by mistake.)

  • Anonymous
    May 11, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 12, 2006
    Interesting article.  I am looking forward to see this feature work.

  • Anonymous
    May 14, 2006
    And I think that the most efficient Microsoft OS is Windows 98. I know that it is not a "true 32 bit" but the fact that it implements full win32 API is enough for me.
    I'm using it and believe me - it works like a charm on the modern hardware.

  • Anonymous
    May 14, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 15, 2006
    I found out about this new technology over at http://www.vistaultimate.com

    My question is with memory prices so low and hard disk capacity increasing (i.e. use swap file), why should Microsoft even bother with ReadyBoost?

  • Anonymous
    May 15, 2006
    morg: You're exactly right. It's basically using a very cheap device that any end-user can easily plug into their machine for virtual memory. This greatly enables people who either don't want to purchase more costly memory or who can't/don't desire to get into their machines to upgrade their hardware a means of drastically improving performance at a very low cost.

  • Anonymous
    May 15, 2006
    I have been using a Lexar 1GB Jumpdrive to boost my notepad and it works great, allowing effective RAM well above the 1GB installed and much faster than the HDD swap file. I look forward to any refinements Ms can make in this feature in upcoming builds.

  • Anonymous
    May 15, 2006
    PingBack from http://www.msblog.org/?p=635

  • Anonymous
    May 17, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 20, 2006
    Tom:

    These:
    The device must be able to do 3.5 MB/s for 4 KB random reads uniformly across the entire device and 2.5 MB/s for 512 KB random writes uniformly across the device.
    The USB Key has to have at least 64mb of free space

    numbers are not the numbers that Matt Ayers was giving out last week on a Vista TAP programme webcast. Tom's numbers were 2.5 and 1.75 (same scenerios) with 256MB free.
    I can also confirm that Vista 5381 does not work with a 64MB memory stick or even a 256MB one that does not have 256MB free.

    FWIW

    :J

  • Anonymous
    May 20, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 20, 2006
    I think that they have come up with an excellent idea here as most cpu's ram are expandable only up to a certain size(mines only 2 gig) and with the usb devices getting bigger and better all of the time it won't be long until you can affordably get a 10 or 20 gig usb device.Can you imagine how good that would improve your system 20 gig ram!!!I really think they should make it so it will work with multiple usb devices though, so we can plug in a few 2 gig ones and get a 6 or 8 gig ram going until the 20 gig ones are avaliable.I think they should also put out an update patch for the windows xp system users so they can do the same as not everyone will be converting to vista right away due to availability and price.

  • Anonymous
    May 22, 2006
    Can you also use a Mp3player to speed up your system? I don´t have an USB-Stick, neither Windows Vista, so I can't try it on my own.

  • Anonymous
    May 22, 2006
    I have tried multiple thumb drives to make an attempt to use the readyboost feature.  both have sent vista complaining that they don't have the performance specs, but i know they do b/c of the packaging.  is this something we can hope to see resolved or partially resolved with the coming release of beta 2?

  • Anonymous
    May 23, 2006
    Can we plug in a PDA and use both its memory and CPU for extra processing?  Furthermore, can we do this easily with multiple desktop machines?   This would greatly shorten my video editing batch process time.

  • Anonymous
    May 23, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 24, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 24, 2006
    I think the simple reason for readyboost is to encourage people to try Vista even though their system only has the bare minimum of ram to run Vista (256mb). Having a page file on usb should help performance.

    I am surprised that people like Dell are still shipping PCs with 256mb ram instead of 512mb or even 1GB -- for the LOWEST spec'd pc. They should ship a base ram of at least 512mb for even the cheap 299 dollar machines.

  • Anonymous
    May 25, 2006
    How much of a "speed increase" are we really talking about here?  Are you really going to see it for that everyday use machine or would this be more for games, graphics, and development applications that eat up a lot of memory?  Also couldn't this potentially be a security risk whereas personal/private/corporate information could be put on the USB Key, and then someone comes along and swipes it.  Of course the person who took it would have to go through and decipher the cached information, but it's technically possible isn't it?

  • Anonymous
    May 25, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 25, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 27, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 28, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 28, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 30, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    June 03, 2006
    *** Update: *** Due to so many questions about this feature, I've tracked down the Program Manager (owner) of this feature - Matt Ayers. Matt has put together a complete ReadyBoost FAQ for everyone that I've posted in a separate blog entry. http://blogs.msdn.com/tomarcher/archive/2006/06/02/615199.aspx Therefore, feel free to make comments here, but if you have any questions, first check out the FAQ and if it's not answered there, post me a question and I'll see if Matt can update the FAQ with your question/answer.

  • Anonymous
    June 05, 2006
    Does it speed up games?

  • Anonymous
    June 10, 2006
    Readyboost is built into new hybrid hard drives if i'm not mistaken so USB stick support is just an added bonus for those that bought in with USB storage devices as well.

  • Anonymous
    June 12, 2006
    Hi,

    I am running the VISTA OS on Microsoft Virtual PC and due to this its unable the detect the USB Key that I plug into the machine. Does anyone know how I can get around this.

    Thanks
    Arjuna.

  • Anonymous
    June 23, 2006
    PingBack from http://newyear2006.wordpress.com/2006/06/24/readyboost-zur-performancesteigerung-unter-vista/

  • Anonymous
    June 30, 2006
    I have a laptop that is a little challenged to run  windows XP so I run win 98SE  on it. (Fujitsu Lifebook C6530 500 mhz, 196 MB Ram (max).)

    Something like readyboost for windows XP would probably give it enough improvement to run XP as well as it runs win 98 SE.

    Does any one know of any app that offers similar capability to readyboost.


    George

  • Anonymous
    July 27, 2006
    PingBack from http://www.theserverpimp.com/?p=7

  • Anonymous
    July 31, 2006
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    July 31, 2006
    都知道Windows Vista是个“吃粮大户”，微软官方网站的说法是Windows Vista的最低安装需求是512MB内存。有经验的读者朋友都知道，所谓的最低安装需求往往不足为信，例如微软曾经号称64MB的内存就已经足够“迎娶”Windows...

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    August 05, 2006
    PingBack from http://blogs.msdn.com/tomarcher/archive/2006/06/02/615199.aspx

  • Anonymous
    September 22, 2006
    This week I went out to Harris Technology and got myself a 2GB USB Key. It was a good price so I couldn't...

  • Anonymous
    September 28, 2006
    I have not had the pleasure/pain of Vista yet (I do really think it will be great when it is released)...

  • Anonymous
    September 28, 2006
    Get ready for a long list of large affordable USB drives as well as Window's Vista's Ready Boost feature.

  • Anonymous
    October 04, 2006
    One of the favorite enterprise features of Microsoft® Windows Vista™, USB device installations, gets

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    October 26, 2006
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  • Anonymous
    November 20, 2006
    If there is one thing that can really help applications on Windows Vista run better, it's memory. When

  • Anonymous
    November 20, 2006
    If there is one thing that can really help applications on Windows Vista run better, it's memory. When comparing the performance of Windows XP and Windows Vista on a PC with 1 GB of main memory, Windows Vista is generally comparable to Windows XP or faster.

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    Well after being caught up in the Windows Vista hype last weekend I finally installed Windows Vista on Thursday. I was very excited except for me Vista is not ready for prime time. I have two computers at home, one...

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  • Anonymous
    February 12, 2007
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