Readyboost not working with Patriot XT 8gb USB 2.0

[MrPickles]

I looked for a post about this topic here but i did not see one so if this is a repeat i apologize

I have a Patriot XT 8gb USB 2.0 Thumbdrive that i specifically bought to use Readyboost with but seemingly no matter what i do, Windows 7 says
'This device cannot be used for Readyboost'

I dont understand why though. The drive is sold as Readyboost compatible.
I have tried formatting the drive in both NTFS, Fat32 and exFat with no luck.
I checked that all of my USB ports are 2.0 and they are.

I am completely flumaxed with this issue so any help with this would be great.

 

[scrooge]

not sure if this will help but try this link.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/33289-readyboost-setup-use.html


scrooge

 

[MrPickles]

I have already looked at that. I get as far as step 2 and when i say Speed up my System is when i get the error message.

 

[scrooge]

found this in that same post .

Hey folks. I didn't see anyone talking about it, but ya know Windows 7 now supports an 8GB RB drive. I am using superfast 8GB sticks on my desktops and an 8GB SDHC in my notebook's multi-drive permanently.

The trick is, they have to be formatted in exFAT to be used. If you use the little popup "Speed up my computer" wizard, you can't do it immediately or on the fly.\

First you have to say no to the prompt, then go to disk management and format the sucker in exFAT.

exFAT is pretty new, so not a lot about it out there, but essentially it is like FAT on steroids, but not NTFS.

Anyway, once formatted, pop it out and back in and take the wizard and enjoy your newfound resources.!

(I have a 4GB desktop and a notebook with 8GB RB and an 8GB desktop with 8GB RB. You can definitely feel the difference.)

scrooge

 

[Corazon]

If you're still having problems getting Windows to use this USB stick with ReadyBoost, you might try using diskpart from a command prompt to completely wipe the stick, then create a new primary partition and format it.

It doesn't actually matter which filesystem you format it with, both exFAT and NTFS will work well. FAT32 will be too limiting as it allows files of at most 4GB in size.

USB sticks, and for that matter any kind of flash memory, can be slowed down by misaligned partitions or formats done with too small a cluster size. Judging from my personal experience, 16KB or 32KB clusters would be ideal.

If you need a step-by-step guide on how to use diskpart to create an aligned partition, let me know and I'll post the steps here (too tired atm).

 

[cluberti]

Note that when you plug in a removable flash device and try to use it with ReadyBoost, Windows does a few tests on it to see if it will work. Specifically, the device must be formatted FAT32, exFAT, or NTFS, be at least 256MB in size, be on a USB 2.0 (or higher) bus, and be good for at least 2.5 MB/sec throughout for 4 KB random reads, and 1.75 MB/sec throughout for 512 KB random writes. If ANY of those things fail, Windows will refuse to use the device for ReadyBoost. You can always test the device a second time, and sometimes this actually fixes things. If it doesn't, however, you can open eventvwr and browse to Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > Readyboost and see what happened.

 

[MrPickles]

thanks for the tips.
I will try these out and get back to you guys.
For the the formating to NTFS or exFAT, should I do a regular format or a quick format?

 

[cluberti]

Depends - if the device came formatted from the vendor, it might be worth doing a complete format.

 

[serpentracer]

ready boost is a waste of time,

http://www.pcworld.com/article/131742/readyboost_flash_drives_lack_significant_boost.html

if you find yourself needing it and you cannot install more ram then it's ok but it's not something that is the end all answer to your slow computer

 

[cluberti]

You do indeed have to be careful when using ReadyBoost - it is basically an additional cache for Superfetch, and also can double as disk cache when the hard disk cache starts to get full under load. If that USB or CF device is markedly slower than main system RAM, it can indeed slow the system down when used. It would still be faster than what would happen if it wasn't added (in most cases....), but yes, it can appear to slow the system down. In general, it is better to simply add RAM than to add a ReadyBoost USB or CF device, although I am aware that on fixed platforms (like laptops and tablets), this isn't always an option.

 

[MrPickles]

Ok so i reformatted the drive to exFAT and tried installing Readyboost with no luck.
Then i decided to trying it on another computer and poof! Readyboost works fine on the drive. But when i try to take it back to my system, it doesn't work. It just treats it like a regular thumbdrive (doesnt even ask if i want to speed up the system)

So im guessing its my computer that's the problem, just not sure what part.
Any ideas?

 

[cluberti]

Did you check the event logs?

 

[MrPickles]

it says 'The device (Patriot Memory) will not be used for a ReadyBoost cache because it has insufficient read performance: 1439 KB/sec

ran a couple more tests on it and it hovers around 1430 kb/sec read speeds on this computer. so why would it not read fast enough on this machine but read fine on another?

 

[rraod]

I had a WEI of 5.8 before adding Readyboost. After adding a 16GB of SDHC card as readyboost, the WEI increased to 5.9. Not much increase of speed.

By the way I have formatted the SDHC card with NTFS file system.

 

[Corazon]

it says 'The device (Patriot Memory) will not be used for a ReadyBoost cache because it has insufficient read performance: 1439 KB/sec

ran a couple more tests on it and it hovers around 1430 kb/sec read speeds on this computer. so why would it not read fast enough on this machine but read fine on another?

That sounds suspiciously like your USB port (the one where the stick is plugged in) is running in USB1.1 mode instead of USB2.0. That would limit the speed to 12Mbit/sec which is roughly in line with the 1430KB/sec read speed you're seeing.

It's clearly not the stick itself that's the issue. Either the USB drivers in Windows are wrong or outdated, or USB2.0 mode (also known as EHCI) is somehow disabled in your BIOS.

 

[MrPickles]

That sounds suspiciously like your USB port (the one where the stick is plugged in) is running in USB1.1 mode instead of USB2.0. That would limit the speed to 12Mbit/sec which is roughly in line with the 1430KB/sec read speed you're seeing.

It's clearly not the stick itself that's the issue. Either the USB drivers in Windows are wrong or outdated, or USB2.0 mode (also known as EHCI) is somehow disabled in your BIOS.

I went into my BIOS and looked at all the USB Configuration information and this is what it said:

Module Version: 2.24.0-10.4
USB Devices Detected: 1 Keyboard, 1 Mouse, 1 Drive
USB Controller : [USB1.1+2.0]
Legacy USB Support [Auto]
USB 2.0 Controller Mode [HiSpeed]
BIOS EHCI Hand-Off [enabled]

Mass Storage Device configuration
Mass Storage Reset Delay [20 sec]
Device #1: Patriot Memory
Emulation Type [Auto]

It looks like the BIOS is right to me so maybe its the USB ports themselves? The manual says all of them are USB 2.0 though.

 

[rraod]

You can check your USB controller modes in Device Manager.

 

[MrPickles]

You can check your USB controller modes in Device Manager.

In the Device Manager i have:

3 listings for 'ULi PCI to USB Open Host Controller'
1 listing for 'ULi USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller'
3 listings for 'USB Composite Device'
and 4 listings for 'USB Root Hub'

I tell windows to update their drivers but it tells me they are already up to date.
Is there anything i should be particularly looking for?
I imagine the ULi USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller is important here.

 

[cluberti]

I notice it said the controller was "1.1+2.0", and also you have an OHCI controller and an EHCI controller - OHCI controllers support USB 1.1 only, which would indicate that not all ports are operating as USB 2.0 ports. It might be worth reviewing the specs and config for your motherboard to see how to force all 8 ports to run USB 2.0 only.