ReadyBoost?

[Teetar]

So, I recently found out that my Windows 7 computer is only running on 4GB of memory. I can't believe that I left it like this. Naturally, I want a cheap alternative to getting larger memory cards, so I was wondering about this ReadyBoost system that they have in Windows 7. I tried it out and gave my computer 4 more GB of RAM, at least, that is what I believe that ReadyBoost does. I am not entirely sure how it works, but my task manager, and control panel rating both showed that I am still only using 4GB of memory. Does ReadyBoost simply not show up in those places? I am not quite sure if it has made too much of an impact on my computer as well. Would ReadyBoost even be able to speed up my startup, which currently takes a very long time, along with logging in. I would say both of those actions would add up to over 5 minutes of wait. I am unsure of whether that is a long time, or I am simply being impatient, however, I have been on computers that start up way quicker. Is ReadyBoost enough, or should I just go with saving up for more RAM? I do use my computer particularly often, and it is becoming a problem. My lack of RAM (at least I believe this is the cause) has resulted in multiple freezes of my computer for random portions of time, and it simple became annoying. Thanks for any help/suggestions anyone can give me!

 

[Brink]

Hello Teetar,

4GB of RAM is not so bad. 8GB is about the sweet spot for 64-bit Windows. This of course all depends on how much you usually have opened and running at the same time though.


ReadyBoost uses external USB flash drives as a hard disk cache to improve disk read performance when the hard drive is slower than the USB drive. In most cases for current systems, ReadyBoost is not going to help improve performance since current hard drives are always faster. Especially SSDs.

If you like, the links below can help give you more details about ReadyBoost.

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

Understand ReadyBoost and whether it will Speed Up your System
​

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[LMiller7]

There is no substitute for RAM. The operating and performance characteristics of a flash drive are all wrong to be used this way. As mentioned, ReadyBoost acts as a disk cache. Windows already uses RAM as a cache but on a system where RAM is limited there just isn't enough of it to meet all demands. In such a situation ReadyBoost will improve performance.

ReadyBoost is most useful on systems with limited RAM (less than 2 GB) and slow hard drives. With 4 GB RAM it is unlikely to make a noticeable difference.

 

[Teetar]

Hello Teetar,

4GB of RAM is not so bad.

Thanks a lot for the information, and, as in the above you said that 4GB of RAM is not so bad. Does that mean that the random freezes my computer will undergo is not from lack of memory? I am inexperienced, and so have only been able to troubleshoot it down to a couple possibilities. I believe that my computer's freezes either come from lack of RAM or lack of hard drive space. I currently have, as before said, 4GB of RAM, and only 30GB of free hard drive space. Would either of those two things be a problem for my computer that would cause it to freeze? BTW if there is any information about my system that you would like to know that I neglected to state, please ask. I know that this question is not the main part of what this post is about, however, if you could respond I would be very grateful. Thank you all very much for your time, consideration, and responses!

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Honestly Teetar neither of those would be why your system is freezing as long as both are functioning properly.

 

[Brink]

Teetar,

You say the freezing happens randomly, but do you notice if it may happen more often when doing any particular action?

Does it freeze for only an amount a time and then everything is fine again until next time, or do you have to restart when this happens?

For now, you might go through the troubleshooting steps in the tutorial below to see if it may help ID what is causing the freezing issue.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...ation-conflicts-performing-clean-startup.html

 

[Layback Bear]

This will help you show the basic specs of your system.
By Brink:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/180324-system-info-see-your-system-specs.html

Take a look in the lower left corner of my post (My System Specs) and you will get a idea of things that can be put in your specs.