ReadyBoost - Setup and Use

Mine is also a toshiba but a single core 'slug' one up from web book.

But you do need to enable defrag once a week and check it regular.

Maybe buy a second battery.

And run the windows tune up and kill the default sexy graphics...

But explaining how a cache memory works is difficult.

Basically even a small cache achieves 90% of the speed up of a full flash disc for 90% of time! So that the speed of the processor is now more limited by the dual core and the RAM.

The ready boost is similar to the processors cache memory in essence.

But more exactly similar to a hybrid disc - because it has more information than a hybrid disc though it is using up processor speed to do things. The clue is they have compressed the files... To reduce the dependency on flash speed.

So moving any files to flash and using ready boost together won't gain much more.

Ready boost will have the swap files cached already... For a large % of time. If you move them to SSD this will stop ready boost worrying about them and increase its efficiency but the gain is much lower.

And ready boost will only use the cached files when it is quicker to do so it is not simple like the processors cache.

But if you have a small slow flash card installed you probably have 85% of gain already. I'd not try further.

I decided there was no point in a hybrid! Though I need more disc space. Free space reduces fragmentation.

Yes it is a 95 M flash card I got it in a sale so was cheap.

I'm on a small iPhone so typing is not easy on fast train.

Sorry

Brink said:

You would be better off having a larger page file instead. The tutorial below can help show you how to. :)

Virtual Memory Paging File - Change

Thanks for the suggestion, Shawn. I was tied up with other stuff for a few days, but I've now had a chance to read all through that thread on the Paging File. The main information about moving it I was familiar with. What I've been uncertain about, and was hoping people would go into more in the discussion is what drives one can put it on, and whether there are alternative ways to do that.

When you suggested (a few posts before) that I try putting "the page file on either the SSD or SDHC depending on which one is faster" I think you must have forgotten your previous comment (also in that thread) that one cannot put the Paging File on a removable drive. (I've also heard this elsewhere.) But in any case, I've been wondering:

1) Is the thing about removable drives a hard-and-fast rule?
2) Will the OS (Win7) consider a 64 MB SSD that is mounted on an Express Card slot as a removable drive or not?... And:
3) If Win7 thinks of an ExpressCard drive or a flash card as removable, is there a way to convince the OS otherwise--get it to "rethink" the situation and consider it a standard drive? Or to force it to use the drive anyway?

@Xmas--I really appreciate your comments. You have obviously thought a lot about cache and how it functions, and how ReadyBoost works.

Xmas said:

Basically even a small cache achieves 90% of the speed up of a full flash disc for 90% of time! So that the speed of the processor is now more limited by the dual core and the RAM.

Yes, I understand what you are saying. But you know how it is, most of us would like to get the best performance possible.

...similar to a hybrid disc - because it has more information than a hybrid disc though it is using up processor speed to do things. The clue is they have compressed the files... To reduce the dependency on flash speed.

BTW, I just saw a 1 TB 2 1/2" Hybrid drive for about $100--would be hard to beat that as an option, in either my situation or yours. The problem for me is, my wife's laptop does NOT have a removable HD bay. So to change out the HDD, I have to take the whole laptop apart. I did that once, and don't really want to do it again on an older laptop!

That's a good point about what Microsoft did when they created ReadyBoost. By compressing the files, they speeded up the transfers, so you get a greater effectiveness.

So moving any files to flash and using ready boost together won't gain much more.

Yes, I've thought about this--using both the ExpressCard SSD and a Flash Card, but for different things. Are there files that would be worth moving to the SSD and still install Readyboost on the Flash, since the entire OS would NOT be on the SSD? Without Win7 installed on the SSD, it should allow RB, but RB should then ignore the files that are on the SSD because they are making very fast transfers (if it is that intelligent!) Would RB still cache files that reside on the hard drive, while ignoring those on the SSD? I could put things like the browser cache and heavily used programs on the SSD.

Ready boost will have the swap files cached already... For a large % of time. If you move them to SSD this will stop ready boost worrying about them and increase its efficiency but the gain is much lower.

...And ready boost will only use the cached files when it is quicker to do so...

As I just mentioned to Brink, I'm not sure if Win7 will allow me to put the swap files on this SSD--even though that may make sense.

Yes it is a 95 M flash card I got it in a sale so was cheap.

Do you have a device--SD slot or USB--that is compatible with the speed of the card? Otherwise you will not get the full speed that is rated. Most SD card slots in laptops are rated for SD and probably SDHC--but not for SDXC or higher. Unless you use an adapter off USB 3.0 or the Express Card slot (like Compact Flash.) SDHC will probably not go beyond 30 MB/s or so. But in any case, the more important thing is the access speed of the card, and random reads and writes. Oddly, some slower (sequential) speed cards turn out to be faster for random transfers.

I'm on a small iPhone so typing is not easy on fast train.

You did very well! Thanks.

BTW, my wife's laptop did have the Windows defrag turned on, but at the time it was set for, I doubt it has run often. I did it manually, and the disk was 3% fragmented. This does not sound like a lot, but I did the defrag. But I don't like the fact that Win7 defrag does not give one much information about what it's doing. I'm thinking of trying Puran instead.

I also looked at the 1tb hybrids but decided that might mean a weekend cloning and screw driving so asked a chum for easy options.
The PC Card can be left in all the time a USB stick and socket is more exposed to physical damage eg in train or coffee shop.
Defrag does not take long if the disc is not badly fragged, if I have a work break I run defrag if I need to end the day I run defrag...
If the disc is 3% that is bad as it is predominately the current files post the last defrag that will be fragged...
Ready boost will cache the page file if the page file is on a hard drive. The 4gb RAM should reduce page traffic anyway.
If you keep defragging and have ready boost running already you are only going to get a little more throughput.
Try and explain fragmentation as like you hiding her under garments in trash can.

Xmas said:

The PC Card can be left in all the time a USB stick and socket is more exposed to physical damage eg in train or coffee shop.

Yes, that's why I thought of using the ExpressCard slot. For some uses, everything can be completely recessed, just like the SD card slot on a laptop. I don't think there is an adapter for Compact Flash that will do this--the card will stick out and can easily break off. But an SD adapter in ExpressCard slot should remain recessed. Same with the SSD I found, that goes right in the slot and disappears. So you could have two RB devices, both of which are not visible and easily transportable with the laptop.

So--did you look into using two or more devices for ReadyBoost? Some compare this to RAID--it should speed up RB cache file transfers considerably, and access speed on the SSD only. What has me stumped is I have not found any information about what happens when you use two devices that have different random transfer speeds? Do they both slow down to the speed of the slower device? Or does RB allow the faster device to transfer the larger part of the data? The latter would be ideal.

Try and explain fragmentation as like you hiding her under garments in trash can.

That's a pretty funny metaphor! Thanks for that. :)

Michael

My laptop is small only one PC slot.
I appreciate that ready boost will be better with more than one device but have not seen how it used two devices ie does it 'write through' each device.
I only defrag regular.
Keep 20% or more free space.
And use a reasonably fast premium brand PC Card.
I don't have free weekends to fit a fast hybrid.
Defragging is as necessary as the PC Card.
A 1tb hybrid would not frag as much, but I eat or do something else while it defrags.