Last updated on... May 14th, 2020
Microsoft introduced this technology Ready Boost feature in Windows Vista, which promises to accelerate performance, which didn’t do well. However, this feature actually works in Windows 7. You can use this Technology Ready boost in Windows 7 to speed up the boot process, data access, data processing, and system shutdown. Windows 7 32 Bit can use only 4 GB of RAM, if you want to use more then get WIndows 7 64 Bit which can handle upto 128 GB of RAM. Readyboost also has a limit of 4 GB, regardless of 32 Bit/64 Bit. Tried and tested. Microsoft introduced the ReadyBoost technology in Windows Vista with the promise of accelerated performance, but the claims fell flat for most users. However, this feature actually does work in Windows 7. You can use ReadyBoost in Windows 7 to speed up the boot process, data access, data processing, and shutdown.
- ReadyBoost will display a warning message if you attempt to use one of these cards. Now, on a personal note, I tried ready boost for myself on my laptop which runs Windows 7 (64-bit) with six gigs of RAM and an i5 processor.
- My Win 7 Ultimate x64 system doesn't have a ReadyBoost service either, but when I insert a 1 GB SD card, Speed up my PC using Windows ReadyBoost is one of the options on the Autoplay Dialog. Looks like the Service isn't needed.
Microsoft introduced this technology Ready Boost feature in Windows Vista, which promises to accelerate performance, which didn’t do well.
However, this feature actually works in Windows 7. You can use this Technology Ready boost in Windows 7 to speed up the boot process, data access, data processing, and system shutdown.
Let’s find out How to speed up Windows 7 with ReadyBoost
So What is “ReadyBoost”?
Windows ReadyBoost is a technology that uses free space on a flash drive commonly known as a thumb or USB drive to augment system memory.
ReadyBoost is a great way to make your computer faster and more efficient by increasing the amount of RAM, more like temporary memory, your computer can access.
This technology is basically designed to help when your PC’s memory is low. Readyboost works with most flash storage devices.
See also Which USB Flash Drive Is Best For Windows Readyboost
Windows 7, 8.1, 10 can handle more flash memory and even multiple devices, up to a staggering 256 GB of additional memory as ReadyBoost.
So How do you activate this Feature ? to speed up windows with ReadyBoost. If you have a fast USB flash drive available, give ReadyBoost a try with your Windows system and see the difference.
Steps to Speed up Windows With ReadyBoost
Plug your USB flash drive on to a USB port in your PC, if autoplay is enabled in your PC it will open your Flash drive, just close it.
Click on your “My computer” in the My computer window locate your flash drive and right-click on the flash drive (as shown below).
3. From the menu that appears, scroll down and click on “Properties” you will see the following window as shown below
4. In this properties, window click on the tab “ReadyBoost” as shown above.
5. ReadyBoost window will give three options with radio buttons. Select the third radio button that says “Use this Device” and click to select.
Windows will warn you if there is not enough space (more on that later). Or whatever space is available on the flash drive can be used for your ReadyBoost.
Click on Apply then OK.
ReadyBoost starts immediately. You won’t need to use the Safely Remove Hardware feature to remove the flash drive, but if you remove the flash drive you lose the memory boost.
Now use your computer as usual. Windows Readyboost significantly speeds up the boot process, data access, data processing, and system shut-down.
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From a PowerPoint presented at the Windows 7 SIG on September 11, 2010.
What is ReadyBoost?
- ReadyBoost can speed up your computer by using storage space on most USB Flash Drives and Flash Memory Cards.
- The PC can get to data in RAM (memory) hundreds of times faster than it can fetch it from the hard disk.
- That’s why your PC uses a cache, defined as a portion of memory that holds bits of software code you’ve used recently.
- The more memory your machine has, the more that’s available for the cache, the faster things should feel to you.
Does ReadyBoost Really Work?
In theory, Yes, but not for every setup.
The Technical Part
- An average 4K read from a flash device is about 10 times faster than reading from a 7200 RPM hard disk.
- Thumb drives can be read very quickly (USB 3.0 thumb drives will even be faster).
- Speed is because there is little to no seek time to read a thumb drive.
- Hard drive seek time depends on how contiguous the data is and the amount of data being read.
- All flash drives are not made equal.
Flash Drive Requirements
To work with ReadyBoost, the flash drive must be capable of:
- 2.5 MB/sec throughput for 4K random reads and
- 1.75 MB/sec for random writes
Will My Flash Drive Work?
- Plug the flash drive in a 2.0 USB slot.
- Did Windows offer the use of ReadyBoost in the dialog that pops up when you plugged the drive in? (Do you want to speed up your PC?)
- If you get the offer, the flash drive or memory card is compatible and you're good to go.
Requirements for Using ReadyBoost
Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit Iso
- A PC
- free USB 2.0 Port
- Windows Vista or Windows 7
- A Flash Drive
- capable of 2.5MB/sec throughput for 4K random reads and 1.75 MB/sec for random writes
- Between 250MB and 4GB in size (Vista 32-bit)
- Between 250MB and 16GB in size (Vista 64-bit)
- Between 250MB and 4GB in size (Windows 7 32-bit)
- Between 250MB and 32GB in size and up to eight devices for a total of 256GB (Windows 7 64-bit
Enabling & Configuring ReadyBoost
Insert a USB flash device into a USB 2.0 or higher port.
- The AutoPlay dialog box should be displayed automatically (unless you’ve changed the defaults in Control Panel).
- Click “Speed Up My System using ReadyBoost.”
- The device’s Properties dialog box opens to the ReadyBoost Tab.
Do one of the following:
Readyboost Windows 7 64 Bit Download
- If you want the device to automatically reserve the maximum amount of space for ReadyBoost, select “Dedicate this device to ReadyBoost”, then click OK.
- If you want to use less space than the maximum possible, select “Use this Device” and then use the “Space to Reserve For System Speed' Slider or the combo box to set the amount of space to use for ReadyBoost, then click OK.
NOTE 1: If Windows decides that your drive is fast enough without ReadyBoost, it disables ReadyBoost entirely.
NOTE 2: You can use 1 flash drive per PC, and one PC per flash drive.
Security risks using ReadyBoost
- Pretty small
- Microsoft uses AES-128 to encrypt all data written to the ReadyBoost cache.
Alternatives to ReadyBoost
- Use a Solid State Drive (SSD) for your operating system drive. $$$$$
- Add additional memory (RAM) to your computer. $$
ReadyBoost Tips from Microsoft
Readyboost Windows 7 64 Bit 64
- The minimum amount of available space recommended for ReadyBoost to effectively speed up your computer is 1GB.
- For best results, use a flash drive or flash memory card with available space of at least double the amount of memory (RAM) in your computer, and preferably four times as much memory.
- For example, if your computer has 1 GB of RAM and you plug in a 4 GB USB flash drive, set aside at least 2 GB on the flash drive to get the best performance gain from ReadyBoost, and preferably the entire 4 GB. How much memory you need depends on how you use your computer. Keeping a lot of programs open at once uses more memory.
- Give ReadyBoost 2 GB to 4 GB of space for best results on most computers. You can reserve more than 4 GB of space for ReadyBoost on most flash drives and flash memory cards. (Storage devices formatted with the older FAT32 file system can’t store more than 4 GB.) You can use a maximum of 32 GB of available space on any single removable storage device with ReadyBoost and up to 256 GB total per computer (by inserting up to eight USB flash drives or flash memory cards into the same computer).
- To work with ReadyBoost, a USB flash drive must support USB 2.0 or higher. Your computer must have at least one free USB 2.0 port where you can plug in the flash drive.
- ReadyBoost works best if you plug the flash drive into a USB port directly on the computer, rather than into an external USB hub shared with other USB devices.
- If you want to be sure a USB flash drive works with ReadyBoost, look for a note from the manufacturer that the flash drive is “Enhanced for ReadyBoost.” Not all manufacturers list this on their packaging.
- If there is no mention of ReadyBoost compatibility, the flash drive still may work with ReadyBoost.
- There are many different kinds of flash memory cards, such as CompactFlash and Secure Digital (SD) memory cards. Most memory cards work with ReadyBoost. Some SD memory cards don’t work well with ReadyBoost due to issues with the SD card interface. ReadyBoost will display an error message if you attempt to use one of these cards.