Use ReadyBoost to accelerate Windows 7

 

Preface

To improve the computer performance, we usually choose to upgrade the processor and memory-related hardware, and add the ReadyBoost function in the Windows 7 operating system, you only need to insert a USB flash drive (such as a USB flash drive) to speed up the system startup. It is one of the important new functions added to Windows Vista, which is further enhanced in Windows 7. If you are using a Windows 7 system, but the system runs slowly due to insufficient memory, try a USB flash drive or other mobile storage devices to enable the ReadyBoost function!

 

What is ReadyBoost?

To put it simply, ReadyBoost uses a USB flash drive to create a buffer area similar to virtual memory for the Windows 7 system, and transfers some frequently read/write data to the flash drive for operation through ReadyBoost. It is mainly used to help people with insufficient memory slots, capital budgets, or technical experience, so that they cannot add memory. Because the speed of reading and writing fragmented files on the flash drive is far higher than that on the hard drive (when a mechanical track hard drive transfers scattered multiple small pieces of data, it takes a long time to search for data locations such as head tracing, but flash memory has unique advantages in this regard. Therefore, it is more advantageous to process frequently read/write data. At the same time, it can also reduce the number of hard disk reads and writes and prolong its life. For mobile users who use laptops, The ReadyBoost function reduces the hard disk usage and saves the battery consumption, so that the laptop can be used for a longer period of time.

 

ReadyBoost requirements on storage devices

Many people may wonder if the flash drive on hand can start the ReadyBoost function? In fact, Microsoft has listed the storage device requirements for the ReadyBoost function:
1. the USB port must be USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 standard. USB 1.1 does not meet the requirements.
2. the minimum idle capacity of the storage device is 230 MB. If the FAT32 file system is used, the maximum capacity is 4 GB (restricted by the file size limit of FAT32 ), if the NTFS file system is used, there is no such restriction.
3. storage devices can read 4 kb of data at random.3.5 MB/sOr above, and the random write speed of KB data needs to reach2.5 MB/sOr above.
In fact, most mainstream USB flash drives on the market have been able to meet these indicators. In addition to common USB flash drives, in fact, memory cards, such as SD cards and CF cards (such as memory cards used by cameras) can also support the ReadyBoost function when used with card readers.

 

Steps for using ReadyBoost

1.Insert the USB flash drive into the computer's USB interface. In Windows 7,"Automatic playback"Window, select"Accelerate my system"Option, then the system will automatically open the USB flash disk"Attribute"In the Panel,"Readyboost"Tab. 1. (If the automatic playback option is disabled in Windows 7, you can also right-click the USB flash drive icon and select"Attribute"Option)

Figure 1

2.In theAttributeIn the dialog box, clickReadyBoostTab, you can perform the following operations:
A.If you want to disable the ReadyBoost function, select"Do not use this device".
B.Select"This device is dedicated to ReadyBoost". (Please rest assured that Windows will keep all existing files stored on the USB flash drive, and it will only use the remaining space to speed up the system)
C.If you want to customize the size of the space used by ReadyBoost, click"Use this deviceAnd then move the slider to select the available space to use. We recommend that you do not set too much space for Readyboost. Otherwise, the system acceleration effect will not be obvious.
3.Click"OK"Then, ReadyBoost will generate a"ReadyBoost. sfcacheAs shown in figure 2, the file size is the size set above, so that the flash memory has the ReadyBoost function.

Figure2

Finally, it should be noted that enabling the Readyboost function does not mean that your system can run several times faster. The system responds more quickly only when the memory pressure is high and the hard disk reads and writes frequently. This is enough to make your computer experience smoother, especially for users with insufficient memory! If the 4 GB memory is configured and few applications are running at the same time, the effect of ReadyBoost is not obvious. 3 is a test result. We can see that the performance of ReadyBoost over 2 GB memory is not improved much.

Figure3

 

FAQs

1.How can I test whether the Flash Drive meets the performance requirements for enabling the Readyboost function?
Windows 7 will automatically perform a performance test on the flash drive. If the test is successful, the ReadyBoost settings option will appear. If the test fails, the system will notify youThis device cannot be used in ReadyBoost", 4.

Figure4

In addition, Windows 7 also has a built-in command line tool"Winsat"To Manually test the performance (in fact, this tool is called to rate Windows 7), as shown in Figure 5.

Figure5

Right-click"Command Prompt"Select"Run as Administrator", Enter the commands shown in 6 and 7:

Winsat disk-read-ran-ransize 4096-drive letter (test the random speed of reading 4 KB data)
Winsat disk-write-ran-ransize 524288-drive letter (test the random write speed of KB data)

Figure6

Figure7

2.How can I reasonably set the disk space occupied by Readyboost?
Officially Recommended Practices:Generally, a minimum flash memory with a memory capacity of is provided, and a maximum of 2.5: 1 is allowed.. If your current physical memory is 2 GB, we recommend that you use at least 2 GB of Flash space for ReadyBoost acceleration and a maximum of 5 GB.

This article is from the July blog