ReadyBoost: A way to speed up Windows 7

Microsoft has included an enhanced version of ReadyBoost on Windows 7, a new feature that speeds up your computer even in a low memory situation by using flash memory, in its latest operating system Windows 7, scheduled to be launched on October 22.

ReadyBoost, which also comes with Vista, make use of a USB flash drive or card as memory and it works with most of the flash storage devices.

In Windows 7, it can handle more flash memory and even multiple devices up to eight, for a maximum 256GB of additional memory. When you plug a ReadyBoost-compatible storage device into your system, the AutoPlay dialog box offers you the option to speed up your computer using ReadyBoost. If you select this option, you can choose how much memory on the device to use for this purpose.

When you set up a device to work with ReadyBoost, Windows shows you the space recommended for an optimal performance. For ReadyBoost to effectively speed up your computer, the flash drive or memory card should have at least 1GB of available space. If enough space is not available for ReadyBoost, you’ll see a message asking you to free some space on the device if you want to use it to speed up your system. You can enable or disable ReadyBoost for a specific flash drive or other removable storage device.

Follow the given guidelines to enable this feature in Windows 7 :

STEP1: Connect a flash drive or flash memory card into your computer.

STEP2: Click Speed up my system, in the Autoplay dialog box, under General options.

STEP3: In the Properties dialog box, click the ReadyBoost tab, and then do one of the following:

To turn ReadyBoost off, click Do not use this device.

To use the maximum available space on the flash drive or memory card for ReadyBoost, click Dedicate this device to ReadyBoost. Windows will leave any files already stored on the device, but it will use the rest to boost your system speed.

To use less than the maximum available space on the device for ReadyBoost, click Use this device, and then move the slider to choose the amount of available space on the device you want to use.

STEP4: Click OK.