iTechtalk

madhusudhan

While adding more memory to a computer is a great way to boost performance, it isn’t always easy to do. To install memory, you must be willing (or allowed) to open the computer case or pay someone else to do it. Sometimes, it can be difficult to tell what type of memory you need to install or how much you can install. And depending on the type of computer you have, even getting to the memory slots can be tricky.

Windows Vista includes a feature named Windows ReadyBoost (shown in Figure 1). ReadyBoost technology uses non-volatile flash memory, such as that found on a USB Drive or Secure Digital (SD) card, and a memory management technology called Windows SuperFetch™ to provide a cache for the memory paging file stored on the computer’s hard disk. Since accessing flash memory is much faster than accessing a hard drive, using Windows ReadyBoost can significantly increase performance.


And since the swap file itself is still stored on hard disk (only a cache for that file is stored on the USB drive), no data can be lost if you remove the ReadyBoost drive from the computer. Using ReadyBoost is simple. Just plug a ReadyBoost compliant USB 2.0 drive into the computer. To determine if a USB 2.0 is ReadyBoost compliant, right click the USB drive in Computer and choose Properties. When you go into the Properties dialog box, ReadyBoost will perform a performance test to see if the device is fast enough. A drive should support 2.5MB/s for 4KB random reads and 1.75MB/s for 1MB random writes. Windows Vista determines whether the drive is fast enough or has enough space to use as a ReadyBoost drive. If the drive is fast enough, Windows displays the Speed up my system option in the AutoPlay window. After selecting the Speed up my system option, Windows Vista displays the ReadyBoost tab of the disk’s Properties dialog box, as shown in Figure 2. You can turn ReadyBoost off for the drive or if left on, designate how much space to use for speeding up the
system.


Of course, there are some limitations to ReadyBoost. Generally speaking, the lower the physical memory of the computer, the bigger the existing disk cache that can be offloaded to the ReadyBoost drive, and the greater the gain in performance. As a computer gains more physical memory, the performance boost is less significant.

Consider Windows ReadyDrive™
Windows ReadyDrive technology is another feature introduced in Windows Vista that works in tandem with two new types of disk drives:

• Hybrid hard disk drives, which are traditional hard drives with an integrated cache of non-volatile flash memory.

• Intel TurboMemory drives, where the non-volatile flash memory is actually detached from the drive.

ReadyDrive technology provides three benefits:

• Performance-critical data is loaded into flash memory so that it is accessed faster than if it were stored on traditional hard disk.

• Startup files are loaded into flash memory, which translates to shorter startup times for Windows Vista.

• Since the traditional hard disk needs to be accessed less often, it can spin down for longer periods, boosting the battery life of mobile computers.

• In Windows Vista Service Pack 1, ReadyDrive improves startup speed by 27-55% compared to Windows Vista RTM (Source: Internal Microsoft Testing).