I came across the following addition to Windows Vista by accident-however I did have to research to find out more information. I, at first thought I had picked up spyware, but no, it’s just another Microsoft idea that isn’t fully explained, (ok, not explained at all). Vista Premium Home comes with a feature called “ReadyBoost” which is supposed to help speed up hard drive access. It works by using a flash USB drive to expand the memory size, (the cache), which is encrypted whether the USB drive is or not. Which is fine and dandy, however my 2GB USB drive isn’t large enough and this is the problem. Out of all the sites I explored trying to find more information, not one mentioned how large of a USB drive was needed. Several hardware sites mentioned different products that had not been tested using ReadyBoost, and the drives were all 2GB and below.


So, if a 2GB USB flash drive doesn’t cut the mustard, what capacity does one need and why would you want/need to use the feature? My laptop has 2GB of RAM, more than enough for what I do on a daily basis. If I was a gamer, or someone who used memory intense programs, (at once), I could say way to go Microsoft. But, my drive doesn’t meet the test standards-useless for me. I would post a screen shot of the test results, but once the test has been performed it takes the ReadyBoost option away when you insert the flash drive. If anyone knows the hardware specs for the flash drive in order to use ReadyBoost- let me know.