If you are looking for a cheap and easy way to speed up your Windows PC have a look at the (for most people) unknown feature called ReadyBoost. The functionality is available since Vista and is also present in Windows 7 and Windows 8. You’re Windows installation will boot a lot faster after enabling ReadyBoost and all you need  is an externel USB flash drive. ReadyBoost works with most flash storage devices. In Windows 7, it can handle more flash memory and even multiple devices—up to eight, for a maximum 256 gigabytes (GB) of additional memory.

So if you have a flash storage drive lying around that you don’t use give it a try and make your PC faster. Not all USB flash drives are supported but it should work most of the times. If you want to take real benefit of the ReadyBoost functionality there are two simple rules:

  • Find the fastest storage available with read speeds at least ~10 MB/s
  • Use double the amount of RAM storage in size, so if you have 2GB of RAM, then you would want to use a flash drive of at least 4GB

But even if you don’t meet above specifications you can take huge benefit of ReadyBoost, the two rules mentioned are fist rules to get the most out of the  ReadyBoost functionality. Plugging in your old Flash Drive always helps quite a bit.

How to enable ReadyBoost:

  1. Plug a flash drive or flash memory card into your computer.
  2. In the Autoplay dialog box, under General options, click Speed up my system. (Right-click and then properties if autopolay is not enabled)
  3. 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’ll 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.
  4. Click OK.

Some devices  can not be used for ReadyBoost but don’t give up right away. Try formatting your USB flash storage device in different formats (NTFS, FAT32, FAT) and test it a couple of times.

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