Windows ReadyBoost

Windows 7 supports Windows ReadyBoost, originally introduced with Windows Vista. ReadyBoost uses external USB flash drives as a hard disk cache, thus improving disk read performance in some circumstances. Supported external storage types include USB thumb drives as shown in Figure 16-10, SD cards, and CF cards.

ReadyBoost uses flash storage to improve disk read performance.

Figure 16-10. ReadyBoost uses flash storage to improve disk read performance.

Unlike Windows Vista, Windows 7 recognizes that ReadyBoost will not provide a performance gain when the primary disk is an SSD. Windows 7 disables ReadyBoost when reading from an SSD drive.

External storage must meet the following requirements:

Get Windows® 7 Resource Kit now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.