Readyboost controlling and detecting

  • Thread starter Thread starter solon fox
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solon fox

Hi,

Q. How to detect whether readyboost is active or not?

I have a 2GB USB Sandisk with U3, it was once used for readyboost, but
no more (at least, I don't want it to be). Apparently, because it has
U3 on it, when the autoplay comes up one doesn't even see readyboost
as an option under 'General Options'. However, if one does a
'properties' and navigates to the 'Readyboost' tab, it is always set
as if it were being used - even though it doesn't appear like it
actually is.

I have another USB flashdrive that I may occasionally use as a
readyboost when working with large spreadsheets, databases or
projects.

BTW so far, I'm not seeing a big performance boost from readyboost. My
understanding of may be flawed but, I think all it does is cache to
the USB stick, which is faster than the hard drive.

Thanks,
-solon fox, still learning
 
"solon fox" <solonfox@gmail.com> wrote:

> Q. How to detect whether readyboost is active or not?
>
> I have a 2GB USB Sandisk with U3, it was once used for
> readyboost, but no more (at least, I don't want it to be).
> Apparently, because it has U3 on it, when the autoplay
> comes up
> one doesn't even see readyboost as an option under
> 'General
> Options'. However, if one does a 'properties' and
> navigates to the
> 'Readyboost' tab, it is always set as if it were being
> used - even
> though it doesn't appear like it actually is.

If it says Use device, it is in use. You can also see it if
a ReadyBoost.sfcache file is present in the stick's root
directory. The device will be used from boot, therefore it
does not show up in the autorun dialog. It is already
running.

To disable ReadyBoost, you should tick the Do not use option
in Properties.

<snip>
> BTW so far, I'm not seeing a big performance boost from
> readyboost. My understanding of may be flawed but, I
> think all it
> does is cache to the USB stick, which is faster than the
> hard drive.

That is correct. ReadyBoost makes the most difference on
computers with 1GB memory or less. I have seen some
benchmark test results claiming there is a 10-40%
performance gain on such machines. On computers with an
adequate amount of RAM, the boost is much less, if
noticeable at all.

Charlie42
 
On Jun 2, 10:37 am, "Charlie42" <Charli...@spam.me.not> wrote:
> "solon fox" <solon...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Q. How to detect whether readyboost is active or not?
>
> > I have a 2GB USB Sandisk with U3, it was once used for
> > readyboost, but no more (at least, I don't want it to be).
> > Apparently, because it has U3 on it, when the autoplay
> > comes up
> > one doesn't even see readyboost as an option under
> > 'General
> > Options'. However, if one does a 'properties' and
> > navigates to the
> > 'Readyboost' tab, it is always set as if it were being
> > used - even
> > though it doesn't appear like it actually is.
>
> If it says Use device, it is in use. You can also see it if
> a ReadyBoost.sfcache file is present in the stick's root
> directory. The device will be used from boot, therefore it
> does not show up in the autorun dialog. It is already
> running.
>
> To disable ReadyBoost, you should tick the Do not use option
> in Properties.
>
> <snip>
>
> > BTW so far, I'm not seeing a big performance boost from
> > readyboost. My understanding of may be flawed but, I
> > think all it
> > does is cache to the USB stick, which is faster than the
> > hard drive.
>
> That is correct. ReadyBoost makes the most difference on
> computers with 1GB memory or less. I have seen some
> benchmark test results claiming there is a 10-40%
> performance gain on such machines. On computers with an
> adequate amount of RAM, the boost is much less, if
> noticeable at all.
>
> Charlie42

Hi Charlie,

Thanks for the reply. What has me confused is that even though I told
it not to use the U3 USB drive anymore. Every time I check the
properties, readyboost, it says 'Use this device.' Even though I
select 'Do not use this device', its the same when I check it again.
But, I don't believe that it is being used because there is no
readyboost.sfcache file on the stick - like there is where I use the
other stick.

I guess that it won't hurt just to leave it alone, except that my
curiosity will likely keep me hunting off and on until I find an
answer.

Thanks,
-solon fox
 
"solon fox" <solonfox@gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks for the reply. What has me confused is that even though I
> told it not to use the U3 USB drive anymore. Every time I check
> the properties, readyboost, it says 'Use this device.' Even though I
> select 'Do not use this device', its the same when I check it again.
> But, I don't believe that it is being used because there is no
> readyboost.sfcache file on the stick - like there is where I use the
> other stick.
>
> I guess that it won't hurt just to leave it alone, except that my
> curiosity will likely keep me hunting off and on until I find an
> answer.

You found it. When there is no ReadyBoost.sfcache file present on the USB
stick, it does not use ReadyBoost, plain and simple.

Charlie42
 
On Jun 2, 11:47 am, "Charlie42" <Charli...@spam.me.not> wrote:
> "solon fox" <solon...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Thanks for the reply. What has me confused is that even though I
> > told it not to use the U3 USB drive anymore. Every time I check
> > the properties, readyboost, it says 'Use this device.' Even though I
> > select 'Do not use this device', its the same when I check it again.
> > But, I don't believe that it is being used because there is no
> > readyboost.sfcache file on the stick - like there is where I use the
> > other stick.
>
> > I guess that it won't hurt just to leave it alone, except that my
> > curiosity will likely keep me hunting off and on until I find an
> > answer.
>
> You found it. When there is no ReadyBoost.sfcache file present on the USB
> stick, it does not use ReadyBoost, plain and simple.
>
> Charlie42

For those who must absolutely know, and if anyone else should ever get
in a disagreement with readyboost, the following may be helpful.

BACKGROUND:
I have a SanDisk Cruzer with U3, which was also being used for
ReadyBoost. I decided that I no longer wanted to use that device for
ReadyBoost and select the 'Do not use this device' yet it didn't seem
to want to stick. Each time that I checked the device properties, it
indicated that it was used, despite there being no readyboost.sfcache
in the root of the device.

It seems that I could choose to ignore the false report.

SOLUTION:
I found a useful article, http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc162480.aspx
, from which I learned that HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft
\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\EMDMgmt stores information about each
device availability for ReadyBoost. *Note: EMD is short for External
Memory Device, the working name for ReadyBoost during its development.

I found two entries for my USB (_??
_USBSTOR#Disk&Ven_SanDisk&Prod_Cruzer&Rev_7.01...). I could not
determine the correct settings for CacheStatus and DeviceStatus, so I
figured, hey this is a plug and play device, so I just deleted the two
entries after unplugging my device.

I plugged the device back in, problem solved. It now works as expected
with no false reports. I checked the registry and sure enough there is
a new entry for my device.

I'm not sure what caused it to burp in the first place. It may be
something to do with the U3 password protected device. It won't happen
again as long as I don't activate, then deactivate the ReadyBoost on
U3.

-solon fox
 
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