Readyboost and IDE CompactFlash

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mark Gillespie
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Mark Gillespie

I have a 1GB Compact Flash card, and a IDE Internal CF adapter, however I
can't get this running with ReadyBoost. Should I be able to?

Thanks
 
I doubt it's "wrong" - why would you want to use an IDE device for
ReadyBoost when in theory it would/could be used as a direct IDE device? I
suspect this is simply a teeny-tiny niche product that no one anticipated
and therefore did not support.

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I doubt it's "wrong" - why would you want to use an IDE device for
ReadyBoost when in theory it would/could be used as a direct IDE
device? I
suspect this is simply a teeny-tiny niche product that no one anticipated
and therefore did not support.
Click to expand...

I want a permenent Readyboost, internal in my PC, not an Ugly USB Pen
Drive hanging out the front, that's not a very niche chain of thought....
 
I want a permenent Readyboost, internal in my PC, not an Ugly USB Pen
Drive hanging out the front, that's not a very niche chain of thought....
Click to expand...


Look at an IDE card that provides USB ports. I have one that has a
USB socket on the inside as well as four externally available ones.
You could keep a pen drive plugged in there inside your computer.

Tom Lake
 
Mark said:
I have a 1GB Compact Flash card, and a IDE Internal CF adapter,
however I can't get this running with ReadyBoost. Should I be able
to?
Click to expand...

No, and you don't really need or want to.

Think about what readyboost actually does:
(http://blogs.msdn.com/tomarcher/archive/2006/06/02/615199.aspx)

It creates a 'cache' of your virtual memory onto a usb key because the
access time is faster than that of a typical hard drive where you'd normally
find virtual memory.

If you have a device that connects natively via an IDE interface but works
at fast flash memory speed, caching virtual memory file from your hard disk
offers you nothing that cannot be served at least as well, if not better, by
simply creating the virtual memory swap file onto your flash memory IDE
device.

Rob Moir
 
I've been able to use SD flash memory cards for ready bost on my laptop's
internal card reader. I just leave the card in all the time (just make sure
your card is one of the newer ones with a fast read/write time). Much cheaper
than upgrading the ram (but not necessarily as good)

also, leaving a jump-drive sticking out the side of the laptop for this IS a
huge annoyance-
 
There will be such a device.. When Hybrid HDD's come on to the market(dont
know for sure they have already or not) it will have a certain amount of
flash memory inside the HD that will beable to serve as permanent
readyboost. But, unfortunately it will only be permanent as long as you dont
lose power..
 
I recently purchased a Toshiba Laptop with Windows Vista Home Premium. I
noticed the ReadyBoost capability the first time I inserted a Sandisk 2GB USB
Drive, so I started investigating. After reading several "Googled" pages on
the web, I decided that a CompactFlash Card in a PCMCIA adaptor would be an
ideal situation, much better than leaving a USB drive sticking out the side
or back of the laptop.

I had an existing 512MB CF card in a PCMCIA adaptor, and it didn't work. I
guessed it wasn't fast or large enough to pass the ReadyBoost test. so I
broke down and bought a faster Sandisk 2GB Ultra II CF card. And it didn't
work either - lol. The strange thing is, it works fine if you stick it in an
external USB 2.0 based card reader. When I stick it back in the internal
adaptor, it is not recognized as being ReadyBoost capable again.

Is this works as designed or something Microsoft needs to address in the
future?
 
What does Event Viewer document? Go Admin tools>Event viewer>Adm and
Services>Microsoft>Windows>Readyboost>Operational

Could be that the USB 2.0 bus is faster than the built-in slot.
 
Here's what the log entry reads after I insert the CF card in the adaptor:

The device (Unknown Unknown) will not be used for a ReadyBoost cache because
it is not attached to a supported interface.

When I insert the same CD card in an external USB Card Reader, the log entry
reads:

The device (Generic STORAGE DEVICE) is suitable for a ReadyBoost cache. The
recommended cache size is 1890304KB. The random read speed is 3012 KB/sec.
The sequential write speed is 2509 KB/sec.

and the next log entry reads:

A ReadyBoost cache was successfully created on the device (Generic STORAGE
DEVICE) of size 1840 MB.

Does this mean we need to ask Microsoft to build support into the Operating
System for devices attached to the PCMCIA bus in addition to the USB bus?

Thanks for the information!!!
 
You got it! Some interesting facts - Vista creates a "ReadyBoost cache"
whether or not a ReadyBoost device is attached - evidently this cache
permits removal of the device without loss of data -data is duplicated
(performance?) - data moved to the ReadyBoost device is encrypted in case
data is left on the device when removed.
Also confusion exists about ReadyBoost. At times there will be posts
regarding notice that after "activating" ReadyBoost there is no increase of
RAM indicated. ReadyBoost does not boost or increase RAM - it is an external
memory device that increases (boosts) the "prefetch function" (Vista
Superfetch) of the swap file.

\

@
 
My understanding is that the PCMCIA interface is to slow to allow for
ReadyBoost compatibility. The Expresscard interface has been added to
many recent laptops and is much faster. I wasn't even aware that my
laptop had an Expresscard port until a week ago because from the outside
it look just like two PCMCIA slots. I was planning to go the same route
as you and read elsewhere that PCMCIA would not work which led me to
Expresscard and then to realising I had one built-in.

-----Original Message-----
From: wayoung56 [mailto:wayoung56@discussions.microsoft.com]
Posted At: February-14-07 2:53 PM
Posted To: microsoft.public.windows.vista.performance_maintenance
Conversation: Readyboost and IDE CompactFlash
Subject: Re: Readyboost and IDE CompactFlash

Here's what the log entry reads after I insert the CF card in the adaptor:

The device (Unknown Unknown) will not be used for a ReadyBoost cache
because
it is not attached to a supported interface.

When I insert the same CD card in an external USB Card Reader, the log
entry
reads:

The device (Generic STORAGE DEVICE) is suitable for a ReadyBoost cache.
The
recommended cache size is 1890304KB. The random read speed is 3012
KB/sec.
The sequential write speed is 2509 KB/sec.

and the next log entry reads:

A ReadyBoost cache was successfully created on the device (Generic STORAGE
DEVICE) of size 1840 MB.

Does this mean we need to ask Microsoft to build support into the
Operating
System for devices attached to the PCMCIA bus in addition to the USB bus?

Thanks for the information!!!
 
On Wed, 14 Feb 2007 12:15:30 -0800, wayoung56
I had an existing 512MB CF card in a PCMCIA adaptor, and it didn't work. I
guessed it wasn't fast or large enough to pass the ReadyBoost test. so I
broke down and bought a faster Sandisk 2GB Ultra II CF card. And it didn't
work either - lol. The strange thing is, it works fine if you stick it in an
external USB 2.0 based card reader. When I stick it back in the internal
adaptor, it is not recognized as being ReadyBoost capable again.
Click to expand...

Perhaps the PCMCIA bus is too slow? Let's search that... no that
should be OK, as worst-case data rate appears to be around 4Ms,
whereas flash drives are typically under 1Ms.

There may be other reasons why PCMCIA isn't an acceptable interface to
SD cards or USB flash drives; other latencies, related overheads, or
just that it's a dying standard that isn't worth developing a new
feature to use. I'd use the card reader, and move on; if buying a new
laptop, I'd want one with a native SD card slot (as is common now)


--------------- ---- --- -- - - - -
Click to expand...
Saws are too hard to use.
Be easier to use!
 
I had the same thought. Supported memory need not be a USB "pen." In a new
machine I installed a USB-based card reader and stuck in a fast (150x) 4 GB
SD memory card. If you really want to hide it, put the USB port inside the
case and plug in the memory and leave it!
 
Why should it hang out the front? Why not the back, if you don't have a USB
on the back get a 2 port USB Bracket and up plug one or two of the front ones
and put it in the back. I have a 4 Ghz in the back and it works great and you
don't see it from the front.
Fred
 
I too am looking at the following scenarios:
-Buy a 8 GB 266x Compact Flash with and IDE adapter for use with ReadyBoost
on my PC
--This is $155 total.
-Buy a high speed ExpressCard SSD drive for my laptop’s use

I think it is a very reasonable request for ReadyBoost to work on this
hardware configuration if ReadyBoost is considered a hard drive cache
mechanism. Surely there is some way to force Vista to use these devices.
 
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