Some once-useful features in Windows have become obsolete due to hardware advancements. One of them is ReadyBoost — if you're still trying to use it in 2025, it could do more harm than good.
Storage and memory have gotten much faster
In case you don't know, ReadyBoost is a Windows feature that was first introduced in Vista. It allows you to use a flash drive or SD card as a cache, essentially acting as additional RAM for your system. Since USB flash drives are faster than old spinning hard drives, ReadyBoost is a way to boost performance on older computers that don't have much RAM.
The biggest reason ReadyBoost is obsolete is because SSDs and system memory have gotten faster. ReadyBoost relies on USB speeds to provide cache from flash drives. This technique can work when using slow mechanical hard drives . But with SSDs built into every modern PC out of the box, you don’t need an additional cache anymore.
In fact, if you have an SSD installed in your system, Windows won't show you the ReadyBoost option. When ReadyBoost was first introduced in Windows Vista, SSDs were a luxury component found only in high-end products. Now, SSDs are commonplace, and the USB flash drives ReadyBoost uses simply aren't fast enough to keep up.
RAM is also getting really fast. The HP Omen Transcend 14, for example, has 7462 MT/s LPDDR5X memory, which is faster than the WD M.2 SSDs that laptops come with and significantly faster than any USB stick you might find in your drawer. As newer laptops move to LPCAMM2 memory, this trend will continue.
Modern systems also come with plenty of RAM; you'll find at least 8GB in most computers. ReadyBoost is designed specifically for systems with limited RAM, but when given enough memory, Windows features like SuperFetch will automatically cache frequently used files. As memory gets faster and cheaper, the low-RAM situations for which ReadyBoost was designed will disappear.
The performance increase is negligible, if not worse.
Assuming you can still get ReadyBoost up and running on your system. Assuming your system has a low-end HDD and RAM, you can get a performance boost. However, compared to the overall benefits you’ll get from upgrading to an SSD or more memory, this performance boost will be negligible.
In any case, when used with modern hardware, ReadyBoost comes with a significant performance hit. Unless you have a 10-year-old computer sitting around that you don’t want to spend money on upgrading, ReadyBoost won’t do much good. At best, ReadyBoost might prevent your old machine from crashing due to low memory, but that’s about it.
Using ReadyBoost can damage flash drives
Finally, using ReadyBoost can be harmful to the drives themselves. When you use a USB drive for ReadyBoost, the drive will undergo constant write operations as Windows updates its cache. Since flash memory only has a limited number of read/write cycles, you will accelerate the wear and tear of your drive.
Flash memory is not considered system RAM, and continued use of the feature can destroy a flash drive in a matter of months. Microsoft claims that ReadyBoost-enabled devices can last for 10 years or more, but given the finite read/write cycles, that claim is valid.
Regardless, Microsoft has been phasing this feature out in newer versions of Windows. Modern versions of Windows 11 have removed it entirely. While the company has yet to officially confirm whether ReadyBoost is dead, it has been proven.
ReadyBoost was exciting when Windows Vista launched, especially for those with low-end PC hardware. However, in a world of SSDs and super-fast system memory, it's outdated.
See also:
MSConfig is a versatile tool that is great for managing the startup process on your computer. It can also be used for more than just troubleshooting performance and stability issues.
The sum function when filtering data is very important for Microsoft Excel users. This article will summarize for you how to filter and calculate sum in Excel using Subtotal.
If you drop your phone or tablet in water, don't panic! Your device probably isn't permanently damaged. But you should act quickly to prevent water damage to the internal components.
Technically, the iPhone 4 can take 5 Megapixel photos, and HDTV1280 x 720 video or simply 720p. For example, a video file recorded by an iPhone with a length of about 50 seconds has a file size of more than 60MB...
Your webcam may not work on Windows 10 for a variety of reasons.
The compass is a useful application on the phone that helps us determine directions when traveling, traveling, ... Did you know how to use the compass on your phone? Refer to the article to learn how to view the compass on your iPhone quickly, simply!
Are you getting the “We'll need your current Windows password one last time” error? This annoying pop-up can prevent you from getting things done.
The Unmountable Boot Volume error occurs due to some installed software conflicting with the operating system or due to the computer suddenly shutting down,... In the article below, WebTech360 will guide you through some ways to fix this error.
If you use Clipboard History to store data for later use, there is a small chance that the data will remain empty no matter what you try.
If you don't care about having extra bloatware on your system, there are ways to remove or disable Windows Copilot on Windows 11.
Most laptop users have encountered a situation where Windows shows 2 hours of battery life left, then five minutes later it jumps to 5 hours or even 1 hour. Why does this time jump around like that?
Laptop batteries degrade over time and lose capacity, resulting in less battery life. But after tweaking some deeper Windows 11 settings, you should see a significant improvement in battery life.
Windows 11 version 21H2 is one of the major original releases of Windows 11 that began rolling out globally on October 4, 2021.
The year 2023 saw Microsoft betting heavily on artificial intelligence and its partnership with OpenAI to make Copilot a reality.
You can disable User Accounts so that others can no longer access your computer.
Is the NPU different enough to delay purchase and wait for the PC Copilot+ to become mainstream?
Windows 11's Battery saver mode is a feature designed to extend laptop battery life.
After keeping things the same for years, the Sticky Note update in mid-2024 changed the game.
The IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL error is a memory-related error that typically occurs when a system process or driver attempts to access a memory address without proper access permissions.
Paths are the locations of files or folders in Windows 11. All paths include the folders you need to open to get to a specific location.
Windows 11 has officially launched, compared to Windows 10 Windows 11 also has many changes, from the interface to new features. Please follow the details in the article below.
