How to enable Readyboost that is disabled in error

Anonymous
2014-01-01T15:02:17+00:00

My laptop came pre-installed with Windows 8.1 on a 500GB 5400RPM HDD. It has 4GB memory.

Over the holidays someone gave me a 64GB m-SATA SSD, which I put into the laptop's m-SATA slot.

On the BIOS, the info shows that the SSD occupies the SATA 0 slot. I had to re-adjust the boot order to boot normally into my system disk, which is on the SATA 1 slot.

I wanted to use the m-SATA SSD as a Readyboost cache. When I carried out the steps to enable Readyboost on the SSD, it wouldn't let me. The error message is:

This device cannot be used for ReadyBoost.

ReadyBoost is not enabled because this computer is fast enough that ReadyBoost is unlikely to provide additional benefit.

There must be some mistake because the SSD is not the system disk. It only occupies SATA slot 0 (which I cannot change). The system disk is a typical HDD.

How do I go about enabling Readyboost on the SSD? Any tweaks or commands? I have tweaked the registry many times before so if need be I could do that.

[Note: Those who want to suggest other things like sell the SSD, leave it alone, or whatever, please just heckle some other thread.]

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

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Anonymous
2015-05-06T22:06:26+00:00

Insert the flash drive or card, then right-click on it in This PC and select properties.  Open the ReadyBoost tab.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-01-14T07:17:37+00:00

    Replying to Gordon would be pointless.

    But I would like to reply to Mike Hall MVP. Do you have a tech note or actual information that Readyboost is designed to shut off if any SSD is installed internally? Because the tech notes I have referred to only say this happens when the SSD is the system disk.

    In fact, I have two Windows 7 desktop systems running Readyboost off small internal SSD (system disk is HDD). Both are connected on SATA, in their usual order.

    "mSATA drives are marketed as cache boosters". Where exactly did you get this piece of information? Is this the case for all mSATA drives? How is this relevant to getting Readyboost to work?

    "Note that ReadyBoost is not active when booting and can't speed up boot times. It only improves cache access when the system is up and running and Windows or the application in use needs cache access." What is the basis of this saying? Tech note? Sysinternals? Experiments?

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-01-13T12:31:45+00:00

    Your choice if you want to waste more time.

    I suggest that the "improvement" in Windows 7 is probably a) subjective (i.e. you THINK there's an improvement when there really isn't one) or b) down to some other factor like updates etc which are purely co-incidental...

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-01-11T12:53:37+00:00

    The bug is with the machine insisting that an external drive connects to the primary SATA adapter..

    That apart, a 4gb system does NOT require ReadyBoost..

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/readyboost

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