Update 11/3/2008: The problems described in this post were resolved in Windows Vista Service Pack 1
I’ve done some experimenting to find the cause of my ReadyBoost problems. I found that the drive always hangs after the computer comes out of standby. After the computer wakes up, the thumb drive works for a little while and then hangs. The hang is not recoverable and prevents the computer from shutting down.
The solution I found is to select the drive in Explorer and choose Eject. It is not possible to choose Safely Remove Hardware because the device is in use. Then I pull out the thumb drive before putting the computer to sleep.
When the computer wakes up, I put the thumb drive back in. Sometimes Windows automatically starts using the drive again for ReadyBoost, but usually I have to go to the ReadyBoost tab in the Properties dialog and reenable ReadyBoost.
I've sent a technical support request to Apacer but have not heard anything back.
I get the same problem with a Lexar USB drive. I suspect the problem is in Vista and is due to the USB timing out.
ReplyDeleteI know your post is old but I was searching for an issue that I was having with Readyboost when I came across your blog. My problem was that my computer would hang on startup if the readyboost USB thumbdrive was inserted already. I would have to wait until the computer was already booted up and then insert the drive, it would automatically use Readyboost so I did'nt have to re-enable it as you had to. The solution: Wikihow has an article on how to use Readyboost. In the notes it says that if the USB thumbdrive is too slow your computer might hang before actually booting. The problem thumbdrive was a PNY 2GB that says that it was Vista compatible. Vista recognized and let me configure the Readyboost but I guess it was still too slow. I had another drive that was a Sandisk Cruzer Micro 2GB (Vista compatible-explicitly states on the packaging that the drive works with Readyboost). The drive works perfect and I never have to unplug it, but I do when I put the laptop in a case to carry it places, otherwise I insert it before startup and remove it after shutdown.
ReplyDeleteMy problem was the brand of USB drive.