Use Any USB Drive With Windows Vista Readyboost
April 25th, 2007 • Related • Filed Under
ReadyBoost is a disk caching system introduced in Windows Vista that relies on flash memory to boost system performance. At the moment only certain flash drives are compatible with Readyboost, but gHacks have found a way so that any USB drive can be used with ReadyBoost.
- Right-click the device that you want to use for Readyboost and select properties.
- Switch to the Readyboost tab and uncheck “Stop retesting this device when I plug it in”. Then unplug the device from the computer before you proceed.
- Open Regedit and go to the key HKLM (Local Machine) -> SOFTWARE -> Microsoft -> Windows NT -> CurrentVersion -> EMDgmt which displays a list of all known USB devices on your computer. Choose the one that you want to use for Readyboost and edit the following keys in the right pane:
- Device Status - Change that value to 2
- ReadSpeedKbs - Change the value to 1000
- WriteSpeedKbs - Change the value to 1000 as well
After that is done you can use the USB device for Readyboost.



Comment by Shane on 25 April 2007:
Are those hex or decimal values?
Comment by Shane on 25 April 2007:
Found out they are hex
source: http://www.watchingthenet.com/windows-vista-tip-enable-any-usb-drive-to-work-with-readyboost.html
Trackback by PCdummies.es on 27 April 2007:
Cómo activar el ReadyBoost en un pendrive demasiado lento…
Cuando Windows Vista anda corto de memoria, nos permite utilizar ReadyBoost, una tecnología con la que aprovecha el espacio que nos brindan las memorias USB o pendrives, para aumentar el rendimiento del sistema.
El problema es que es el propio Vista q…
Pingback by Quick Links: 07/05/07 | Connected Internet on 7 May 2007:
[...] Use Any USB Drive With Windows Vista ReadyBoost [...]
Comment by Tregonsee on 14 April 2008:
I had a drive which had been working fine as ReadyBoost. Sometime after installing SP1, I noticed that it was now just another USB drive, and the option for using it as ReadyBoost had vanished. (The SP1 installation may be irrelevant, but I wanted to mention it.) I unplugged the drive, cleaned out rather than edited the EMDgmt part of the registry, rebooted, reinstalled the ReadyBoost drive, and Vista happily accepted it again.
Treg