Windows PC Accelerators Vista Tips Discuss Windows PC Accelerators in the Windows Vista forums; Originally Posted by Znod The references to the new Corsair 16 GB always discuss their bootability and their ability to boot "the" Windows operating system. They never come ...

[y eye]

Originally Posted by Znod

The references to the new Corsair 16 GB always discuss their bootability and their ability to boot "the" Windows operating system. They never come out and say Vista, but, I guess we'll see. Here is one such link: http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/501690/264. I can't find a link to anyone who refers to having done a Vista flash-drive boot yet.

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Can you explain what a Vista flash drive boot is/would be? Are you talking about an installed Vista on a flash drive?
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[Znod]

Yes, exactly, an installed Vista on a flash drive. In some cases, it might be a scaled down version to allow emergeny booting. But, note that you can also create bootable DVD emergency disks--which probably would be easier than getting Vista to boot from a flash drive.

[felix8406]

I’ve been asked if the Swap file system in Windows is the same as ReadyBoost. I’m not an expert on either one of these two utilities, but for what I know, the answer is simple “no”.

First a Swap File or Pagefile is a space on your hard disk used as an extension of RAM. When you execute a command, like opening a word document for example, the OS moves items residing on RAM to the swap file in order to make room for your document in to RAM. The programs moved to the swap file are kept there until they are needed later. If one of these files is needed, that file is then swapped in to RAM again.

ReadyBoost on the other hand is actually acting like RAM, swapping files with the page file.

[felix8406]

Another question is whether or not one can use a USB drive as swap file, just as one can use a USB drive as ReadyBoost.

I have not try using a USB drive as swap file, so I don't know if it would work; though I imagine it will. But there's a problem. Even if it did work, when the drive is disconnected, the paged file will be lost, which could create crashes or computer issues.

ReadyBoost, on the other hand, does not encounter that issue, because the data send to the drive is also place on the hard drive. This allows removing the USB drive from the PC without creating any negative effects.

[felix8406]

This part of an article from http://arstechnica.com/journals/micr.../2007/1/4/6483.

Talking about Vista certified logo: Larsen's quote, "Products that carry the Certified for Windows Vista logo have met explicit standards of reliability and quality, and have been tested to deliver a superior experience with Windows Vista," he said. More explicitly, the logo means:

• The hardware has been rigorously tested on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Vista
• The hardware installs without errors on PCs running Vista
• All the features that work in Windows XP SP2 still function correctly, or similarly, in Vista. This pertains to clean installs of Vista and upgrades from Windows XP SP2
• Users running the hardware in Vista will receive the same exact support as a user running the hardware in Windows XP SP2
• Links will be provided for product support
• All known issues (bugs) must be documented

I bring this up because of a question about the meaning of a USB ReadyBoost enhanced drive. First it must carry the Certified for Windows Vista logo, meaning that it complied with all the above prerequisites. Who is keeping track of these test...????

Nonetheless, in my opinion, just because a USB drive doesn't have the logo, does not necessarily mean that it's inferior...as a matter of fact it might as well be equal or better than one with an imprinted logo. It would depend on quality and read/write speed.

[y eye]

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http://www.cpuid.org/pcwizard.php
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