Windows 7 and Turbo Memory - ReadyBoost disabled?

So I just got my replacement XPS M1640, and luckily enough, the WWAN card slot can be used also for my 1GB 1st gen Turbo Memory card from my M1530. However, upon installing the latest drivers from Intel's website, the Turbo Memory Console indicates that only ReadyDrive is enabled, and that ReadyBoost is disabled. Is there any way to fix this? I know that Turbo Memory is always finicky, as I've dealt with it on my m1530 (but both have been enabled), so when on the 1640 I click the check box to enable it, then restart, it is still disabled, even if I wait 10 minutes in the hopes that it enables after a few minutes of logging in... ?

 

Did you install the latest drivers from here? Or are they the same as the Intel site ones?

http://www.station-drivers.com/page/intel chipset.htm

I did have this in the past but just kept on setting the flag and eventually it updated. You could always try disabling and enabling it in the bios to see if the triggers Windows into life.

 

I figured it out. It was because I installed Windows 7 with my X25M SSD in it. Apparently if Windows 7 detects you're installing onto a SSD, it disables some services for performance reasons, including ReadyBoost.

 

Aaah I was going to ask if you had an SSD as I fitted one to my M1330, which had the intel turbo memory module. To be honest, now you have an SSD I would disable (in BIOS) or remove the module completely as it provides no benefit to your system and instead offers an extra level of complexity.

Out of interest, is your SSD the X25-M G2? If so have you installed the latest TRIM firmware. If you have then make sure you do not install the Intel Matrix Storage drivers (that are needed for the turbo memory module) as this prevents the Windows 7 TRIM commands getting to the drive. Intel are apparently working on a new Matrix Storage driver that will support TRIM but have been a little busy fixing firmware issues

 

Yes, mine is the G2, with the TRIM firmware. Do you have a link showing that the Intel Matrix Storage drivers prevent TRIM? Because I have run benchmarks, and at least for read speeds, it is near 250MB/sec which is the rated speed.

 

This thread is making me think about getting some turbo memory for my xps 16... Do you notice any difference in performance with it? I to have an empty WWAN slot.

 

I tried the 4GB Turbo Memory module in the XPS 1645 with Win7 x64; doesn't work at the moment.

 

I have the 1st gen 1GB Turbo Memory, but I also have an SSD installed so it is kind of ridiculous, and also the fact that readyboost is disabled, but the other technology (ReadyDrive) works apparently.

 

Do I want the half mini? or regular mini pci? It's going to go in the WWAN slot. I figure I'll blow 15 bucks just to fill the slot lol.

 

Full minicard.

 

To be honest, just save your cash as there is no real point installing a turbo memory card if you also have an SSD. The purpose of the card was to try and increase the speed of boot up and application launch times when used with trasitional hard disc technology. SSD's are so fast that you would not notice any real world difference.

There is an additional issue with combining the two technologies, especially when you have Window 7 installed. As you may know Windows 7 is able to send TRIM commands to supporting SSDs (including the latest OCZ's and Intel G2's) to help maintain the performance of your drive. The issue is that this currently only works if you use the default Win7 SATA drivers. Now if you install the Turbo Memory module then you have to install the Turbo Memory drivers / software and in doing this, the driver pack also includes the Intel Matrix Storage drivers. Unfortunately these don't currently support TRIM and as such will block the TRIM commands getting to your SSD.

This is not a huge issue as most SSD manufacturers supply a manual tool kit that will help you keep your drives performing at their best.....but whats the point then Windows 7 can do this automatically.

It seems that Turbo memory is coming back with the latest gen motherboards and in 8gb / 16gb sizes. Whether this new technology offers improvements over SSD's has yet to be proved.

 

I was curious about adding a Turbo Memory module to my 1645 as well. I'm running the 500GB 7200rpm HHD, so there wouldn't be a conflict with an SSD. Has anyone got a Turbo Memory module working in a 1645?

 

Yes but I don't have a SSD. Which is precisely why I thought the Turbo Memory would help. But after reading a lot about it, it seems that with 4GB of ram the Turbo memory would never be touched as the RAM would never fill up. From what I've read the system uses RAM BEFORE Turbo Memory. Is this info right?

 

Turbo Memory works best with ReadyDrive and User Pinning. ReadyBoost does practically nothing if you have a capable system. And trust me, I did extensive troubleshooting with the 4GB Turbo Memory Module with User Pinning and my 1645 using the WWAN slot- it just doesn't work. I let it run in my machine for 3 weeks while it said the device wasn't installed or was malfunctioning, a common problem that usually goes away but was uncorrectable. The options to enable ReadyBoost and ReadyDrive were greyed out and the User Pinning control panel wouldn't open.

 

Yeah from what I've read it's not worth the time, money, or hassle. Maybe a future version of it will be better. I'm not going to blow $30 on a module only to get burned.

A SSD is in my future plan at some point, my issue is I use a LOT of space, and SSD's are not large enough for me to use yet. Now.. If you could fit 2 hard drives in the SXPS 16 that would be different. I'd use one as a boot drive with the usual stuff, and the Sata drive for storage. I'm still happy I went with this machine regardless. It's sexy, and I like it more than a MacBook.

 

You need Vista or Win7 for this device to work. So XP users need not apply.

When you install a turbo memory module you have no choice in the allocation and as such 50% is used for readyboost and 50% used for readydrive. As confirmed, readyboost is not majorly useful and is automatically disabled if you have an SSD installed. Windows recommends that for readyboost to be effective, you should have 1-3 times the amount of readyboost space as you do RAM.

Readydrive offers the greates benefit as Windows uses this space for it's pre-fetch / superfetch functionality and pre-loads applications / files that are regularly called so that these load much quicker than they would if they had to be launched from the HDD. Without a turbo module, Windows uses RAM for this but at shut down the RAM is emptied, whereas the turbo memory remains full. The idea is that with Readydrive enabled (and of sufficient size), your hard disk will not need to be spun up so regularly so you will save time and power.

Personally....save your money for an SSD that are dropping in price every day.