Lets Talk SDHC & ReadyBoost...

Did you guys get the Windows update the other day about SD cards? It had something to do with using one that is over 32GB's.

 

Az the interview you were reading was exactly right, the limit of the FAT32 filesystem is 4GB, however this is not the limit of readyboost. If you are using FAT32 the largest a file can be mathematically is 4GB. Since readyboost saves it cache as a file if it's formatted Fat32 the most it will use of a device IS 4GB regardless of size.

So, as toughasnails discovered, exfat format does not have this limitation (same with NTFS).

I think the only limiting factor here is how big of a card the Toughbook's reader can read!

Any more feedback on the use of 8GB?
Anyone try something larger?

 

I have 16GB Class 10 on the way.....will update when I get it

 

Yeah thanks, I understand now that ReadyBoost has been updated despite old information still available to the contrary...

For some reason Microsoft dropped the ball on getting the information to me prior to my last post acknowledging the update.

 

Well, after recommendations from here and searching Newegg, I ordered a Transcend 8GB Class 6 SDHC card, TS8GSDHC6. I installed in a CF-29 Mk4 with Win 7 Pro. The reader sees the card and it is accessible thru Windows, but it can not be used for ReadyBoost. Is it my computer or the card? I don't know. A Kingston 2GB works fine with ReadyBoost.

Back it goes and I'll try another brand.

Glen

 

What file format were you using, FAT 32? Try NTFS or exFAT. Also make sure there are no files on it. Sometimes media has promo files on the from the factory.

 

All 3 formats. Blank card, no files on it. Accessible for storing files in all 3 formats. On the Properties/ReadyBoost tab it stated that the card was not suitable for ReadyBoost. Tested multiple times.

I ordered a Kingston 8gb Class 4 card. I'll see how it works.

Glen

 

Glen, before you do, just as a yuck, partition that card down the middle and try again.

Let us know.

 

Wiil do. Can't try it till Friday. I'll have the Kingston card by then and will be able to try in a CF-29 Mk4, CF-29 Mk5, and a CF-30 Mk2, not that it should make any difference.

Glen

 

Can not remember which one I tried a Sandisk or Kingston 4GB in my 29 and said it would not work. Took it out and put it in my XPS and the card came up "speed up your system" OK .Put it back in my 29, works ok now not sure why........if you have another computer with a sd reader install readyboost on the card then take it out and put it in the 29 and try it ......worked 4 me

 

I got my 16GB Adata SDHC in the mail today , formated it exfat, works great on my CF-29 MK5 . Below is the cards we have tried so far.

Cards that work
1: PNY Optima "60 HD" 4GB class 4
2: SanDisk Micro 4GB & 8GB class 2
3: SanDisk 4GB class 2
4: Noname 4GB class ?
5: Adata 8GB class 6
6: Adata 16GB class 10
7: Sandisk Extreme 8GB SDHC, Class 10 30 MB/s
8: Sandisk Ultra 4GB SDHC Class 8 15MB/s
9: Panasonic 6GB SDHC Class 4
10: SanDisk Ultra II 4 GB SDHC
11: SanDiskultra III 8 GB
12: Kingston 4GB

Cards that DO NOT WORK
1: Transcend 4gb
2: Transcend 8GB Class 6

 

If you have a SSD it should be telling you that your system will not benefit from using RB. That's if your SSD is running and setup properly.

 

One of the problems that I found during my initial investigation of ReadyBoost was that I was unable to find a good test to benchmark the difference that this mod makes.

The few sites where others were conducting performance tests also seemed to lack a good test. Has anyone else had different luck?

 

I have not found one yet. I think that if you were to have a computer that is lacking suffiecent Ram then RB would help.

As an example I have 3.2 available I believe, with my 4 gigs of sticks. I never get to a point where my system lags because of a lack of Ram. If I were, then that is where RB would help me I believe...

I just thought of something Why would my system say that RB would not help me beacause of my SSD? What does my SSD have to do with my Ram in this regard? Stupid minds want to know

 

From this article: Engineering Windows 7 : Support and Q&A for Solid-State Drives

"Be default, Windows 7 will disable Superfetch, ReadyBoost, as well as boot and application launch prefetching on SSDs with good random read, random write and flush performance. These technologies were all designed to improve performance on traditional HDDs, where random read performance could easily be a major bottleneck. See the FAQ section for more details."

Glen

 

Well thank you sir!

 

my CF-29 Mk4 can not read my card 8gb SD Sandisk Ultra II 15mb/s class 4

when i insert it into the card reader, the light signal shows one time, but the laptop can not show anything.

it still work well with my 2gb SD card.

is that any issue with my card reader? or any more software I need?

i installed all software and there is no YELLOW TRIANGLE notice in my Computer Manage box.

thank you for your advice.

 

Odd, I am useing the 4GB version of the Sandisk Ultra II 15mb/s class 4 in my CF-29 right now. I assume that you are running Win7, correct? Did you format the SDHC with exFAT?

 

Did you by chance purchase a really inexpensive one direct from China?

Be careful of those, many are counterfeit. I got a "great deal" on a Kingston USB thumb drive from a seller in china. II got a new one for about a quarter of the price that used ones were going for. It crapped out after a few weeks. Later I was able to compare it to the same model and found mine was a fake.

 

Has anybody else tried a 16GB card yet. I have been finding that any site that is running Flash the screen jumps or flashes a lot when scrolling up and down the page, Internet Explorer 8 crashs all the time , just to name a few things. But with a 8GB it works fine. Maybe a 16GB is too fast for a MK5 . It does run a lot hotter too .But it works great on my CF-51 1.6 Dual Core 2GB Ram.

 

Very Correct, The Chinese are very fond of formatting smaller memory incorrectly to make the drive look larger. Just do a search on 128GB and above USB Flash memory and you will see what I mean.

I have already seen a fake 1TB USB Flash drive....

 

Now now, Az... we know not ALL Chinese are fond of that... only Chinese counterfeiters. But boy, there sure do seem to be a HORDE of THOSE Chinese on the IntarWeb... I think they breed on fleaBay...

mnem
"Wuh duh ma huh ta duh fung-kwong duh wai-shung dol"

 

What! You mean that someone is now counterfeiting Chinese folks? There would not seem to be any profit in it, there are so many of them!

Well you can not say that this is not poetic justice!

 

Once upon a time there were two Chinese... now look how many. :wink:

mnem
Woops, there goes another rubber tree plant...

 

1,337,620,000 I believe - which means that even if you are a guy in a million, there are 1,337 just like you!

(that's about the limit of the contribution I can make to a topic entitled "Let's talk SDHC and Readyboost" !)

 

But wait, there's MORE!

Act now, and we'll throw in a free oxcart! COMPLETE WITH OX!

mnem
Now how much would you pay?

 

Now now, Mnementh... we know not ALL Chinese are fond of Oxen... only Chinese farmers and Ox aficionados ...

 

Dude... I've got a cargo hold full of Oxen and their associated accoutrement; it's only a matter of time before something spooks 'em. You ever see cattle stampede when they got no place to run? It's kind of like... a meat grinder...

mnem
"This is the last time. Last time with cows. Hear there was an idea regarding beagles? They have smallish droppings?"

 

I tried to use a class 2 16gb sdhc for ready boost with my windows 7 home HP dv6t i5 6gb ram ....

it worked when the card was formatted originally in fat 32 bt it took only 4 gb for ready boost .... then i formatted it to exFat and NTFS bt both dont work with readyboost and now its not working for the fat format either ....

any suggestions ?

thanks .. Heramb

 

The original implementation of ReadyBoost only supports FAT32 file structure; the max filesize in FAT32 is 4GB.

Later implementations support eXFAT; however, several extensive benchmarking articles I've read indicate that in most cases, FAT32 is STILL fastest overall.

The eXFAT implementation in Windows is, in my opinion, NOT 100% complete; M$ REALLY needed to let this one bake a little longer. It is VERY flaky with non-Intel-approved USB controllers; PARTICULARLY those commonly found in multi-format FLASH card readers.

You are by no means the first person I've heard from with similar complaint; unfortunately, the only way you're going to fix your SDHC card is to find a friend who runs a LINUX computer and ask them to format it to FAT32 for you. DO NOT format it to NTFS; Windows will sometimes NOT read a card formatted in NTFS on a LINUX box; I think M$ does that out of sheer perversity.

Your BEST solution will be to avoid the SDHC controller completely and use an OCZ or SuperTalent "ReadyBoost Rated" USB Flash Drive for ReadyBoost; you may very well be able to use eXFAT and get the larger filesize AND a better boost in speed than your SDHC is capable of. Of course, this will NOT be especially convenient on your laptop. Your next best solution will be to live with the 4GB filesize limitation and just use the rest of your card for data storage.

The real issue with ReadyBoost is that it is STILL only a cache; your best bet for speeding up your machine is STILL going to be MORE/FASTER RAM.

mnem<~~~ B00STED ~~~<<<

 

Hmmmm .... cant upgrade teh ram anytime soon .....

why i'm interested in readyboost(correct me if i'm wrong ...) is cause teh hard drive i have is 5400rpm so was hoping to improve performance by letting the ready boost cache data it wants on the sd card ... usb stick will be too inconvienient so wont be using that ever ... so guess i should buy better card like class 10 .... what size card would be sufficient ?

 

I am using PNY Professional 8GB class 10 $30.00 @ W@llmart or 4GB class 10 $20.00. Remember to formatte it "exfat" or it will not work