Use Pen Drive As RAM

Nowadays, many programs take lots of memory during operation, which is a nightmare for low RAM systems. So to avoid this make your pen drive/USB of large size as RAM, which will allow your system to handle more operations and tasks. To know how to do this, follow the steps below.

Steps

Using a USB Pen Drive as RAM in Windows XP

  1. Delete all the stuff on your pen drive. Insert it and let the PC read it (minimum 2 GB).
  2. Right click on My Computer.
    • Click on Properties from context menu.
  3. Click on the Advanced tab.
  4. Click on Settings under Performance.
  5. Click on the Advanced tab.
  6. Click on the Change button under Virtual memory.
  7. Select your USB drive.
  8. Click on custom size radio button and give the values as follows;
    • Initial Size:1020
    • Maximum size:1020
    • The size depends upon your free memory capacity of your pen drive. So you can change this limit according to your pen drive size.
  9. Click the Set button, then click on OK.
  10. Restart the computer with pen drive inserted. The speed of your computer will be increased.

Using a USB Pen Drive as RAM in Windows Vista and Windows 7 and 8

  1. Insert your pen drive and format it.
  2. Right click on your pen drive and click on "Properties".
  3. Click on 'Ready boost' tab and then on 'Use this device'.
  4. Choose maximum space to reserve system speed
  5. Click on OK and Apply.
  6. You're done! Use your pen drive as RAM.

Tips

  • You must be logged in as Administrator to do this task.
  • If you are using Windows 7, start by doing steps 1 and 2, but then a different window will pop up. Click "Advanced system settings" on the sidebar and continue the steps.
  • *Ready Boost option will help your computer use your flash drive as RAM, however it will not help to physically increase your installed "RAM". Using ReadyBoost option for gaming will also be of no use, but it will help your Windows to run a little faster.

Warnings

  • It may significantly shorten the life of the USB. Normal flash drives have limited numbers of writes. For normal usage, it takes a long time for the writes to run out. However, if used as RAM where millions of transfers are done every minute, the life of the drive may be significantly shortened.
  • Do not remove the USB. It'll crash your system. However, simply plugging the USB back in and rebooting will fix the crash.

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