Do You Have to Always Use the Flash Drive Once You Allocate It to RAM Using ReadyBoost?

Does it Have to Stay Plugged In?

• Your flash drive does not have to stay plugged in to your computer. Windows will recognize the device when you plug it in and will use it to increase your computer's performance. When you remove the drive, Windows will simply revert back to paging files to disk when the RAM is full. You may notice a slow down when the device is not used if your computer is heavily utilized, but if you're willing to deal with the performance decrease, you don't need to have the drive plugged in full-time.
  
  

Can the Drive Still be Used for Storage?

• When you configure a drive for ReadyBoost, you are allocating a portion of its free space for use on your computer. Any space on the drive that you do not allocate to ReadyBoost is usable for storage. If you find a need to copy files to the drive and need more free space, you can easily alter the ReadyBoost settings to make more room. You can even turn ReadyBoost off for the device and regain the entire drive.
  
  

How to Free Up Space from ReadyBoost

• Insert your flash drive into your computer's USB port. Windows will recognize the drive and launch an AutoPlay window. Click "Speed up my system." You'll notice in the device Properties window that opens that the drive will already be configured for ReadyBoost. Select "Use this device" rather than "Dedicate this device to ReadyBoost." Grab the slider next to the box listing the amount of megabytes allocated to ReadyBoost and slide it to the left. The amount of allotted space will decrease as you slide it. Move the slider as far as you need to and click "OK."
  
  

How to Turn Off ReadyBoost

• Insert your flash drive into your computer and click "Speed up my computer" from the AutoPlay window that launches. Select "Do not use this device" from the list of options on the Properties window and click "OK." This flash drive will no longer be used as memory space for your computer.