- home
- reviews
- news
- downloads
- cnet tv
HOLIDAY HELP DESK: Broadcasting live at 1:00 p.m., PT
- log in
- join CNET
- welcome,
- my profile
- log out

Comments on: Use a flash drive as memory in Windows XP

Squeeze a little extra memory into your Windows XP machine with a USB flash drive.

Add a Comment (Log in or register) (17 Comments)


by schiz94 December 23, 2008 11:35 PM PST: can i do this in mac os?; Like this Reply to this comment

by bluesky17 December 25, 2008 6:18 PM PST

i added a kingston usb 4 gb drive as told in insider secret for windows xp sp2 ram upgrade the computer has onboard 512 gb when i check in system properties it still shows 512 gb why is that? how do i actually confirm this addded ram is working apart from subjective testing any clues would be highly appreciated thx

Like this Reply to this comment


by Jondalar69 December 25, 2008 11:41 PM PST: Hi bluesky17! The reason it doesnt show up as actual RAM in system properties is because it isnt actually RAM. At least not RAM that a motherboard is designed to recognise.The reality is that by changing where your virtual memory is stored, (from the hard disk to the flash drive), what you get is LIKE extra RAM since the flash drive can be accessed much faster than the hard drive.The truth is, real physical RAM is still much faster than a flash drive in most cases.The real benefit of doing this is that now when your programs need to access virtual memory because physical memory is running low, programs no longer have to access virtual memory from the slow hard drive, instead they have access to VM from the faster flash drive. One thing I did differently than the article was turn off virtual memory on all my other drives so that the only VM available to entire system is on the fast USB drive, thereby never accessing the slow hard disk. Hope this helps.; Like this

by bluesky17 December 26, 2008 6:07 AM PST

thx for the help also is it reqd to use any usb drive or only readyboost specific usb as for vista kindly clear this point i am using it for xp sp2 simple 4gb kingston usb

Like this Reply to this comment


by Jondalar69 December 26, 2008 2:26 PM PST: You should be fine with your kingston flash drive. 4 gigs is plenty of space for virtual memory. windows xp doesnt know the difference between a ready boost from any other type of usb drive since ready boost is windows vista specific technology. Size matters most, I wouldnt use anything smaller than a gig for a 512mb system so what you have is fine. One more thing, one reason I turned off virtual memory on all my other drives was so I could see if this really works. When I open up task manager with VM on the USB drive only, I still have a pagefile/virtual memory meter in use so it does work.; Like this


by Jondalar69 December 26, 2008 4:29 PM PST: I also should add that along with size, the speed of the flashdrive matters as well. You want a USB 2.0 drive, not an older 1.0. Although even the older 1.0 type is still faster than the hard disk. There are newer types of USB 2.0 drives now that are high speed. The faster the drive's transfer rate, the more doing this trick will behave like RAM.; Like this


by manubumb December 28, 2008 12:13 PM PST: After reading this article, I went ahead and ordered a 16GB kingston flash drive since it was only $30, and I figured worst case, if it didn't work, I still have a 16GB flash drive to use for whatever.

Turns out the max size for a paging file on XP is 4096, so that's something to keep in mind (unless someone knows a way around this?), and the particular flash drive I got (Kingston 16GB DataTraveler) wasn't compatible with ReadyBoost. Not an issue for me (yet) since I'm not running Vista, but definitely something to double-check if you are. I turned off the paging file for my main harddrive and am only running off the flash drive, so I guess I'll see how it goes.; Like this Reply to this comment


by cph January 12, 2009 5:55 AM PST: I followed these instructions exactly several times but the change simply didn't take effect. Each time my laptop restarts I find it is still using the memory in C. Any ideas why this is? I am using a 4GB Kingmax flashdrive with Windows XP.; Like this Reply to this comment


by samchambers January 12, 2009 3:32 PM PST: cph: I have the same problem. I've tried this at least 6 times, and the change never sticks. Anyone have any thoughts?; Like this Reply to this comment


by cph January 12, 2009 6:10 PM PST: Hey Tom, reading all these comments it sounds like no one has yet managed to use a flash drive as extra memory following the procedure you outline. If you actually got it to work yourself did you miss a step when you made the Insider video? Or might the 'secret' have something to do with the flash drive itself? Having invested in a flash drive, and a lot of time, trying to accomplish this I would really like to know how it's done.; Like this Reply to this comment


by KERKER48 January 13, 2009 5:58 PM PST: Hi Tom i Am also having the same problem as cph even after putting the entire page.sys file on the flash drive it reverts back to the c drive??; Like this Reply to this comment


by cph January 20, 2009 10:30 PM PST: This evidently never did work. "Shawn from Montreal" had a bogus idea that got adopted without being tested. Too bad. This would have been really useful. Anyone want to make an offer on a 4GB flash drive?; Like this Reply to this comment


by mickspace January 21, 2009 6:12 PM PST: This is not adding Ram, but virtual memory, or increasing your paging file?
Which can be accomplished with your hard drive, if you have the space on the hard drive or a second hard drive. My hard drive reading/writing speed is faster than my USB drive. I don?t see how this will help do anything thing but draw energy from the USB port.; Like this Reply to this comment


by SaiphX March 19, 2009 3:52 PM PDT: When I try doing this I can't press the set button. Anyone know why?; Like this Reply to this comment


by aka2009 April 7, 2009 2:01 PM PDT: can some1 help me
after you add the "memory" do u have to keep the usb into the computer whenever u use the computer; Like this Reply to this comment


by jamin1213 August 2, 2009 10:55 AM PDT: Is there a way to do this on a Mac?; Like this Reply to this comment


by nailed2thegun November 29, 2009 6:17 PM PST: Is there any way to actually make this work? I have 512 mb of Ram. I attempted to select no paging file on C drive, and allocate 1905 mb for virtual memory on a 2 gig flash drive. When I rebooted I checked and windows automatically allocated 763 mb of virtual memory on C drive (my flash drive was listed as well showing a paging file size of 1905 mb). Then I began to do some research and I had 10 tabs open, I soon got the old low on virtual memory warning. Obviously windows is not using the flash drive as extra virtual memory and the steps given in this article do not seem to increase speed or add to virtual memory. I would like to ask Tom Merritt if I have missed something? Thanks; Like this Reply to this comment

(17 Comments)

About CNET TV

CNET TV is where you get your video fix on the coolest gadgets, the latest gear, and up-to-the-minute tech reviews and news. And the CNET TV blog provides you a behind-the-scenes look at our shows, personalities, and even upcoming site features.

Add this feed to your online news reader

CNET TV Twitter Feeds

%screenName%: %text% %created%

CNET TV topics

CNET TV bloggers: Brian Cooley; Molly Wood; Tom Merritt; Justin Eckhouse; Brian Tong

Get the CNET TV newsletter

Would you like a wrap-up of the week's hottest CNET TV videos delivered directly to your in-box? Then sign up for the weekly CNET TV newsletter, delivered every Friday.
Subscribe now!