Windows 7 USB DRIVES AND WIN 7's READYBOOST...

[stevae]

i purchased a verbatim 16 gig usb drive, that had readyboost signatures on the box. once i got it home, i tried to reformat it from the default fat32 file system, to ntfs. why it comes with fat32 on it is something i don't quite understand anyway, but that's beside the point...
anyway, windows pops up with an error message 5 seconds into it, saying that, "windows was unable to complete the format." i tried quick format, long format and even tried to format it again in fat32, and then format it in ntfs, but nothing has worked.
i have read that using readyboost with a fat 32 drive will actually slow down the system. so i would appreciate anyone who can tell me how i can force the formatting this drive into ntfs.

 

[Radenight]

I had problems converting one of my usb drives to NTFS as well.. all I did to solve this was download IMGBURN.. it allows you to format the drive in NTFS and seems to bypass the "Windows Error".. You can download it here: The Official ImgBurn Website

Another good one to try if that doesn't work is WinSetupfromUSB.. It's shareware but the free trial is all you need to format... It has 2 built in formatting tools so between this app and IMGBURN you should be able to get it converted.. It's available here: How to install from USB- WinSetupFromUSB with GUI - MSFN Forums

And finally if you still can't do it than you can try this simple conversion.. How to convert a FAT16 volume or a FAT32 volume to an NTFS file system in Windows XP

Between those three things hopefully you can get it done..

As for Windows 7's readyboost feature.. I don't know that it works very well, I haven't tried it because I've got 8GB's of ram in my main PC (which has Win 7 RC) so I have no need for it but if you have between 1-2GB's than it may be beneficial to you..

 

[jackluo923]

Try formatting through commandline or through disk manager.

BTW..using readyboost + eboostr 3 is like having an fast intel SSD in my netbook. Increased responsiveness by at least 100% (programs take half the time to load).

 

[stevae]

first, thanks radenight for all of the options. i will jump on it
immediately, and will let you know which one worked.

Try formatting through commandline or through disk manager.

BTW..using readyboost + eboostr 3 is like having an fast intel SSD in my netbook. Increased responsiveness by at least 100% (programs take half the time to load).

second, i am very interested in knowing more about eboostr 3, if that is the case. where do i get it, and is it freeware?

ok, so radenight's second option came through with flying color's!!!

the program: WinSetupFromUSB with GUI - MSFN Forums handled the job easily, and quickly optimized my two usb drives to run fast and clean in the ntfs file format, and with readyboost. now, i just need to know more about that eboostr 3...

so on to more research...

thanks again for all the help!

 

[jackluo923]

second, i am very interested in knowing more about eboostr 3, if that is the case. where do i get it, and is it freeware?

No, eboostr 3 is a paid software. You can download the full featured trial if you want to try it out. It'll only work for the 1st 4 hour after you turn on your computer though. If you like it, you can buy it for $30.

http://www.eboostr.com/

I use eboostr 3 and readyboost at the same time and have very good results.

 

[stevae]

so you are saying that it works for the first four hours after startup, every startup? in other words, you can keep it moving if you restart your system every four hours?

 

[jackluo923]

so you are saying that it works for the first four hours after startup, every startup? in other words, you can keep it moving if you restart your system every four hours?

Yes... at least for now until they release version 4.

But why would you restart your system every 4 hours?

 

[stevae]

isn't that obvious?
if, as you said, it increases responsiveness by 100%, isn't that worth a restart every four hours? my system completely reboots in 68 sec's. i get up grab a beer, a few doritos... when i come back it is up and running like before. what's a 68 sec break, to keep that kind of speed going?

 

[Radenight]

I'd rather spend the 15 minutes doing a reinstall (clean install) (via USB drive) then have to reboot every 4 hours.. But that's just me..

 

[stevae]

aaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnndddddddddddd that would be one way to go as well. lol!! but i think it counts from the start of the op sys, not the start of the drive or the app.

 

[jackluo923]

isn't that obvious?
if, as you said, it increases responsiveness by 100%, isn't that worth a restart every four hours? my system completely reboots in 68 sec's. i get up grab a beer, a few doritos... when i come back it is up and running like before. what's a 68 sec break, to keep that kind of speed going?

I that case, just use a 6 pack worth of money and buy eboostr 3. That way, you don't have to restart ever 4 hours.

 

[Berlin]

How to format a thumbdrive to NTFS

FAT32 can't support files larger than 4GB.
Since Windows GUI won't let you format removable media as NTFS, use the convert command from a command line.
Open up a command prompt, and in the box type:
CD <space>\ (dont type <space> leave a space)
That should give you a prompt that looks like this C:\>
now type convert convert <drive letter:> /FS:NTFS.
so it should look something like this:
C:\> convert <drive letter:> /FS:NTFS
After a few seconds your stick will now be formatted NTFS and you can now copy large files to it.

Hope that helps...