Has Anyone Tried Eboostr?

[Pete_C]

Recently someone (Mike => <Mlegg at G4) wondered if readyboost would be available for XP .

Yes I know there are differences between the Vista and XP memory managers and threading etc which make it so you cannot have true superfetch and true readyboost but I did some checking and found eboostr.

I have been using the trial version for a few days and am wondering if anyone else here has tried it.

It uses a flash drive (actually it handles up to four) up to 4GB (that is 16GB total) as "Cache" to speed up windows bootup (it loads very early on as an NT service) and loading of applications and data.

http://www.besttechie.net/forums/index.php...p;hl=readyboost

Is JSKY's article on Readyboost in Vista.

From what I have experienced eboostr is very similar in some respects

"caches disk reads on the fly and can often speed up data access. Reads from a USB key or other ReadyBoost device are much faster than random reads from a platter on the hard drive."

From what I can tell it caches a copy of files listed in prefetch as well as diskreads during normal operation.

I noticed about a one minute decrease in boot time within two days as well as cutting loading times of many applications in half (especially reloading of ones which you used once and closed ).

I am using it with a cheap ($19 for 4GB) flash drive and would be interested if anyone else has any experience with it.

I have checked everest and it has not moved my swap file from main drive to flash drive.

http://www.eboostr.com/

[JSKY]

No. I never tried it. But it looks and sounds like a good product. I started using ReadyBoost with Vista and I do like how it makes a difference. I wish I could have had something like Eboostr years ago. If it works with XP like RB works with Vista. It would sure be a good program to have.

[Pete_C]

No. I never tried it. But it looks and sounds like a good product. I started using ReadyBoost with Vista and I do like how it makes a difference. I wish I could have had something like Eboostr years ago. If it works with XP like RB works with Vista. It would sure be a good program to have.

I think that other than the fact that the XP kernel does not support superfetch and that this loads as an NT service rather than as part of the kernel it does pretty much the same thing as Readyboost.

So far my impressions are entirely favorable. If it works well on this machine I intend to pay for the full version (so it does not have the four hour limitation) .

I will probably try it out on another slower machine or two first just to see if it helps them too.

[Pete_C]

Well it has been a week.

According to their "Speedmeasure" tool I am at 146% ( a 46% boost in speed ).

I have pretty much concluded that it works a lot like prefetch and superfetch, it takes files (programs and data) which you frequently access and caches them on the flash drive to speed loading times.

While it does not work at the kernel level like the Vista Readyboost (it works as an NT service) it nonetheless loads early enough in the boot sequence to significantly cut boot time ( I get a cold boot in about 45 seconds and reboot about 30 seconds both about a minute less than without it.). Additionally it definitely cuts the loading time on frequently used programs (Firefox loads more quickly this way than with firefox preloader running on an identical unboosted machine) and files; especially if you have a habit of opening and closing the same application or file several times a day (because you do not want to leave it open or do not think you will need it again.)

Overall my impression is very positive. I have nothing bad to say about it.

I have concluded that it does not alter the swap file (some people suggested moving the swap file to a flash drive for improved performance; but most who try this report the flash drive burns out in a week or two due to the constant read / write cycles. Eboostr appears to cache things there and read them, not constantly write to the drive once it has been configured except when prefetch changes require the cache to be updated).

I think that if you still have an XP machine and want faster boot times and faster load times for applications, and have a spare flash drive around it is definitely worth taking the free trial.