Points to Remember before going to the procedure:
1.You must be logged in as administrator to make the necessary changes.
2.It is very important not to remove your pen drive while it is being used as RAM i.e., while the system is running. Only remove it after you have shut down your system.
3.Format the pen drive before and after its use as RAM
Procedure to use USB pen drive as RAM in Windows XP:
1.Connect your pen drive to the system and allow the computer to read it.
2.Take back up of your data and format it.
3.Right click on My Computer and then click Properties.
4.In the properties window, click on Advanced Tab.
5.Click on Settings button in the Performance section.
6.Now click on Advanced Tab in the performance options window.
7.Then click on Change button in the Virtual Memory section.
8.Make sure that "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" is not selected.
9.Now, select your pen drive from the drive list and click Custom size.
10.Now based on the size of your pen drive, give the initial and maximum sizes and click OK.
11.You will be asked to restart your computer to make the necessary changes.
12.Restart the system and see your flash memory used as virtual memory.
Procedure to use USB pen drive as RAM in Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8:
1.You can follow above procedure even in Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.
2.To go to Advanced Tab in the properties, go to Computer, right click in the Computer. Select Properties from the context menu. In the next window, Select Advanced System Settings from the list available on the left side.
3.Now continue from the Step 5 above.
Alternative procedure to use USB pen drive as RAM in Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8: Using Ready Boost feature.
Ready Boost feature is first introduced in Vista and then continued to Windows 7 and 8 operating systems. Using this feature you can use your pen drive as virtual memory more easily.
1.Connect your pen drive to the system and format it after taking a back-up of your data and format it.
2.Then right click on your pen drive and click on Properties.
3.Now click on Ready Boost tab. There are 3 options available –
•Do not use this device: This option is selected by default.
•Dedicate this this device to Ready Boost: If you select this option, the complete available memory in pen drive will be used by the feature.
•Use this device: By selecting this option you can use the memory as per your wish.
4.Then click on OK and then Apply. That's it.
