Solve : Swap file on flash drive??

1.	Solve : Swap file on flash drive??
Answer» I've heard that putting the Windows XP swap file on a separate partition, on a separate hard drive, can improve performance. So here's an IDEA: How about getting a 1-gig flash drive, plugging it into the back of the PC, and putting the swap file on that? I'm thinking that a flash drive would be faster than a hard drive. What do you folks think? Is this a good idea, or a bad one?How would the flash drive be connected? By USB?A flash drive would not be faster than a BIG powerful hard drive.Thanks for the replies. Yes, the flash drive would be connected by USB. I'd plug it into the back of the PC and leave it there forever. I'm a bit SURPRISED to hear that a flash drive wouldn't be faster than a hard drive. I've never tested it one way or the other, but it just seems that since a flash drive has no moving parts, it would have to be faster. But again, I'm just taking a guess about this. This was just an idea, and I'm probably going to forget about it. I'm thinking that if it offered any real gains, someone else would have thought of it by now, and there would be some MENTION of it on various websites. The fact that I couldn't find anything written about it, and the fact that no one here chimed in to say "Hey, great idea," makes me think that it doesn't have a lot of potential. Thanks for helping me think it through. Ive seen it done, but I am a pessimist not an optimist...... what happens if the thumb drive dies?? what happens if it gets bent....not something Id like to encounter..but Im sure youd make a backup of the file somewhere... Quote Ive seen it done, but I am a pessimist not an optimist...... what happens if the thumb drive dies?? what happens if it gets bent....not something Id like to encounter..but Im sure youd make a backup of the file somewhere... A re-boot to Safe-Mode and resetting the location of the swap file would cure this... But i think GX is correct...the transfer speeds on a newer HDD would still be faster. patio. 8-)I don't think information can travel very faster over USB. Quote it just seems that since a flash drive has no moving parts, it would have to be faster. You need to understand the term "bottleneck". No matter how fast the drive can produce the information, it cannot be transferred to the computer faster than the USB 2 connection allows. A connection from a hard drive to a motherboard is bound to be faster.Well I have a few thumb drives and a usb hdd. I think the SLOWNESS has more to do with the thumbdrives. they a terribly slow in comparrison to a usb pocket hdd I have, it is quite fast almost as fast as the internal hdd. does the swapfile have to be on a seperate partition? can it be a logical partition?And let's not forget that flash drives don't last "forever", like a harddisk. They have a certain number of writes... After that... God have mercy

Answer»

I've heard that putting the Windows XP swap file on a separate partition, on a separate hard drive, can improve performance.

So here's an IDEA: How about getting a 1-gig flash drive, plugging it into the back of the PC, and putting the swap file on that? I'm thinking that a flash drive would be faster than a hard drive.

What do you folks think? Is this a good idea, or a bad one?How would the flash drive be connected? By USB?A flash drive would not be faster than a BIG powerful hard drive.Thanks for the replies. Yes, the flash drive would be connected by USB. I'd plug it into the back of the PC and leave it there forever.

I'm a bit SURPRISED to hear that a flash drive wouldn't be faster than a hard drive. I've never tested it one way or the other, but it just seems that since a flash drive has no moving parts, it would have to be faster. But again, I'm just taking a guess about this.

This was just an idea, and I'm probably going to forget about it. I'm thinking that if it offered any real gains, someone else would have thought of it by now, and there would be some MENTION of it on various websites. The fact that I couldn't find anything written about it, and the fact that no one here chimed in to say "Hey, great idea," makes me think that it doesn't have a lot of potential. Thanks for helping me think it through.
Ive seen it done, but I am a pessimist not an optimist...... what happens if the thumb drive dies??
what happens if it gets bent....not something Id like to encounter..but Im sure youd make a backup of the file somewhere... Quote

Ive seen it done, but I am a pessimist not an optimist...... what happens if the thumb drive dies??
what happens if it gets bent....not something Id like to encounter..but Im sure youd make a backup of the file somewhere...

A re-boot to Safe-Mode and resetting the location of the swap file would cure this...
But i think GX is correct...the transfer speeds on a newer HDD would still be faster.

patio. 8-)I don't think information can travel very faster over USB. Quote

it just seems that since a flash drive has no moving parts, it would have to be faster.

You need to understand the term "bottleneck". No matter how fast the drive can produce the information, it cannot be transferred to the computer faster than the USB 2 connection allows. A connection from a hard drive to a motherboard is bound to be faster.Well I have a few thumb drives and a usb hdd. I think the SLOWNESS has more to do with the thumbdrives. they a terribly slow in comparrison to a usb pocket hdd I have, it is quite fast almost as fast as the internal hdd. does the swapfile have to be on a seperate partition? can it be a logical partition?And let's not forget that flash drives don't last "forever", like a harddisk. They have a certain number of writes... After that... God have mercy

Solve : Swap file on flash drive??

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