Kingston ReadyBoost Compatibility
The ReadyBoost device list is still growing - 364 devices tested so far, 59% of which have worked with Vista ReadyBoost.
Kingston have fared better than average with two thirds of tested devices working successfully. My own DataTraveler Elite has been running a ReadyBoost cache flawlessly for several months now.
A few days ago I received an email from Ron Bartle who pointed out the inconsistency in reports for the DataTraveler range.  Some users had success with the DataTraveler 1 and U3 devices whilst others had received failure notices for the same drives, even those with identical capacities.Â
I contacted Kingston to see if they could shed any light on why that might be. Their reply doesn’t answer that question directly, but points out that there’s only one Kingston device that is officially ReadyBoost compatible:Â
So far there is only one Kingston DataTraveler which is officially compatible with Readyboost which is our DTS.
The reply went on to say that more new ReadyBoost compatible devices are on the way, and that the rest of their existing product line is still in testing for ReadyBoost compatibility.Â
So for now it seems the safe option is to go for the DTS.  If you’re feeling brave you could try the DataTraveler Elite - it’s not officially compatible, but it’s the one I’m using as I write this and it’s had no negative reports so far… and it’s around 30% cheaper than the DTS.
PNY 1G Flash drive would not work as a Ready Boost
drive until I changed folder type from ‘pictures’ to ‘All items’
(in Drive properties)
Comment by Les Hellawell — February 5, 2007 @ 7:21 pm
Sorry should have said PNY Attache in my last
aubmission
Comment by Les Hellawell — February 5, 2007 @ 7:22 pm
Just to clear this one up… the Data Traveller DT1 / 2GB does NOT work for me with Vista. On the list one post says is does and two says no. I think that first post is probably incorrect. Unless he’s doing something we’re not to get it working!
Comment by Tristan Hawkins — February 7, 2007 @ 9:30 am
When I first inserted my Data Traveler into a USB port, nothing happened. I checked the drive’s properties and got a message that the memory was not fast enough. However, it gave me an option to test the drive again, which I did, and now it works perfectly. I have the 1GB U3 model of the Data Traveler.
Comment by Phil Hall — February 10, 2007 @ 6:25 pm
My Kingston Data Traveller DT1/2GB would not work (Vista said not suitable)but when I changed the folder type to “All Items” as suggested by Les Hellawell Feb 5th it now works fine - thanks Les.
Comment by Gerry Marchant — February 25, 2007 @ 10:33 am
I have described on my blog a cool trick for using Readyboost with the DataTraveler and flash drives that might not otherwise meet Vista’s requirements.
See http://thunor.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!71C238B5E0E3724D!206.entry
Comment by DWAnderson — March 6, 2007 @ 7:31 am
Same thing happened for me. First it said it wouldn’t work. I tried the above fix. =)
Just to clarify (cuz I was a little confused when I first read it), right click on the USB drive > properties > customize tab. Then change the setting to “All Items.” I had to remove Apply it, remove the USB stick, re-insert it, re-test it, and now it works fine =D
Comment by Hasan — May 15, 2007 @ 3:23 am
No joy for me using DT1. I tried the fixes above, but does not work for me.
Jim
Comment by JimM — June 20, 2007 @ 1:36 am
I tried a Kingston DataTraveller USB 2.0 drive and it didn’t work with Readyboost–that is until I changed the drive properties to “All Files” and applied the changes to all the subdirectories.
Now it works. Hurrah
Comment by Paul — July 25, 2007 @ 1:21 am
I,m using the Kingston DataTraveller DT1-4GB.How can you tell if its working?Can you check somewhere on the Vista to see what the improvment is?My computer has 2GB of RAM.Am i using too much GB for the ReadyBoost?Thanks this is all new to me so go easy on me.HaHa
Comment by Darren — September 20, 2007 @ 5:32 am
I have the Kingston DataTraveler 100 USB 8 GB drive. Even though the package said it’s not compatible with ReadyBoost, I formatted it NTFS and changed the properties to All Files including subdirectories, then it worked like a charm.
Comment by Christina — September 23, 2007 @ 5:33 pm
I got the DTI/4GB, of course it didn’t work till I formatted it to NTFS, but even then it is reconized as a readyboost compatible but if I restart the computer I have to reconfigure the flash drive. Is this normal?
Comment by William Heth — October 9, 2007 @ 2:23 pm
William - once you’ve got a drive working with ReadyBoost it should continue working after you reboot the machine.
It’ll remain a ReadyBoost device for as long as it’s connected, but if you want to use it for file storage you’ll have to disable it’s use for ReadyBoost (at least if you’re using the whole device for RB).
Is your ReadyBoost feature turning off when you restart your machine? If so, that sounds like a fault somewhere.
Comment by grant — October 10, 2007 @ 7:49 pm
I just switched from Toshiba TransMemory 2GB (no title whatsoever, not even a high-sped label) to Kingston Data Traveler 2 GB with High-Speed label and Windows Logo with writing: “Works With Windows Vista”.
I’m wondering, how long is the lifespan of a flashdisk if you use it as RAM. A year?
Another thing, I wasofered Kingston Data Traveler with Windows Logo and writing: “Enhanced For ReadyBoost” and the price is twice the regular one. is that normal?
Comment by Dmitri Tobias Lessy — November 1, 2007 @ 10:29 am
I’m using a 8 GB flash Drive of Kingston n its stated on the cover and in the website that its compatible with ready boost but it just doesn’t turn up!!
Comment by Raj — May 13, 2009 @ 3:18 pm