ReadyDrive (not to be confused with ReadyBoost) is a feature of Windows Vista that enables Windows Vista computers equipped with a hybrid drive or other flash memory caches (such as Intel Turbo Memory) to boot up faster, resume from hibernation in less time, and preserve battery power. Hybrid hard drives are a new type of hard disk that integrates non-volatile flash memory with a traditional hard drive. The drive-side functionality is expected to be standardized in ATA-8.
It was reported in eWeek that the technology is not being utilized to full extent due to lack of hybrid drive-specific drivers for the hybrid drives and instead delegated the job to the device manufacturers. However, Microsoft rebuffed the suggestion that it was not providing specialized drivers for hybrid systems. Also, in June 2006, David Morgenstern wrote an article for eWeek suggesting that ReadyDrive might sacrifice data integrity for speed and battery savings. Documentation from Microsoft, however, claims that a copy of the data is always maintained on the hard disk, so there is no question of data loss even if the flash cache fails.
Read more about this topic: Windows Vista I/O Technologies