I was given a HP TouchSmart 15-g069cl Notebook PC which came with Windows 8.1 64-bit. I re-did it with Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit and got it completely up to date. It came with an AMD A8-6410 APU processor and 8 GB of DDR3 RAM and a 750 GB 2.5" HDD. My plan was to switch to a 500 GB 2.5" SSD, but it requires taking the laptop apart to gain access to the bay, and I do not have the knowledge and skill to do that. It also supports only 8 GB of RAM, so I have no option to add more. It has a card reader, so I inserted a Sandisk 4 GB SDHC card and dedicated it to ReadyBoost use. Does this really work at improving speed and performance, or is it just snake oil? I remember all the hype about it when Windows Vista was released, but I never actually tried it.
The only thing that makes it a bit faster is HDD => SSD. The win is about three times but the ReadyBoost is useless.
A screwdriver is all the skill needed to do a such basic task, like replacing a hdd. In the worst case technicians are there to help people too scared to learn or risk. Whatever the ready-boost thing, especially on non dedicated HW is a waste of time and money.
Thanks for the comments and advice from the 3 of you. I will remove the SDHC card and use it as a spare for my digital camera.