4 lesser-known issues I do with outdated USB drives

I’ve a number of outdated USB drives mendacity round. A budget storage answer is most well-known for being a simple technique to retailer Phrase docs and PDFs, however they’ll achieve this far more.

Do you know that with a USB drive you possibly can create an encrypted locker for your whole passwords? If in case you have an outdated USB drive mendacity round, you possibly can simply upcycle it and get extra use out of it. Listed below are the 4 ways in which I wish to upcycle my outdated USB drives.

1

Experiment with a conveyable OS

Be taught a brand new OS akin to Linux with a USB drive and persistence

Linux Mint

Putting in a bootable OS on a USB drive is a breeze. All you will have to do is obtain whichever ISO recordsdata from whichever OS you want, after which use a third-party instrument (I want Rufus) to create a bootable drive. For those who’re utilizing a Home windows-based laptop, you will have to entry your laptop’s UEFI/BIOS, which may be executed by urgent the designated key (usually your F1 key, however examine your producer first) at startup. When you’re within the BIOS, search for a tab referred to as boot order, and choose the USB drive.

The method is definitely a bit easier on macOS, as you will not have to obtain Rufus or any third-party applications, and might do your entire course of, together with booting from the USB drive with the built-in macOS Disk Utility characteristic. You will nonetheless have to obtain the OS ISO recordsdata to your USB flash drive, after which plug the drive in and entry the Disk Utility utility.

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2

Play your favourite video games

You may also retailer and run video games straight on a USB drive

Nintendo

Along with storing and working an OS from a USB drive, you are able to do the identical factor together with your favourite video games. It is a simple technique to journey together with your favourite video games, and it means that you can run video games on a pc with out having to put in video games on a number of computer systems.

You may also simply transfer video games from Steam to your USB drive and play them straight from there. Nonetheless, you will want a USB drive that’s each quick and has a number of house. I like to recommend utilizing any drive that’s licensed USB 3.0 or increased for velocity and to ensure you have sufficient house to your video games.

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3

Automate file backups

Do not lose essential recordsdata

Google / Pocket-lint

There are extra methods than ever to again up essential recordsdata and folders which you could’t afford to lose. Nonetheless, one of many easiest methods to again up what’s most essential to you, is through the use of a USB drive as a backup location. One of many main advantages of utilizing a USB drive to again up recordsdata, is which you could then entry your most essential recordsdata from anyplace, due to the compact portability of USB drives.

The best means to do that is to make use of a third-party backup program. I personally have been utilizing Arconis True Image to do that, however remember that Arconis will not be free and can run you $50/12 months.

On each Home windows and macOS, you possibly can at all times manually backup recordsdata by way of drag and drop from the file tree, however in order for you the power to rapidly and mechanically backup recordsdata to a USB drive, you will need a third-party program.

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Create a conveyable media library with hundreds of songs

Whereas there are a number of high-tech methods to create a private media library — akin to making a NAS or Plex server — one of many easiest methods to create a conveyable media library is with a easy USB drive. Now that there are USB drives in the marketplace which might be able to as much as 1TB or storage that you should use for a variety of flicks, music, and e-books to take them anyplace with you.

It is an effective way to have the ability to entry your media from a number of computer systems, and it makes touring together with your favourite media straightforward. You do not have to fret about carrying additional drives in your bag or fear about whether or not you will have web entry, as every thing you need to carry may be saved regionally on the USB drive.