4 lesser-known issues I do with previous USB drives

I’ve a variety of previous USB drives mendacity round. A budget storage resolution is most well-known for being a straightforward approach 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 entire passwords? If in case you have an previous 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 previous USB drives.

1

Experiment with a conveyable OS

Study a brand new OS reminiscent of Linux with a USB drive and endurance

Linux Mint

Putting in a bootable OS on a USB drive is a breeze. All you may have to do is obtain whichever ISO recordsdata from whichever OS you want, after which use a third-party device (I favor Rufus) to create a bootable drive. If you happen to’re utilizing a Home windows-based pc, you may have to entry your pc’s UEFI/BIOS, which will be achieved by urgent the designated key (sometimes your F1 key, however test your producer first) at startup. When you’re within the BIOS, search for a tab known as boot order, and choose the USB drive.

The method is definitely a bit less complicated on macOS, as you will not have to obtain Rufus or any third-party applications, and might do all the course of, together with booting from the USB drive with the built-in macOS Disk Utility function. 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

It’s also possible to 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 straightforward approach to journey together with your favourite video games, and it permits you to run video games on a pc with out having to put in video games on a number of computer systems.

It’s also possible to simply transfer video games from Steam to your USB drive and play them straight from there. Nevertheless, you may want a USB drive that’s each quick and has a variety of area. I like to recommend utilizing any drive that’s licensed USB 3.0 or greater for pace and to be sure you have sufficient area on your video games.

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3

Automate file backups

Do not lose important recordsdata

Google / Pocket-lint

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

The best approach 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 shouldn’t be free and can run you $50/yr.

On each Home windows and macOS, you possibly can at all times manually backup recordsdata through drag and drop from the file tree, however if you would like the flexibility to rapidly and routinely backup recordsdata to a USB drive, you may desire a third-party program.

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Create a conveyable media library with hundreds of songs

Whereas there are a variety of high-tech methods to create a private media library — reminiscent of 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 available on the market which are able to as much as 1TB or storage that you should utilize for a variety of flicks, music, and e-books to take them wherever 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 simple. You do not have to fret about carrying additional drives in your bag or fear about whether or not you may have web entry, as all the things you need to deliver will be saved regionally on the USB drive.