4 lesser-known issues I do with outdated USB drive...

I’ve lots of outdated USB drives mendacity round. A budget storage resolution is most well-known for being a simple approach to retailer Phrase docs and PDFs, however they’ll accomplish that rather more.

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 When you’ve got an outdated USB drive mendacity round, you possibly can simply upcycle it and get extra use out of it. Listed below are the 4 ways in which I prefer to upcycle my outdated USB drives.

1

Experiment with a transportable OS

Study a brand new OS resembling Linux with a USB drive and persistence

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 need, after which use a third-party software (I choose Rufus) to create a bootable drive. For those who’re utilizing a Home windows-based pc, you may have to entry your pc’s UEFI/BIOS, which might be completed by urgent the designated key (usually your F1 key, however verify 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 the complete 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 software.

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2

Play your favourite video games

You can too retailer and run video games immediately on a USB drive

Nintendo

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

You can too simply transfer video games from Steam to your USB drive and play them immediately from there. Nonetheless, you may want a USB drive that’s each quick and has lots of area. I like to recommend utilizing any drive that’s licensed USB 3.0 or increased for pace and to ensure you have sufficient area in 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 can’t afford to lose. Nonetheless, 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 major advantages of utilizing a USB drive to again up recordsdata, is which you can then entry your most essential recordsdata from anyplace, because of 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 bear in mind that Arconis shouldn’t be free and can run you $50/yr.

On each Home windows and macOS, you possibly can all the time manually backup recordsdata by way of drag and drop from the file tree, however if you would like the power to rapidly and mechanically backup recordsdata to a USB drive, you may need a third-party program.

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Create a transportable media library with hundreds of songs

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

It is a good way to have the ability to entry your media from a number of computer systems, and it makes touring along 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 may have web entry, as all the things you wish to deliver might be saved domestically on the USB drive.