Abstract
- Experiment with a transportable OS: the method of booting OS from a USB drive on is simple each Home windows and macOS.
- Run video games instantly from a USB drive, guaranteeing you have got adequate house and pace.
- Make the most of the USB drive to again up vital recordsdata with packages like Acronis True Picture.
I’ve a variety of outdated USB drives mendacity round. A budget storage resolution is most well-known for being a simple solution to retailer Phrase docs and PDFs, however they’ll accomplish that far more.
Do you know that with a USB drive you may create an encrypted locker for all your passwords? In case you have an outdated USB drive mendacity round, you may simply upcycle it and get extra use out of it. Listed here are the 4 ways in which I wish to upcycle my outdated USB drives.
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1
Experiment with a transportable OS
Be taught 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 will have to do is obtain whichever ISO recordsdata from whichever OS you want, after which use a third-party instrument (I favor Rufus) to create a bootable drive. Should you’re utilizing a Home windows-based pc, you will have to entry your pc’s UEFI/BIOS, which might be carried out 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 packages, and might do the whole course of, together with booting from the USB drive with the built-in macOS Disk Utility function. You may 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 can too retailer and run video games instantly 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 solution 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.
You can too simply transfer video games from Steam to your USB drive and play them instantly from there. Nonetheless, you will want a USB drive that’s each quick and has a variety of house. I like to recommend utilizing any drive that’s licensed USB 3.0 or greater for pace and to be sure to have sufficient house to 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 vital recordsdata and folders which you can’t afford to lose. Nonetheless, one of many easiest methods to again up what’s most vital 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 vital recordsdata from anyplace, due to the compact portability of USB drives.
The simplest means to do that is to make use of a third-party backup program. I personally have been utilizing Arconis True Picture to do that, however remember that Arconis will not be free and can run you $50/yr.
I again up a considerable amount of private accounting recordsdata in addition to pictures, so the subscription is price it for me.
On each Home windows and macOS, you may at all times manually backup recordsdata through drag and drop from the file tree, however if you would like the power to rapidly and robotically backup recordsdata to a USB drive, you will need a third-party program.
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Create a transportable media library with 1000’s of songs
Whereas there are a variety 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 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 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 together with your favourite media straightforward. You do not have to fret about carrying further drives in your bag or fear about whether or not you will have web entry, as every part you need to carry might be saved regionally on the USB drive.
