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When you think of a USB flash drive, you probably only see it as a portable device for storing and transferring files between computers. USB drives are perfect for this since they’re affordable, easy to carry, and offer plug-and-play functionality across most devices. But you don’t have to limit your USB flash drives to just storage or recovery — there are plenty of other ways to use them.

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With the right software and configuration, you can use a USB drive for all kinds of purposes. These include using it as an offline password manager, turning it into a portable operating system, or even using it as a security key to unlock your Windows or Mac computer. In this guide, we’ve put together a few ways you can use USB drives beyond just storing files. Some of them might leave you surprised at just how useful a USB flash drive can be.

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Using a password manager app on your phone or computer is a convenient way to store and access your passwords. However, if you often need to use them on shared computers, such as those at school or work, installing your password manager may not be ideal. Instead, you can use programs like StickyPassword or Enpass to carry a portable password manager on a USB flash drive. This way, your USB drive will act as a portable encrypted vault for your credentials, and you will be able to access them safely on any computer. 

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Most of these tools offer the option to import data from other password managers, so you won’t have to start from scratch when setting up your portable password manager. Once your USB flash drive is ready, you can simply plug it into any PC and access your passwords without having to install anything. This can also be handy if you prefer to keep your passwords offline and not on servers. Since these tools require a master password to unlock, your credentials will be safe even if you lose or misplace the USB drive. 

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You don’t necessarily need to own multiple computers or laptops to run separate operating systems. With the right tools, it’s possible to boot an operating system directly from a USB flash drive without having to install it on your PC’s hard drive. This is a great way to try out new operating systems without fully committing to them. Creating a bootable USB drive also lets you carry the operating system — along with the installed apps, files, and other data — wherever you go. 

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To do this, you first need to format the USB flash drive and then download the ISO file of the operating system you want to run, be it Windows, Linux or any other operating system. Make sure you pick a fast USB drive, preferably USB 3.0 or higher, so your system runs smoothly. You can then use a tool like Rufus to turn your USB drive into a bootable drive. The exact steps vary depending on what operating system you’re trying to install, but the process is generally straightforward.

Once you’ve prepared the USB drive, you can plug it into a computer and boot your operating system from it. It’s also possible to install multiple bootable operating systems on a single stick using tools like YUMI and XBoot. This way, you’ll be able to run different operating systems with the same computer hardware.

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If you don’t want to carry an entire operating system on your USB flash drive, you can use it to store portable versions of your favorite programs and games instead. This will let you plug the flash drive into any computer and run your programs directly from it, which is handy if you often switch between computers and need to use specific software on different machines. For example, having a portable version of Chrome on your USB drive will let take your browser and all its data with you wherever you go.

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To achieve this, you simply need to download portable versions of programs you want to use and store them on your USB flash drive. Alternatively, you can use a portable app suite like PortableApps, which lets you install, manage and update your programs from one place. You can create a USB drive for portable apps on both Windows and Mac, and there are all kinds of useful portable programs, including browsers, photo editing tools, and antivirus software. You’ll find popular programs like Libre Office, GIMP, VLC Media Player, TeamViewer and more. 

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Your computer likely includes a lot of sensitive information and files that you’d like to keep secure at all costs. While setting up a login password or PIN helps, manually entering a complex password every time can be tedious. Plus, there’s always a risk of your password being compromised in public places. A better solution is to convert your USB flash drive into a digital key for logging into your PC. 

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There are several programs, like USB Raptor, Predator, and Rohos Logon Key Free, that can help you turn your USB flash drive into a security key. Some even let your use the same USB drive with multiple computers if you choose a premium plan. Once your security key is set up, you can simply plug it in to log into your computer and unplug it to lock it immediately – like you would use a physical key to lock or unlock your car. 

It’s important, though, not to lose the USB drive you use to lock and unlock your PC. That’s because recovery is usually more difficult than simply resetting the password.

Most modern computers have solid-state drives instead of hard-disk drives because SSDs are faster, smaller, and noiseless. However, if you have an old Windows computer with an HDD, you can use a USB flash drive to improve its performance. All you need is a USB drive with at least 500 MB of storage capacity. 

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Your Windows computer includes a feature called ReadyBoost, which lets you use a USB flash drive to store supplementary cache storage. This way, Windows can store temporary files, app data and user data to the flash drive instead of the hard drive. Since flash drives have no moving parts and are typically faster, Windows will be able to store and access files quicker. 

Using ReadyBoost is fairly straightforward. To get started, insert your USB drive into your PC and then open File Explorer. Then, find your USB drive, right-click it and select Properties. Finally, switch to the ReadyBoost tab and select the “Dedicate this Device to ReadyBoost” or “Use this device” option. If your PC’s hard drive is already fast or if the USB flash drive isn’t suitable, Windows will display a message and won’t let you use this feature, eliminating any guesswork. 

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All in all, using ReadyBoost is an excellent way to boost your PC’s performance without upgrading the hardware. However, the level of improvement may vary depending on your PC’s configuration and Windows version.