What's on Your USB Pen Drive? 172
gmhowell asks: "With the popularity of USB pen drives, I've thought it time to join the crowd and get one. But I'm curious as to what is so important that you should always have a copy. Clearly PuTTY or your favorite SSH client is important. Perhaps with some keys. But what else? A copy of your browser cookies? MP3s? Pictures? What other software is smart enough to run from a portable medium without need for an installation? (Yup, MAME and z26 seem like likely candidates)."
The obvious answer... (Score:2, Funny)
Has anyone found a decent Linux distribution, which fits in 32 Mb (i.e. any smartdisk)? By decent I mean, a desktop distro, with say KDE or Gnome, and all your basic tools. It also would be useful if it could boot directly from windoze or DOS (loadlin?) as well as boot from the smartdisk (is this possible?).
I know there's knoppix out there, but you need to repackage it. Has anyone done this (and keeps the distro up to date?)
Re:The obvious answer... (Score:2)
Re:The obvious answer... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:The obvious answer... (Score:2)
What might be a better idea is to leave your machine at home and networked, and have VNC on your USB pen drive to connect directly to it from whatever machine you're using.
Some machines _can_ boot from USB devices, some can't - it depends on your hardware (BIOS issues). Some USB pen drives can boot only from Windows machines, others can boot from Windows or Linux. Not sure about Mac.
Transcend has models that are 1Gig. (Score:2)
Re:Transcend has models that are 1Gig. (Score:2)
Re:The obvious answer... (Score:1)
Erm, what exactly do you mean with Windows machines here? And why would you want to boot from an operating system? I thought booting was usually into an OS?
Re:The obvious answer... (Score:2)
Re:The obvious answer... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:The obvious answer... (Score:2)
Puppy linux for starters (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.goosee.com/puppy/
Mesh-AP fits in 32MB and incorporates an ad-hoc WiFi mesh and an Opera browser
http://www.locustworld.com/
Trinux fits in a floppy with heavy duty security functions
http://www.trinux.org/
Re:Puppy linux for starters (Score:3, Funny)
Here's how to make a link: (this works in either Plain Old Text or HTML Formatted slashdot posting modes, I'm posting this in Extrans so you can SEE the tags)
<a href="URL HERE">DESCRIPTION HERE</a>
Here's a real one:
<a href="http://slashdot.org/">Hot Dupes DAILY!!!!!!</a>
Isn't that easy?
Re:The obvious answer... (Score:1)
Tom's Root Boot (Score:1)
http://www.toms.net/rb/ [toms.net]
damnsmalllinux 50 MB (Score:2)
But i am not sure ho to boot it from the pendisk. i didnt manage to boot from my pendrive. (i have a asus p4pe Mobo).
loadlin (or linload?) should be able to boot it from real-mode dos.
Re:MOD PARENT TROLL (Score:2, Informative)
Re:MOD PARENT TROLL (Score:1)
Cradle of Filth (Score:2, Interesting)
And a few PGP keys.
Nice.
Storage or transportation? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Storage or transportation? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Storage or transportation? (Score:3, Informative)
That's what I use mine for (Score:2)
As a result, I have two options for transferring files between my work desktop and my own laptop:
a) Bring the laptop elsewhere to plug it in to the network
b) Use my USB keychain drive
Take a guess which of the above I do most often.
I also use it to provide a Knoppix persistent home directory.
Re:That's what I use mine for (Score:2)
Please (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Please (Score:2)
Re:Please (Score:1)
Re:Please (Score:2)
2. You can fit about 320 JPEG images weighing in at around ~95 KB into 32MB (I padded for FS overhead)
3. PROFIT!
Re:Please (Score:2)
school work (Score:4, Informative)
unxutils! (Score:4, Informative)
rather than clutter up the registry of every windows computer i'll ever use (joke here), i use unxutils [sourceforge.net], which has a great command line interface. along with cli gpg and my ssh keys, my usb keychain is of great use to me when i'm away from my powerbook.
Password Safe (Score:4, Interesting)
I now store my password safe database on my pen drive and just plug it into a USB slot when I need it--since I'm one of those geeks with a keychain equivalent to George's Wallet (Seinfeld)--it's always with me wherever I am.
I also store various utilities that I use from day-to-day, and made it bootable so that I can boot from it on ailing workstations when I need to.
Pocomail (Score:2)
If I had one... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:If I had one... (Score:2)
Wish I had these in college! (Score:2)
Also, back in my day (and I only finished my undergrad degree in 1998), most people didn't have fast network connections in their residence yet, so I would download large files to my shell account at school and head over with a stack of floppies to copy the files, then head back home and hope that the
Music , of course (Score:2)
what I'd do (Score:4, Insightful)
Cookies? Please. Try _bookmarks_. Definitely.
One's preferred text editor. Compression tools (zip, bzip2, etc.).
Perhaps some critical files for 'off-site' backups: your resume, a copy of your network settings, your address book, etc. The garbage file you snagged from that Gibson.
A network tool or tool(s), a virus scanner. Disk partitioning tools (PartitionMagic if you're a Windows user). A copy of your favourite games (BZFlag, GLTron).
Make this thing bootable, too, just in case, as some machines can boot off these things now. Yay!
Re:what I'd do (Score:5, Funny)
[MODE=MSFT]
For my portable eXPerience, I like to keep My Favorites in My USB Drive. This gives me access to My Websites, at any of My Computers. When I plug in My USB Drive - it even shows up as an icon in Microsoft Windows Explorer - Built with Spyglass Technology in under a second.
It's truly My Favorite. Even My Dog agrees with me, because I won't feed him if he doesen't.
Re:what I'd do (Score:2)
Microsoft sent me a couple of these to me a few months ago, unasked and unexpected. A ton of my co workers got them too. 32MB. They came preloaded with the Microsoft Partner Readiness toolkit.
no kidding.
I'm scared to plug it into my Linux box. I think the first time I do it'll just explode or something.
l0phtcrack (Score:1)
Discount on Dell USB drive (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Discount on Dell USB drive (Score:2)
To avoid the spammer's link... (Score:2)
311-3729
You'll get 1 hit back...that's your item. Sale runs until Monday...yes, it's a Dell sale so you don't need to use the spam link for the discount.
quicken backup, etc... (Score:5, Informative)
I love it - I bought a 128MB and it is just about perfect. I carry it around like a pocket knife :)
I got my dad to buy one to backup his files while hes on the road. And I just had to have one after setting his up for him and such. If you DONT have one - go get one, really...
Duke
Re:quicken backup, etc... (Score:2)
Re:quicken backup, etc... (Score:2)
traffic (Score:2)
works well that way.
but i made a mistake and lost 8MB of my 32MB key to a bad tool. anyone know of a way to repartition my key to reclaim all 32MB? (my options are open.
Cleaning your USB drive (Score:2, Informative)
So obviously this is an MS-only tip -- but you can alter your folder options to show hidden/ os-protected files, and all the junk will show up. Just delete it, and you have your space back (no negative side-effects that I noticed).
Alas, that drive was somehow left on a dr
Win98 drivers? (Score:2)
Is it possible to backport the drivers from WinME? Does a good universal driver exist for usb storage devices?
As a tip to those using Linux and MacOS: OS X w/out EXT2 support will attempt to interpret a single-partition usb stor
use fdisk (Score:2)
Re:use fdisk (Score:2)
Re:Article (Score:2)
CVS (Score:3, Interesting)
I also reserve about 30MB for a FAT partition; file transfers between work and my connectionless old HP Vectra.
my 64meg drive... (Score:2)
I also have copies of my favorite software, aim 4.8 + aim+ (5.x doesn't play with aim+ well), the distributed.net [distributed.net] client, putty, tightvnc, winamp, etc.
and thirdly, i carry a copy of my website, in case i need it, or other backup medians are not available.
Re:my 64meg drive... (Score:2)
--In addition, I put:
o Copy of Opera web browser static
o Partition Magic 7.01
o A loopback filesystem for Linux.
o Putty for Windows (there's also a Linux version out in case you didn't know.)
Everything that you might want immediately. (Score:4, Interesting)
1. Important documents. Mostly my poetry and fiction writing.
2. Funny little pictures I find on the net. I might want to show them to someone.
3. My irc software (mirc, in this case)
4. My Firebird and Thunderbird profiles. Finally, roaming profiles!
5. Copies of Firebird and Thunderbird. (so if I'm on a dialup computer, it doesn't take me very long to get up and running.
6. Backups of important files from both home and work. Just in case I lose the original, or need that file.
Very useful things, for the roaming profile alone.
Nothing! It's just a geek toy (Score:5, Insightful)
Of course then the cover (the plastic part with the hole that you use to put it on a keyring, which probably costs about 40 cents wholesale) broke and now I can't even find the damn thing.
- adam
Files for my USB dongle (Score:1)
It has:
* a bootable DOS partition and a number of DOS tools for disks, etc. It doesn't boot with many BIOS'es, but it does for some.
* I have a couple of floppy disk images and floppy disk tools.
* I keep PGP installers for a variety of operating systems.
* I have a small PGP disk that I have a current copy of my contacts, and some other private files.
I use IMAP now for email, so I don't need to store email on it,
honestly? (Score:1)
i use it for every damn thing. (Score:3, Interesting)
Work: Its fantastic for transferring/working with hughe documents and mailing lists the you dont want to put up on the network, also its fantastic for transferring peoples slightly outsized power point presentations and whatnot from their laptops, to the computer of the person theyre workig with, especially when its a personal laptop with no way of connecting to the netowrk.
Essentially, i use it for anything that wont fit on a floppy, or anything i want to have with me on a moments notice. I think theyre the greatist thing since sliced bread.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:cool app that doesn't exist (Score:2)
What I've got on mine... (Score:1)
Around 2 inches of dust.
Drivers, drivers, drivers (Score:1)
Re:Drivers, drivers, drivers (Score:1)
PLEASE remember... (Score:5, Insightful)
If you've got a key you tend to use from only one place (i.e. work->home), consider prefixing the authorized_hosts line with a from="some.hostname.com" as well. This will prevent the key being used from a different IP by someone who "borrows" your keychain.
Re:PLEASE remember... (Score:2)
Re:PLEASE remember... (Score:2)
Re:PLEASE remember... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:PLEASE remember... (Score:2, Insightful)
</paranoid>
recommendations (Score:2)
Or are they all pretty much the same?
Re:recommendations (Score:2)
got to storage->hard drives, they are listed by size.
SlowSync (Score:2)
Just a few lines of shell script and a cron job at each end, and you can populate your keychain with 32, 64, however many megs of files at a go every night and drop them off at work in the morning. If you're the kind who plugs your keychain into your system at work and home already, the copy process can be completely transparent.
I set up my scripts late last year. With a ti
What's in Your Wallet, er Drive (Score:3, Informative)
/proj - source checkouts for personal projects under active development. Dedicated Eclipse workbench and tailored shortcut for launching eclipse. This lets me have one ide for java, python, documentation, websites, xml/xsl, etc.
/xfer - file transfer/holding area for moving stuff between locations/systems
/linux - aliases, scripts, must have utils
/win32 - gvim, dedicated profiles for thunderbird and firebird. Installs (but not installed) for putty, winzip, firebird (instant browser!)
Note, Putty is registry dependent, and the workaround for using it on a pen drive is too painful for everyday use. I love Putty, but it doesn't live on my pen drive. I wish it would
Having firebird and thunderbird profiles on the pen drive means that I can have firebird/tbird installs live on work/home/laptop machines but always keep my data off the boxes and in my hands. I keep my bookmarks in my
knoppix.img, my $home (Score:2)
knoppix=/dev/sda1/knoppix.img
and my desktop is set up.
I don't have a pen drive, but... (Score:2)
Probably not really a feasable use, (version differences in any apps would cause config file hell) but a nice thought.
porn (Score:3, Funny)
Putty! Of course! (Score:2)
I've been using it since I switched to an SSH-only web host last year, and I've always been 'troubled' by the fact that I wouldn't be able to get onto the server from another PC with a standard telnet client.
Being the quick-thinking genius that I am it never occurred to me to just keep a copy of Putty (plus key) on my pen drive! And even typing this, I wonder why I never thought to just put it on a floppy! (Which actually makes more sense, seeing a
Re:Putty! Of course! (Score:2)
Just google putty and download the main executable.
Of course, that doesn't solve the key issue...
My pen drive (Score:1)
* Emulators -- ePSXe [epsxe.com] being the key one. Nothing like being able to pop a PSX into the computer you're at by just finding a USB port. ZSNES (with Dragon Warrior 5 and 6 fantranslations) and a GB/NES emu as well. Not as interested in MAME as ZSNES, as you can fit more SNES games (and they're just about as fun) as Arcade games in the same space.
* Httrack, or at the very least a mirror of my favorite Japanese Manga artist's
Useful Nuggets (Score:2, Interesting)
1) compression tools
2) encryption tools
3) a few graphic tools
4) secure file deletion tools
5) tiny web server
6) tiny ftp server
7) tiny irc server
8) tiny
four things (Score:2)
Nethack and Angband! (Score:2)
I keep... (Score:3, Informative)
My Windows XP EFS keys (hey, if any of you are using encyrpting file system on Windows, make sure that you export the keys and store them somewhere. Because if you can't get windows to boot for some reason, even if you know your password and have access to the hard drive, there's no supported way to decrypt the files without having previously exported the keys.)
and PGP key.
Small files I'd be really upset to lose, like midi or tablature for a bunch of songs I wrote.
And a whole bunch of MP3s, since my drive is also an MP3 player!
The thing is, anywhere you'd care to use putty, it's probably easier to just download it from the internet, since it's just one file. (Maybe it would be sensible to store some "offline" apps on it, but I don't have any I care for..)
Nothin much (Score:2)
I would love to be able to store actual stuff and use them at my "educational" institution, but they have limited our access to the machines so much, that I would need to basically manually reinstall windows components and bring my own drivers to get the key to work!
How can you easily mount/unmount under GNU/Linux? (Score:2)
How can you easily mount/unmount a pen drive under GNU/Linux (Red Hat 9, to be more specific)? Ideally, I'd like to pop one in, the system would recognize what filesystem I'm using on it, mount it, and make an icon appear on the desktop so I can use it from the GUI. Later, when I want to remove it from the machine, I'd pick "eject" or somesuch. I can mount and unmount the pen drive by issuing commands as root, but I'd like to do this more conveniently and without root privilege or using the CLI. Thanks
Re:How can you easily mount/unmount under GNU/Linu (Score:3, Informative)
- automount
- hotplug architecture
- kde3 has nice option to put new mounted filesystems on desktop as icons, see prefs.
Re:How can you easily mount/unmount under GNU/Linu (Score:2)
Re:How can you easily mount/unmount under GNU/Linu (Score:2)
Trillian (Score:3, Informative)
Somebody even set up a website with step-by-step instructions
Trillian Anywhere [trilliananywhere.com]
Bookmarks list. (Score:2)
Tangential to the Topic, but... (Score:2)
Only $35 for 128MB at Googlegear. [googlegear.com]
Knoppix on a CD and /home on the usb drive (Score:3, Insightful)
Boot off the knoppix cd and mount the home dir on the usb drive.
This is the way to go, and you can have all the software you should need.
How resilient? (Score:2)
Uses I've thought of include giving hi-res pictures to people on dialup (most of my family), taking Windows updates over to mom's house instead of waiting on her dialup.. Software for work that I curre
Re:How resilient? (Score:2)
As far as the distros go, I've been looking for a
Re:How resilient? (Score:2, Informative)
Why, a micro linux distro of course (Score:2)
Other than that, I have a dd image of the windows 98 boot floppy, some drivers for various computers. I use it a lot when I visit my family and they need stuff setup. A copy of Ada
Re:Why, a micro linux distro of course (Score:2)
Nothing special.... (Score:2)
Right now, I have:
- Antivirus software installers and updates (we had a problem at work)
- Some mp3's a guy at work gave me making fun of Steve Ballmer's "Developers Developers Developers!" speech
- A few floppy disk images for various utilities
- Some work spreadsheets I worked on at home
- Two semi-funny short movies
- Two zipped backups of various work p
Re:Meltdown (Score:2)
Some of the USB memory sticks i've seen have up to a million erase cycles. I'd bet it would last longer than a floppy disk would if put through a daily wo