5 clever ways I reuse the old USB flash drives I have laying around

USB flash drives — a.k.a. thumb or stick drives — just aren’t as popular as they used to be. That’s the impression I get, anyway, and it would make sense in the current tech landscape. Many of us rely on services like Google Drive or iCloud Drive to sync important documents, and services like Spotify and Netflix for music and video. When you do need portable file storage, it’s often preferable to buy a microSD card or an external SSD, not something in between.

That said, it’s a shame to waste a USB flash drive if you’ve got one sitting around. There are many possibilities that go beyond shuttling files between your devices. In fact, there’s one use that everyone should take advantage of immediately if possible. I’ll explain the basics here.

5

Creating a bootable USB version of Windows or macOS

Coming to the rescue

As a permanent state of affairs, you wouldn’t want to run Windows 11 or macOS Tahoe from a flash drive. The experience would be unpleasant, given that the M.2 SSDs many computers rely on are far faster. As a backup, though, an OS on a flash drive should almost be mandatory.

If your normal OS installation is corrupted, a backup OS can come to the rescue, letting you run tools that can repair your software, reinstall it, and/or rescue important files. I made use of this just recently in fact, trying to salvage a work laptop that wouldn’t boot into Windows 11. The problems turned out to be hardware-related in the end, but at least I was able to try those recovery tools and rule them out.

Creating a bootable USB drive is an involved process whether you own a Windows or Mac system, so I’ve linked to Microsoft and Apple’s official guides, respectively. Note that you’ll want to create a backup well ahead of any disaster, if you can. If your computer’s already stuck at its BIOS/UEFI screen, you’ll need turn to a friend or technician for help.

4

Putting an offline music collection in your car

No Spotify, no problem

Streaming music services are often preferable when you’re driving, since they offer a massive catalog, and most recent vehicles have some form of voice control for them. But the best streaming platforms cost a monthly fee, and all the music in the world is useless if you’re offline and can’t reach it. Cached playlists are one solution to this — but another is to load files onto a flash drive and plug it into your car’s dashboard.

There are several catches, beginning with the fact that some cars may not support USB-based playback. Check your car’s manual, or spend a few moments exploring its dash interface. As a rule, assume you’ll probably need to use your car’s built-in software rather than Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

You’ll also need to check your car’s format support, and you may be reduced to shuffling your entire music collection if a car doesn’t support playlists. When you’re ready, you’ll need to build, tag, and copy an offline music collection. That can take days or weeks, whether you’re doing it legally or sailing the seven seas.

3

Making a security key

YubiKey, eat your heart out

Credit: Pocket-lint / OMGOD

Honestly, a USB security key is overkill for most people, even if you only use it to access something like an online bank account. A unique and complex password will usually do the trick. And once you’ve created a key, it’s important to keep it handy at all times. Losing one is an inconvenience at best — at worst, you could lock yourself out of something vital. Don’t assign a security key to something if you need access to it anywhere at any time.

There are a variety of tools available for creating your own security keys. One of the more popular options is USB Raptor, which you can use to lock and unlock a Windows PC. It’s quite powerful — you can even setup synchronized unlock on a LAN for multiple computers. Perhaps most importantly, you can enable a password override if you like, which is less secure, but could save you some of the trouble I mentioned a moment ago.

2

Secure your most important documents

Multiple backups are best

Some documents are so important that you should not only have a digital backup, but multiple such backups in case one or more of them becomes inaccessible. I’m talking about things like your passport, your driver’s license, your social security card, and your birth certificate. If you’ve got a business, you shouldn’t risk legal or transaction records being lost because they were stored on a hard drive that’s now flooded or burnt to a crisp. Often, authorities insist on seeing paper originals, but photos or scans can remind you of key details like ID numbers.

These documents need to be kept out of the hands of criminals and other unwanted individuals, naturally, so any backups need to be heavily encrypted, whether they’re in a cloud locker or a USB drive. On the USB front, there are a variety of free tools that can handle the task, such as VeraCrypt.

If something’s truly important, I recommend keeping three copies: one on your computer, one on USB storage, and another in the cloud. Cloud access can be especially important, since there isn’t always time to grab a flash drive during an evacuation.

1

Building a retro gaming library

Best used with handheld PCs

Much of the retro gaming scene is built around ROM files created from original cartridges. Because of this, it’s not too difficult to build a portable library you can take from emulator to emulator at will, often between different devices. There’s no need to use wireless sync to push games to a Steam Deck or Raspberry Pi if you’ve got your whole library ready to go on a USB stick.

The only real issue is legality. While emulators are generally legal, ROMs files are questionable, even when you own a physical copy of a game. Research local laws if you’re worried about this. In practice, the safest thing may be to stick to so-called “abandonware” — publishers tend not to care about games you can no longer buy. In some cases, the publishers themselves have long since vanished into the ether.