How to Run My Apps on Any PC From a Flash Drive
A Flash drive functions faster than a portable hard drive due to its solid-state memory. This speed enables a Flash drive to integrate with a PC's operating system and run portable applications, or "apps," as if they were installed on the computer's internal hard drive. The Flash drive must be properly formatted for use with the Windows operating system, but this does not require special software as the format command is built into Windows. Running apps from the Flash drive can be done on any PC that is running Windows.
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Instructions
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Plug the Flash drive into a USB port on the PC. Go to "Start">"My Computer">"Devices." Right-click on the icon of the Flash drive that is in the window that has appeared beneath "Removable devices & storage." Select "Format" from the pop-up menu. Uncheck the "Quick Format" checkbox in the window that appears. Select "FAT32" from the "Format" drop-down menu. Name the Flash drive in the "Name" column (or leave it blank).
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Click on the "Start" button. Wait as a progress bar at the bottom of the window fills in from left to right. Close the window after the progress bar has completely filled in by clicking the red "X" in the upper right corner.
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Go to an "Apps" website, for example, portableapps.com. Select an app to download from the list of choices presented, for example, the "Foxit Reader Portable" app. Click on the 'Save File" button that appears in a confirmation window. Wait a few minutes as the web browser downloads the file to the computer's desktop.
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Double-click on the file once it has downloaded. Follow the menu commands to install the program onto the Flash drive. Right-click on the icon of the Flash drive once the program has been installed. Select "Eject" from the pop-up menu. Remove the Flash drive from the USB port of the PC.
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Insert the Flash drive into the USB port of the PC where you want to run the portable app. Wait for the icon of the Flash drive to appear on the desktop. Double-click on the icon of the Flash drive to open its window on the desktop. Double-click on the icon of the app that is inside of the window to launch it.
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Quit the app program after it has been used. Right-click on the icon of the Flash drive once the program has been installed. Select "Eject" from the pop-up menu. Remove the Flash drive from the USB port of the PC.
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Tips & Warnings
Never remove a Flash drive from the PC before it has been unmounted.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit flash drive image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com
