USB Flash Drives & Portable Apps

As many of my friends know, I have become a complete nut about collecting USB Flash Drives and Portable Applications.  Initially I was using them primarily for transporting code and other files between work and home, but eventually I began placing all my key tools (mostly SysInternals) and utility applications on the drive so I don't have to install them on all my PC's.

My addiction was further fueled by the recent launch of  the Portable Apps website and subsequent support for many apps targeting the usb flash drive platform.

The Apps

The best portable apps are those that are specifically designed to launch and store state solely on a portable drive whose drive letter may change each time it is connected.  Here are the main ones that I have installed and use on a regular basis:

However there are many older apps (esp. command-line) that work perfectly on usb flash drives.  Here are a few "unofficial" portable apps that I have installed:
  • VNC "Free Edition" - simple client & server for sharing desktop
  • Most SysInternals tools, but especially these:
    • ProcessExplorer
    • DebugView
    • Filemon
    • Regmon
    • PSTools (suite)
  • CoolPlayer - audio player
  • WinDirStat - disk space usage statistics
  • Some apps from NirSoft:
    • CPorts - see current ports open on your pc
    • WhoIsThisDomain - lookup WhoIs info for a list of domains

The Drives

Thus far I have sampled several brands of USB Flash Drives but keep coming back to Lexar for both form-factor and speed.

The model I have bought the most is the JumpDrive Secure II (mostly due to price and ubiquitousnous), but I recently bought their JumpDrive Lightning 2gb due to its impressive size, appearance, and speed.

Lexar JumpDrive SecureII USB DriveLexar JumpDrive Lightning USB Drive

The Lightning is my 10th USB drive and definitely my favorite.  The shiny steel package and small formfactor are sweet, but the big selling point was its speed at 24MB per second Read (160x), 18MB per second Write (120x).   This drive is a bit more pricey than most other drives, but it is perfectly suited for running Portable Apps.  

Anything over 100x is great for running portable apps, but you can get by with 40x if you are patient.  Just make sure to check the specs before buying. If the package for a usb flash drive omits this info they are usually slower than 20x and often as slow as 1x (esp for off-brands).  Just stick to the name brands for companies who already sell memory, flash cards, and other similar media and you will typically get a descent drive.

Happy Portable App'ing!

3 Comments

  • I guess this kills U3 (www.u3.com) ?



  • Many thanks - you encouraged me to finally get some portable apps on a USB!

  • SBC,



    I think that U3 could be the future of the portable apps platform. However, they arent as common or available in the States as they are in the UK right now. Most usb drives you see today are plain-ole vanilla usb "dumb" drives, so the PortableApps approach could become the defacto winner.



    I'm really waiting to see what Microsoft does. They could go their own route, or they could embrace U3 and ship it with Vista.



    If they do neither, then I would bet that the less expensive technology will win.



    Having said this, right now I don't own a U3 drive, so I can't attest to the value the smart drive adds. AFAIK the only thing it offers is a replacement for the autorun.inf. I'll have to buy a U3 drive and try it out just to make sure i'm not missing the boat on that technology.

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