Stick tricks - USB memory magic

Trick 1: Speed up Windows Vista

If Windows Vista is running like a slug with a tranquiliser habit, pull out your USB memory stick and make use of Vista's ReadyBoost feature. Doing so is as easy as plugging a ReadyBoost compatible USB memory stick into a spare USB port and then selecting "Speed up my system" when the AutoPlay menu pops up.

In non geek-speak, ReadyBoost turns your USB memory stick into a memory cache for frequently accessed data. Because a USB memory stick stores data in electronic memory, it can retrieve and send information many times faster a slower mechanical hard disk drive, significantly speeding up access to your documents and other data.

Trick 2: Ditch your Laptop

Lugging around a laptop can literally be a pain in the back, especially when you can create a bootable operating system complete with all your favourite applications and documents on a USB memory stick that's as light as a feather. If Windows is a must have, try MojoPac which will allow you to run Windows, complete with all your favourite apps and documents directly from your USB memory stick.

A basic freebie version of MojoPac can be found here whilst Penguin fans (or those with small USB memory sticks and older PCs) can opt for Damn Small Linux which takes up a mere 50Mb of space and will run on ancient, low spec PCs. Best of all Damn Small Linux won't cost you a red cent.

Trick 3: Create a PC Rescue Kit

If, like me, you've become the tame tech support person for friends, family, and other relatives, then having a USB memory stick on hand preloaded up with a bunch of nifty PC repair tools makes a whole lot of sense.

As one of the winners of a competition to come up with the best selection of applications able fit on a tiny 32Mb USB memory stick, the PC Repair Kit crams a huge amount of incredibly useful, and free apps for file recovery, anti-virus, anti-spyware, system information, system maintenance and so on. Getting your mits on the PC Repair System is as easy as downloading the PCRepairSystem.zip file from here and unzipping its contents onto a spare USB memory stick.

Trick 4: Keep Files Synced Stick

With a multitude of irreplaceable and constantly changing documents scattered across a motley selection of work and home PCs, keeping vital data at hand no matter where I am used to be bit of a challenge, until I started using SyncBackSE which provides a near idiot proof one-click means of keeping home and work files synchronised. A basic version of SyncBack is a doddle to install and can be had for free from here.