Portable applications are programs that run entirely from a removable drive, such as a thumb drive (pen drive, memory stick, flash drive, etc. They have many names). When portable applications run, they leave no trace on the computer's hard drive, unless you save a file there. This means that when you use a portable application, you take everything you need with you. The only things that you will need from the computer on which you work are the operating systems and some very basic hardware.
Most portable applications will run on either WINDOWS or some version of UNIX such as LINUX. Some applications have a version that will run on each operating system. Some are only written to run under one operating system. If this is the case, the operating system is usually WINDOWS. There are a few applications that will run on a Macintosh and most of these require OS X.
There are two types of thumb drives: U3 drives and non-U3 drives. The difference, essentially, is that U3 drives have s special start-up system which places an icon is the system tray for your convenience in popping up a menu. One difference between U3 drives and non-U3 drives is that most portable applications do not automatically set themselves up in a U3 menu. They still function, but you will have to go to a folder to start them. If you download the "Standard Package" from PortableApps.com, you can start a separate menu from your thumb drive. This will happily co-exist with the U3 menu.
Most portable applications that I have found are free. Since they are usually very good, this is quite a bargain.. Here is a selection of sites that have portable applications for you to download. I will be updating this list from time to time. The PortableApps.com link above should be your first stop.
We have experienced some problems with USB drives in the labs. Sometimes, when a USB drive is inserted, it does not show up in My Computer even though the USB icon in the system tray says that it is there. If you look at the system tray tooltip carefully, you will see that your USB drive does not have a drive letter. The problem here is not with your USB drive. As you know, WINDOWS identifies drives by a letter name. In cases where there is an extensive network, such as ours, WINDOWS can run out of drive letters or, at least, think that it has.
The solution to the problem is to reassign a drive letter to your USB drive. There is a little utility program built into WINDOWS to allow you to do this.
Here is a solution for the problem. The problem with this solution is that you need the proper network permisions to impliment it. If you have these permissions, it will work just fine.
Go to the Start menu and click on Run.... In the box that appears, type:
compmgmt.msc
In the left-hand pane, click on Disk Management. You will see the drives on your system, including your USB drive. Click on your USB drive (the window now has lines through it.) Right click to get a menu. From that menu select Change Drive Letter and Path. Now, click the Change button. You are now asked to select the drive letter for your USB drive.
At this point, you have two choices: you can select a drive letter of a drive that is already in use. This will temporarily disable the drive (it will be available the next time you log in). You can select a drive letter that is currently not being used. How do you know if a drive letter is being used? Here's a tip:
Drive letters A: and B: are reserved for floppy drives. If you system does not have a floppy drive (none of the machines in the lab do), you can assign either A: or B: to your USB drive. If you have one floppy drive, it will be called A:, so you can assign B: to your USB drive.
Once you have assigned a drive letter to your USB drive, close the utility. You can now use your USB like any other drive.
If you do not have the permissions to carry out the above mentioned solution, I am assured that the following solution will work:
You should not plug your USB drive into the computer before trying this solution. If your USB drive is plugged in, unplug it. Open the Windows Start menu and go to "All Programs > Network Applications > Applications > Misc Tools and Applications > Fix USB Permissions Win XP." After you run this program, plug your drive into the USB slot. If you still see a box asking for access privileges, just ignore it and hit cancel. Your USB key should work after that.
I was just informed that this will not work. Keep watching this page for the correct solution.