You can use your flash drive as an installer of many different kinds of applications. In fact, there are often portable versions of apps designed specifically for installation and use on USB drives.

The following are some of the programs people store on USB devices in case of emergency, and just for the convenience of portability:

• Windows 7
• Ubuntu
• Linux
• Limewire
• Firefox
• Flash Player
• Microsoft USB Flash Drive Manager

Formatting Software on Your PC for Copying to Flash Drive

To copy programs on your hard drive over to a usb drive:

1. Connect your USB thumb drive to your computer.
2. Once your PC finds the removable device click on Computer and double click the C: drive.
3. Open Program Files and scroll down to find the program you are copying.
4. Minimize the window and go back to Computer. Double click on the removable usb drive icon.
5. Pull up the Program Files window and drag and drop the program file into the flash drive window. Sometimes the copy process can take awhile, particularly if you are copying a large program.
6. Close both windows and then return to Computer. Right-click on the removable flash drive icon and select Eject. (Make sure you always do this before you remove your thumb drive to protect your data!)

Portable Apps

Installing portable apps on a flash drive is pretty simple.

1. Once you find the app you want to install, make sure it's a portable version. A USB version is even better if you can find it.
2. Download the program to your thumb drive.
3. Find the program's installer on your drive and open it to start the installation.
4. Follow the installation instructions to complete.
5. To run the program, plug in your USB and open the icon on your desktop.
6. Double click on the executable file (.exe). Some portable software will run automatically when plugged in.

Bootable Drives

You can turn your flash drive into a bootable drive as long as it's a big enough one (between 256MG and 2G). To create a bootable flash drive:

Insert your Windows DVD (XP, Vista, 7) into your PC's optical drive. Open the folder and find the "Boot" folder. Copy the "bootsect.exe" file to your C: drive.

1. Insert your USB drive and click on Computer.
2. Right-click on the removable flash drive and select Format.
3. Go to your Start menu and type "cmd" in the search field.
4. Right-click on Command Prompt and click on Run as Administrator (you may have to enter your password).
5. Now type "diskpart" in the command prompt window and hit return.
6. Type "list volume" and then hit enter for a listing of all your available drives (it's a good idea to make sure your flash drive is the only thing plugged into a USB port to avoid confusion). Make note of the drive's letter and number, maybe write it down too!
7. In the command prompt type "select volume (fill in appropriate drive here)" and hit enter.
8. Type "activate" and hit return and "exit" and return.
9. Then type "cd C:"
10. Enter "bootsect.exe/nt60 (fill in appropriate drive here):" and then hit return. After the process is done, your drive should be fully bootable.
11. Copy the contents of the Windows disc to the flash drive.

For more information on Optimizing your PC, visit our extensive information blog at http://www.fixcleaner.com/blog Here, you can find easy access to articles on fixing errors and optimizing all sorts of Windows functions. You can even get tips and tricks on how to navigate your way across the new frontier of Internet Social Media.

Julie Dreese is a freelance writer and editor who attempts to perform her own tech support through thorough research and anyone-can-do-it solutions.

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CBT or computer based training is one of the most popular methods of education today. There are so many courses that you can enroll in online. You can take them whenever you want and wherever you want to. The best thing about these online courses is that you have the freedom to learn at your own pace and to only learn when you have time for it. You will be able to give a greater priority to the things you need to get done in your life first, and then you can always work on these courses when you have the time.

One of the best courses to take using CBT is of course computer training. It's a lot more practical to learn about computers and the latest about their technologies when you're actually in front of one where you can access everything that is being taught to you. It's like hands-on training but better. Through CBT, you can set up your own schedule, eliminating the need to sacrifice any important task that you need to fulfill. This is most advantageous to individuals who are working or studying full time but want to have extra training and tutorials about technology, computers, and everything in between.

Also, when you're taking CBT, you can easily catch up with the details and facts of every lesson that you're listening to. This is because you can pause and play the video tutorials, and the exact demonstration of the lesson being taught is also shown in the video tutorial. You can do this with live classroom trainings, but you certainly won't get the flexibility and availability that these online courses offer.

Another thing about these online courses is that you can review them again and again in full detail unlike classroom lectures where you can only review your personal notes and recordings. Not only do you get to follow the step-by-step process being taught in the lesson, you also get to master them by reviewing them as many times as you want. And all you have to do is enroll and pay a one-time annual fee to be able to access all the videos and other educational tools that the training course offers. CBT is a really big benefit for anyone who needs additional training and education without sacrificing their own time.

To know more about computer based training or CBT programs, please visit http://www.trainingcenter.com

How to speed up computer is a general query that every PC user has these days. There can be a large number of reasons, such as when a computer is new there are no issues of errors or clashes but the older it gets, the slower it performs. Sometimes, we store so much on our computers like audio and video files, pictures etc. and when we download this kind of stuffs from free online websites then the situation really gets worst. However, a few simple corrective steps can definitely bring back the speedy new computer feel.

The first step in this corrective surgery is to go to the Control panel and select the Add/ Remove programs. Here, the user will be able to see the currently installed programs, retaining the needed ones and deleting the ones that are not needed can lighter the load in your hard drive and can magically improve the speed of your PC.

Defragmenting the system is a highly recommended procedure to increase the speed of the computer. The user needs to go to My computer and click on Local Disk and then click on Tools and start fragmenting from there.

It is always profitable to invest on a RAM that is bigger because when the RAM capacity is low many programs cannot be run at the same time especially heavy digital media files. A corrupted Registry has time and again been a cause for the sluggishness of a computer. Therefore, scanning the Registry frequently with Registry cleaning software can help solve this issue (but make sure you use the genuine ones from trusted sources).

Cleaning the desktop which is cluttered with files is another effective way of increasing the speed of the PC without spending money. If the desktop is cluttered with files and application shortcuts, Windows take more time to load. Another signal that the computer gives to notify the user is that the hard drive lights keep flashing.

Malware is another common cause that slows down a computer. There are possibilities of a couple of infections hiding somewhere if a user finds his computer slowing down. Users should take care to have safe browsing habits and to regularly update the antivirus software. On the event of the computer not responding to all these measures, it is better to avail the services of a professional.

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