We’ve shown you how to install Windows 7 from a USB drive, but the process assumes you have access to a Windows computer to begin with. That’s not always the case, particularly if you’re the kind of person who regularly tries out different operating systems. Also, there are more than a few IT professionals who work on Windows computers but primarily use Linux themselves. This tool is perfect for them, and any Linux user who occasionally helps Windows users.

So whether your want to replace Linux on your netbook with Windows or just create a Windows boot disk from your Linux setup, WinUSB is useful to you.

Using WinUSB

Launch this program and you’ll see an interface not unlike UNetBootin, a similar tool for creating Linux bootable USB drives. You’ll need to pick your source and your destination.

Your source can be an actual DVD or an ISO file ripped from your DVD; it doesn’t matter. Your destination should be a flash drive with, ideally, 4GB of space on it. You’re going to want to clear space on the drive before you go through with this, so back up anything on your drive and delete it all from the flash drive.

Once you’re ready, you can start the creation process.

This will take a while, so be patient. Once your disk is done being created you’ve got your installation disk, assuming no errors came up. Using this should be simple, but you will need to enter the boot menu of your device and pick the USB drive.

Once you get that going, you should see the Windows 7 installation tool:

Not bad, eh? You can now install Windows 7 on your optical-free computer. Enjoy!

If you’ve never installed Windows before, don’t panic. It’s much  easier than it used to be. Just follow the prompts and you’ll be fine, but know that deleting your existing partitions means you will lose your operating system entirely.

Get WinUSB

Ready to give this app a spin? You can download WinUSB for Linux here. Or, if you’re using Ubuntu, you can install it from a PPA using these commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:colingille/freshlight

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install winusb

The first command adds the PPA; the second command updates your repositories; the third command installs WinUSB.

Conclusion

Not everyone will need this application, of course, but it’s ready for you when you need it. Linux purists would believe that no one ever switches from Linux to Windows, but let’s face it, this happens. I’m glad there are tools out there for making this easy, because there are plenty of great tools for going the other way.

Even if you’re not switching from Linux to Windows, though, this tool is useful. You can use your Linux computer to reinstall Windows for friends, or generally become a better repair wizard.

What will you be using this software for? As always, I’m an extremely curious guy, so please share your ideas in the comments below. Thanks!

Help us build the list! All you need to do is leave a comment below, with your favorite portable apps (and links), as well as why you love them. Make sure these apps are not in the list below, which our staff compiled. The five commenters we deem most helpful will win a free MakeUseOf T-shirt! It’s our way of saying thanks.

What are you waiting for? Check out this list and leave your suggestions below!

Security/Privacy

• ToddlerTrap
• ClamWin
• LicenseCrawler
• Magical Jellybean Finder
• KeePass

Productivity

• OpenOffice
• CorruptOffice2txt
• WriteMonkey
• FocusWriter
• Notepad2
• Abiword

Communication

• Pidgin
• Miranda IM
• Skype
• Email Stripper

Web/FTP

• Google Chrome
• Firefox
• Filezilla

System Tools

• 7-Zip
• Zip2Fix
• CCleaner
• GetFolderSize
• SpaceSniffer
• Recuva
• TeraCopy
• Zscreen

Multimedia

• CoolPlayer
• Easy Image Modifier
• SharePod
• Audacity
• CDex
• GIMP
• VirtualDub
• VLC Player
• AndreaMosaic
• Avidemux
• Camstudio
• Fotografix
• Snaptimer
• Splayer

So voice out in the comments with your suggestions and you could win a free MakeUseOf t-shirt!

You may not have heard of a couple of these browsers, but each and every one brings a unique benefit to your portable arsenal. Don’t let the fact that you may not have heard of them stand in the way of finding your new favorite browser.

Avant Browser

We’ve already covered a nice and in-depth review of the Avant browser, but it’s time to rehash the software now that an official portable version is readily available on their official website.

Avant is like a souped-up version of Internet Explorer. One of the main differences is how well Avant handles Flash, in comparison. Avant is only a little slower than the current Firefox build, which puts it plenty ahead of IE’s speed. It’s also got a ton of features built in, like ways to disable on-page sound, scripting, and animations right out of the box.

You can download the official portable version here.

Pale Moon

What Avant is to Internet Explorer, Pale Moon strives to be alongside Firefox. Pale Moon is an alternative, slim-downed version of the Firefox browser that is built on Firefox’s official source code. The browser has been around for years and has been proven to use less memory than the original Firefox without the user being able to notice much difference alongside the powerhouse browser that Mozilla has on their hands.

You can download Pale Moon’s official portable release from this page.

Browzar

Browzar has a distinct advantage over the rest on this list in respect that the official build of the original browser itself is portable. Browzar leaves an incredibly small fingerprint and is one of the most secure and easy-to-use browsers that I’ve used right from a flash drive.

While it does lack somethings in the features category, Browzar can’t be beaten when you’re looking for something to jump on and jump right off with. Browzar will even clear every single bit of sensitive, session-specific data after closing.

You can download it here.

Opera@USB

I decided to save the best for last. While Opera may already be my favorite official browser in the first place, it is not the Opera team who developed this third-party portable port. Nonetheless, it’s flawless. It’ll even update alongside released Opera versions and still maintain it’s portable status.

Other than that, there’s really not too much more to explain about Opera@USB. It is simply Opera in a portable package. Give Opera a shot just for a few days and I promise you’ll start to fall in love a little. You can click here to download Opera@USB.

Though unheard of and maybe even a little obscure, these portable gems will help put your flash drive on the right track. If you enjoyed this list, check out 100 other portable applications that you may enjoy. Shoot me a line about any of these in the comments.

We described a similar method before, but it required a few external utilities. This time I’ll assume you have a working Windows 7 computer with an existing DVD drive somewhere – and a working installation DVD to go with it. You’ll use this machine to format, set up, and copy over the relevant files to a USB stick. You could also do this without a DVD drive from the ISO, but in that case your job would be a whole lot simpler because you could use the official ISO -> USB creator.

Note: You cannot use this method to install to a Parallels virtual machine. Your only option in that case is to use either a physical DVD or an ISO download and connect to that to the VM instead.

You’ll need:

• A working Windows 7 system with a DVD drive and administrator rights.
• A Windows 7 installation DVD.
• 4GB USB drive or larger.

This will also work with larger external hard drives instead of a USB thumbdisk, but be aware that all the data on the drive will be formatted and deleted.

Open An Elevated Command Prompt

Click Start -> All Programs -> Accessories and right-click on Command Prompt. Select Run As Administrator. Of course, you need to be able to authenticate as the administrator on the PC you’re using.

Partitioning The Disk

Type:

DISKPART

This will open up the partitioning application. Next, type:

LIST DISK

Figure out which of the drives listed is your USB drive, and note the number. It’s crucial you get this right, or you’re going to end up losing data on other drives.

Next, type the following series of commands, but replace the DISK number in the first line with the appropriate number from the above list. Here, my disk is number 1. Don’t confuse this with PARTITION 1. That number should not change, even if your disk is 3.

SELECT DISK 1
CLEAN
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
SELECT PARTITION 1
ACTIVE
FORMAT FS=NTFS
ASSIGN
EXIT

Make It Bootable!

The format step may take a little while (it actually took about 30 minutes on my machine). When you’re done, put in your installation DVD if you haven’t already. Note down which drive letter your USB disk and Windows installation DVD are located at.

Go back to your command prompt and type – assuming D: is your DVD drive with the install DVD, and U: is your USB drive:

D:/BOOT/BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 U:

This will basically make your USB drive bootable.

Copy Everything

The final step can be done from My Computer. Just open up the installation DVD, highlight everything, and drag it over to your USB drive.

This will also take a while.

Now you should be all set – just insert the USB disk into your new PC, and enter the BIOS to adjust the boot order, or choose the option during start up which says Choose Boot Device.

Let’s hear it for computers with no noisy and clunky DVD drives! Death to physical media! Or not – what do you think? Are you ready to go DVD-less?

Linux Live USB Creator, a similar program, can help create live USB drives, but it only works on Windows. Live USB Install works on both Windows and Linux, and is incredibly simple to use. Just pick which version of Linux you want to use and which drive you’d like to install it to. Your software will be downloaded and installed, and you will soon be able to live a contented life involving the booting of Linux from a USB disk.

If this sounds complicated, don’t worry: it isn’t. Your disk will be up and running in no time.

Using Live USB

The interface couldn’t be much friendlier, inviting you to pick what version of Linux you’d like to install. If you’ve already downloaded an ISO file, great. You can point Live USB towards it to create your live USB disk. If you already have a Linux CD, that’s also great – you can use that as a source too.

If you don’t have either though, you can simply click a version of Linux and Live USB will download it for you. You’ll need to scroll through a rather long list to do so:

Not sure where to start? Ubuntu, Fedora and Linux Mint are all good options if you’re looking for a general Linux experience. You’ll also need to pick which version you want. Not sure what this means? Just pick the most recent version, because that’s probably what you want.

Once you’ve figured out what you want to install, it’s time to figure out where you want to install it. Insert your flash drive and pick it from the menu:

If you can’t see your drive, hit “Refresh“. It will show up.

Persistent Installation

You can, if you want, create a “persistent” installation of Ubuntu and other Debian-based distributions. What does this mean? Software you install and documents you create after booting this thumb drive will stay on your thumb drive. It’s a virtual computer on a drive!

Download Now!

Ready to try this out? If so, head over to the Live USB download page. You’ll find a DEB package there for Ubuntu and source code for other Linux distributions. You’ll also find the Windows download.

Conclusion

This program is easy to use and works well. I plan on using it to try out a variety of Linux distros in the months to come.

But, as always, I want to know – how did this program work for you? Fill me in the comments below; I’ll be around to answer questions.

Devised by blogger Aram Bartholl, this offline and anonymous file sharing method has taken off around the globe and couldn’t be simpler to use. The project’s creator is keen for others to use and install their own dead drops, with more turning up on a daily basis. If you’re sitting there thinking “I have to give this a go!” then read on!

Security & File Sharing

Naturally there are a few concerns regarding security and anonymous USB sticks, so caution is recommended. After all, the idea is to provide an anonymous filesharing platform that anyone can have access to.

Yes, it is possible for someone to copy malicious software onto the drive (along with an autorun file) that may install something you’d rather not have on your PC. I’d recommend you have all necessary security software setup or connect with a virtual machine for ultimate piece of mind. Downloading a Linux live CD is another sure-fire way of avoiding infection.

I’m not saying that every dead drop is littered with trojans and malware – you just can’t trust some people. If you have an old laptop with little of importance on it then use it, otherwise any devices that support the mounting of universal mass storage (UMS) devices should also work too (don’t forget your cables).

Finally when you eventually get to a dead drop you’ll be holding your laptop against a wall, propped up in an odd position which may look… well, strange to passers by. It might be safer to avoid pulling your MacBook Pro out in a dark alley at midnight, let’s put it that way.

The Dead Drop Manifesto

The dead drops movement is a fairly organised one, and it may surprise you to learn that there is a manifesto to read and a few rules you to follow should you wish to participate. The manifesto states: “anyone can access a Dead Drop and everyone may install a Dead Drop in their neighborhood/city“.

This means that if you want to start your own dead drop, then it must not be in a publicly closed-off space (for example a bar, club or similar). The project’s creator defines city streets as “the only true public space” – so if you want your drop listed on the official website, play by the rules.

There is already a well-written and thorough guide about installing a dead drop on the official site, and the steps are fairly easy to follow. You’ll need a spare USB drive (of any size), a copy of the dead drop readme.txt that explains the project’s aims, some plumbers tape and quick drying cement.

If manual work isn’t your strong point, this guide on Instructables might also be of value. Once your drop has been installed you’re urged to make it look neat and attractive before taking three photos – one of the area near your drop, one of the street it can be found on and a close-up shot of the drop itself.

Once you’ve done that you can submit it to Aram and if it adheres to the manifesto it will be included on the official site, for others to discover.

Dead Dropping All Over The World

To help find dead drops in your area, there is a map and an extensive database on the homepage. At the time of writing the dead drop count is up to 591, totalling 1,782GB of offline storage.

Lucky Android users can download the “Deaddropdroid” app from the Android Market which uses your location to determine nearby drops. The app is currently in beta, and an iOS version is apparently on the way soon for iPhone users.

Those using Layar, the augmented reality browser, are also able to add dead drops to their list of available layers – which makes finding drops easier than ever and works on both iOS and Android.

Finally – what will you share? There are no limits to what is shared, though many have found dead drops the perfect platform from which to share their own creations. Are you an artist or photographer? Why not add your portfolio to a dead drop – you never know who might drop by.

Musicians, writers, charities and community workers could all use drops to spread word of their cause. Then again perhaps you just fancy sharing your favourite Thundercats episode?

Conclusion

The thought behind the dead drops project is well-meaning and above all fun. Provided you exercise caution, especially if you’re using a Windows PC, and make sure there’s no gum or other damaging foreign matter in the stick before you’re hooked up then your offline filesharing experience will probably be a pleasant one.

Do you think dead drops are a good idea? Have you shared? Have you established a drop? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so stick them in the comments below this post.

Image credits: Intro (Deaddrops by Aram Bartholl), All other images taken from mapped entries on the Dead Drops project @ deaddrops.com