Software you keep on a USB?

We had our shipped from somewhere land and paid quite a bit for our last one. Am going to order another soon. We must user our Zalman/iODD's (3 of them) at least 30 times a day and we are a small shop of 3 techs. It is insane to consider using anything else.

What I am trying to say, is even if you have to pay more than you are comfortable paying, they will pay for themselves quickly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: GTP
Have had the same idea but didn't follow it because the costs for buying and shipping are above 156 AUD.
The iODD is $49 USD and shipping USPS according to there site to AUS is $15 USD. Thats basically $65 USD or $81 AUS. Of course thats based upon the "value" of the item, which I put as $5 :D Doing it the "other" way shipping would be $35 USD flat-rate priority. So that cost would be $85 USD or $105 AUS
 
I have a ton of things on my drive. First, it's split into 4 different folders with subfolders, each with a version number in the form of X.xx, which I increment when I update it. Two of the folders I don't really use much. They are "programs" and "Office installs". They contain exactly what it sounds like.

The third is a browser folder, where I have the latest Firefox 32 bit, 64 bit and ESR installs, Thunderbird and OE Classic email programs and a couple of XPI addons, AdBlocker Ultimate and New Tab Homepage for Firefox and I think there's an address book import addon for Thunderbird. This one I use all the time.

The fourth really should be all I use. It's the Utilities folder. Mostly I use just 3 folders on it, HT (for HijackThis), Installs and, under Favorites, LibreOffice. I also have the Chrome installer here. Not sure why I didn't put it in the other folder.

The HT folder still has HijackThis, a tool or two I wrote myself, Autoruns, Combofix, AdwCleaner, Norton Power Eraser, Tweaking.com's Windows Repair, Prime95 (I was happy to see this got a mention), a few other SysInternals tools, still have the old LSPFix, winsockfix and HostFileReader, though I never use them anymore, still use HijackThis, though don't rely on it like I once did, OpenWithView for checking out file extension associations...a few odds and ends.

The Installs folder has Adobe Reader DC, 32 and 64 bit Java, SuperAntispyware, Malwarebytes (though I don't use these two unless the customer asks for them), Microsoft Security Essentials 32 and 64 bit and GWX Control Panel (still need it every now and then for a Windows 7 computer that constantly fails the upgrade).

There are a TON of programs in the Utilities folder. Everything I've ever found useful. Paint.net, The Gimp, VLC, CDBurnerXP (LOVE that software!), key viewers, some more of my own custom software, email password reveal program (because everybody thinks they don't have an email password), CCCP Codec pack, a third party registry editor, Microsoft Installer Cleanup Utility...mostly a bunch of things I never really update any more, but will if I ever need them again.

I'll be adding a thing or two mentioned here in the near future.
 
Sending something from Germany to Australia is not that cheap. So I mustn't have a bad vibe about the fact that I didn't follow my thoughts.

Not really, have ordered things Commodore related from Germany, Postage cost was ok and didnt take too long. Depends on weight I suppose though.
 
I recently sent a $4500 MSI gaming Laptop to a client in Japan. Took two days from my office to his unit, cost $350 including $5000 insurance. Thought that was pretty good!
 
We're an onsite-only business. When in the field, I carry a 128GB Flash drive that has two main folders in it: CustomerTools and InstallFiles. (These are subsets of what's on my file server back in the office.) I also carry a second 128GB Flash drive -- a duplicate of the first -- so that I can work on two PCs simultaneously.

The InstallFiles folders (31GB) contain the installation files for almost any programs I might want to install in the field, e.g. Multimedia, Graphics, Office Suites, System-type pgms (e.g. Adobe Acrobat, Java, Flash, .Net, etc.), browsers, etc. For those programs that need a license code, I'll get that from the customer, but at least I have the offline installation files.

The CustomerTools folders (60GB) contain programs used to diag/scan/repair a customer PC, e.g. h/w diags, Fabs, Aida, SDI Origins, various NIR programs, Malware removal, Password/ProductKey extractors, etc.

As mentioned above, the master copy is kept on my office file server. Periodically, the master is updated using both automated (Ketarin) and manual means. Then I use BeyondCompare to clone the folders on the server to the USB drives.

Attached are the abbreviated folder layouts of each.

Not meant to be the answer for everybody, but it's the strategy we've been using for the last 14 years. Hope it helps somebody as a starting point for their own use.
 

Attachments

Last edited:
We're an onsite-only business. When in the field, I carry a 128GB Flash drive that has two main folders in it: CustomerTools and InstallFiles. (These are subsets of what's on my file server back in the office.) I also carry a second 128GB Flash drive -- a duplicate of the first -- so that I can work on two PCs simultaneously.

The InstallFiles folders (31GB) contain the installation files for almost any programs I might want to install in the field, e.g. Multimedia, Graphics, Office Suites, System-type pgms (e.g. Adobe Acrobate, Java, Flash, .Net, etc.), browsers, etc. For those programs that need a license code, I'll get that from the customer, but at least I have the offline installation files.

The CustomerTools folders (60GB) contain programs used to diag/scan/repair a customer PC, e.g. h/w diags, Fabs, Aida, SDI Origins, various NIR programs, Malware removal, Password/ProductKey extractors, etc.

As mentioned above, the master copy is kept on my office file server. Periodically, the master is updated using both automated (Ketarin) and manual means. Then I use BeyondCompare to clone the folders on the server to the USB drives.

Attached are the abbreviated folder layouts of each.

Not meant to be the answer for everybody, but it's the strategy we've been using for the last 14 years. Hope it helps somebody as a starting point for their own use.
With the greatest respect...and just a suggestion...:)
Why don't you put all those tools into the "Custom Tools" folder of WRT so that you just need to open WRT and everything will be available to you?
WRT has SDIO, and many other programs built in. Plus, all the malware removal/cleanup tools you need already built in and will always get the latest versions, saving you having to update all your stuff.
You could make a very comprehensive "Toolbox" in just one program. ;):D
 
... Why don't you put all those tools into the "Custom Tools" folder of WRT so that you just need to open WRT and everything will be available to you? ...

Have thought about it and have a copy of WRT downloaded, but haven't yet had the time to fully explore WRT to understand the pros/cons of using it versus 14 years of inertia. Thanks for the nudge! :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: GTP
Back
Top