Just picked up a 128GB USB A/C stick that can go on my keyring. What are some things I should put on it to have access to at all times?
I already have self hosted services accessible over my VPN, so this would be for when I can’t access that.
I’m thinking at least Ventoy and some common ISOs, then I’m not sure what else.
Eh…
Ventoy (on a comically small external hd – 8 GiB) and retrogaming/backup-related files on a 1 TB one.
My “everyday carry” isn’t a USB stick, but it can act as one - and much much more: I always have my trusty Flipper Zero with me, and the image I carry in the mass storage emulator is the Linux Mint installer, with extra space in the image to store small files.
To be honest, the Flipper Zero’s mass storage emulator turns it into the slowest USB stick you never saw. But in a pinch, it’s there and it’s usable. I use my Flipper for a variety of other things all the time - including, with my laptop, as a presentation remote and secondary mouse - and I almost never need a USB flash drive. So slow though it is, it’s enough for when I do need one.
Flipper zero seems fun but idk if I can justify that price. I don’t think I’d use it much.
Yeah main thing is Ventoy and images for windows 10 and 11. I also have some basic tools, and some portable versions of some games I like (OoT, Warcraft 3, etc).
What’s on your “Everyday Carry” USB stick?
- scans of my DL and other licenses
- scan of my DD214
- system rescue ISO
- a TEMP dir with random things I need in the short term
- portable apps versions of putty, WinSCP, etc.
I’ve got a USB stick on my keys but I don’t remember what’s on it because I’ve never used it lmao.
lol, I feel you there. I got a ruggedized, waterproof USB stick about 6 years ago to keep on my keychain and I’ve used it maybe three times ever. Though I’ve also been working from home for the last 4+ years so, y’know, less opportunities to use it in general.
Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it, though.
I’ve got a 15 year old SD/USB combo card on my keychain. I plugged it into a TV around 6-7 years ago because there were a couple of kids movies on there.
I also know I have some Portable apps on there, but probably a little out of date
Kali
Cheers, currently grabbed Ubuntu, Fedora, GParted, and Kali.
ventoy with medicat, kali, crunchbang plus plus
A metal 128 GB USB on my keychain next to the U2F key
16 GB Ventoy partition with:
- Clonezilla (‘deploying’ my system image and backups)
- Mint Debian Edition (everything needed to test and recover my Debian systems)
- Debian netinstall
- Various manuals and reference documents
- Portable CrystalDiskInfo and VeraCrypt for Windows
- Dumping grounds for files that I intended to transfer between machines, particularly the XP retro gaming rig
- An optimistic IF-FOUND.TXT
- KeePass
- Previously Windows, until once upon a time, I booted into WinRE via Ventoy, got confused between X:, C:, and whatever else, and proceeded to nuke my USB instead of another disk. The Windows installer lived on its own USB happily ever after.
And a LUKS encrypted partition in the remaining space with more documents and a backup of almost all of my photos.
64 GiB, two partitions, one with my files including Keepass database, the other with Ventoy with ISOs for Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon, Debian 13.5 KDE, NixOS Gnome, Win 10 and bazzite
I have an image of Guix, so that if I brick it accidentally, I will have a recovery ISO.
Git repos of some helpful scripts and configs.
Music.
Profile backup.
When I last had an everyday carry USB stick (5+ years ago) I found I never actually used it for anything.
I had Ventoy and some practical ISOs, and PortableApps with a bunch of useful software (firefox, foobar2000, GIMP, notepad++…) for when I was using someone else’s Windows PC.
…think I stored like two word documents on it, ever.
I had one:
- Live OS, Fedora KDE or something
- 5GB FAT32 for printers and windows, lol
- X GB encrypted EXT4, F2FS or BTRFS for storage
I carry an empty one, to make copies of movies I find on work computers.
I also have a USB stick on my keys. Mostly I keep books I’m reading, favorite movies, stuff like that. Then when I’m hanging out with friends later and we’re talking about what we’re watching I have it all ready to share.
