Portable User Folders in Windows and Mac OS X
By
Staten Island, NY Posted: 9/28/2015 1:00:00 AM
Almost everything you do on your computer is saved in a single User Folder stored on your boot drive.
Since all your files and settings are stored in one place, Microsoft and Apple should give you a simple way to move your User Folder to an external drive so you can take it with you.
The folder doesn't have to be permanently portable, but there should be a quick way to make it portable, then take it with you to another computer.
If your User Folder is permanently stored on an external USB drive, you could sign-in from any computer in the world, and have all your files and settings with you at all times. In addition to the usual sign in options, the login screen would offer an option to select an external user. At this point you insert your USB drive and it asks you for your password. Whenever you use this option, the operating system will restrict your access to the boot drive and only allow you to save files to your external User Folder. This would be perfect for shared computers. Once you log off and unplug your external drive, the computer is exactly as it was when you started.
Another use for Portable User Folders would be to move your User Folder temporarily to an external drive so you can copy it to a new computer. All you would have to do is tell the system to copy your User Folder to an external drive, then plug it into the new computer and tell it to restore your User Folder. Once your User Folder is moved to the new computer, you can erase the external drive, or keep it as a backup.
Joe Crescenzi, Founder
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