If you're really ambitious, you can use a flash drive to temporarily boot an entire Linux operating system. (Lincoln Spector explains how in .) There's even a utility----that copies Windows installation files to flash drives, which makes for faster, easier, and more portable Windows installations.

So, Patricia, while you can't install every program on your flash drive, you can use your drive to run lots of great programs.

Contributing Editor writes about business and consumer technology. Ask for help with your PC hassles at , or try the treasure trove of helpful folks in the .