Microsoft has released a collection of free software for Windows XP through a web site titled “Microsoft Partner Pack For Windows.” It installs updates to a couple of Windows components and then turns on access to a handful of utilities, web services and games, mostly from third parties.
But one of them is a utility from Microsoft for managing USB Flash Drives that I can’t find anywhere but this new partner page. The program can back up the contents of a USB drive and restore them if the drive is lost. It can make the USB drive autoplay when it’s inserted into a computer. It gives easy access to the Wireless Network Setup Wizard in WinXP Service Pack 2, which uses a USB drive to transfer wireless network settings to other computers. Handy stuff! Here’s a screenshot.
