How to Make a MULTI-UEFI Bootable USB! (Windows/Easy Method)

Making a bootable USB has never been easier with the amount of software freely available on the Internet. My favorite happens to be Rufus, but there are many to choose from. And while there are several multi-boot USB programs for MBR, or single-boot GPT USB programs, making a multi-boot GPT USB in Windows is somewhat unheard of. I want to share with you how to make a multi-boot GPT USB easily in Windows.

How To Use YUMI UEFI

BIOS vs. UEFI

In the past there was only BIOS, but in recent times UEFI and EFI have become the new standard for motherboards to use. The main reason for this is that BIOS has space constraints that UEFI improves upon. Much like many protocols, BIOS was made and meant for a certain era, while UEFI attempts to modernize and supplant BIOS.

The simplest way to think of UEFI is like a better BIOS.

Multi-UEFI (GPT) Bootable USB

I want to start off stating that Linux and Unix users have had the capability to use a multi-UEFI bootable USB's for quite some time, albeit through a CLI (Command Line Interface). But Windows users have really not had the ability to do this--until now...

Why is a multi-UEFI bootable USB a good thing? Because you may have several rescue CD's or Windows/Linux Live CD's that you want on one USB as opposed to several. For example, if you were IT for a company that fixed systems, it would be a big hassle to use several USB's, and even worse if none were labeled!

Is It Necessary To Use UEFI?

I would argue that currently it is unnecessary. I have never come across a motherboard for either a desktop or laptop that primarily used UEFI (or EFI), but did not have a "legacy" mode that would allow for a BIOS-compatibility mode.

In essence, this is a switch to change between BIOS or UEFI.

That being said, it should be noted that it is likely that this will not always be the case. It may take a long period, but I doubt that this legacy mode will always be around. And, for the sake of simplicity, it is much nicer to be able to just plug in a USB and not fiddle around with UEFI settings beforehand to get a USB to be recognized.

While having to switch a couple of settings does not sound like a chore, it certainly can be. Last week I had to do a lot of testing in legacy mode; so I had to go into the UEFI, switch to legacy mode, test a USB, go back into the UEFI, switch back to UEFI mode, then restart to get back to Windows. It was not fun.

Introducing YUMI

Some of you may already know of YUMI, it is most commonly known as a multi-boot USB for BIOS (MBR) systems. It is simple to use, portable, and has an intuitive interface.

What most people may not know is that YUMI now offers a UEFI beta version of their program. This only works with 64-bit systems, so be aware that any 32-bit system will not be able to utilize this version of YUMI. (A 32-bit version is being worked on). You must also disable Secure Boot if it is enabled in your UEFI.

There are a few (known) restricted rescue CD's and Live CD's that will not work with YUMI UEFI, which is not something the YUMI creators can fix.* That is because these CD's were not made to work with UEFI, so support for this CD's would have to come from the CD creators.

And while there is a list in YUMI of CD's that can be used, CD's that are not on the list are not guaranteed to work or not work. You will have to try such CD's to find out if they can boot and work properly.

*In this list, CD's that cannot work in UEFI will have a note next to the name stating "BIOS ONLY".

How To Use YUMI UEFI

Using YUMI UEFI is very simple, but I will outline the steps for those who would rather get a sense of what to do first:

Go to the YUMI homepage.

Scroll down to "Beta Download -> UEFI YUMI - Windows".

Download YUMI UEFI by clicking on the "UEFI YUMI - Windows" text only.

Double-click the "UEFI-YUMI-BETA-0.0.0.#.exe".

Press "I agree".

Click the dropdown arrow under "Step 1".

Select the USB flash drive you have inserted.*

Click the dropdown arrow under "Step 2". This will show you a menu of every known rescue and Live CD that YUMI supports.

If you do not have one already, download a rescue or Live CD you wish to use.

Click the dropdown arrow under "Step 2" again.

Select the rescue or Live CD you have ready. If your rescue or Live CD is not in the supported list, you can either choose a supported rescue or Live CD that from the list that may be similar so you can move onto "Step 3".

Press "Browse" under "Show All ISOs?". Check off "Show All ISOs?" if your rescue or Live CD is unsupported, or if you have changed the original name.

Browse for your ISO and double-click it.

Check off "Format #: Drive (Erase Content?)".

Click "Create".

YUMI will not show a progress bar, and when full, it will display a "Finished" button. Click "Finished".

*Note I: If you do not have a USB flash drive inserted, do so now, or check off "Show All Drives?", then select any drive. But be careful, you do not want to accidentally format your OS drive.

Note II: An external USB HDD/SSD (and in fact an installed HDD/SSD) can also be used to create a Multi-UEFI bootable device. To find these options, check off "Show All Drives?" in YUMI.

To test your multi-UEFI bootable USB, first ensure that Secure Boot is disabled in your UEFI. Reboot your computer and click the F# key to get to your Boot Priority screen (or go into your UEFI and either rearrange for USB devices to be found first, or select the USB to boot from it). If the multi-UEFI USB is working, the Boot Priority screen will just show a USB, instead of a designated name that you might find using a BIOS.

Recommendations?

While in theory this should work with any USB and USB port, I would recommend using a USB 2.0 flash drive, however, a USB 3.0 flash drive may work fine. But even moreso, be sure to test on a USB 2.0 port, if possible.

The reason I mention this is because I have found USB 3.0 ports to be finicky at times, especially during POST. I did not have this problem with my multi-UEFI bootable USB, but I tested with a USB 2.0 flash drive in a USB 2.0 port...

Too Simple?

No, it really is that simple. There are a few useful rescue CD's that cannot be booted from UEFI, but the majority you may know of are all available for UEFI.

For someone like me who may need to diagnose or repair a UEFI system every-so-often, a multi-UEFI is worth its weight in gold! And I know that more than a few people have been waiting for an easy method to make a multi-UEFI from Windows.

The Safest Way To Download Media (Videos, Music, Games & Software)

In my last article I wrote about what should be the safest possible way to use torrents. Yet, with torrents, there is always a risk involved (even when used legally). The only way to minimize that risk is to not use them at all. Now you're safe, but what about all that stuff you want to download? Well, I must first state that all the information in this article is purely for educational purposes and I will not be held responsible in how this information is used.

Music, Video, Games & Software

Isn't This Illegal?
Yes, it is. However, there are legitimate reasons to do this. I will provide a few examples for different pieces of media:

You end up downloading some music on iTunes. Something happens to your Apple account that has you create a new one. All your music was on your old account which can no longer be accessed. Is it right for Apple to make you to buy each song or album again?

I might own a Blu-ray disc of a movie I love. It has become so damaged it no longer plays. I still own the movie and still want to watch it. Why should I pay again for another copy of the same movie?

The new Mario game is about to arrive and you're feeling nostalgic. Digging through your garage you find your old NES console and a copy of Super Mario Bros. After everything is hooked up you find that the console, or the game, or both, are not working. Is it fair that something - which is discontinued - no longer works, through no fault of your own, and the only way you could get a "new" one is to have someone fix it (which may cost more than what it's worth)?

One problem with purchasing the Windows 8 OS digital download was that if you lost the email that had your key, that was it, it was lost forever. What if you did downloaded it and a couple of months later wanted to make a fresh new install of Windows 8. You realize you lost your email with the product key and Microsoft is of no help. Should you be forced to buy Windows 8 again?

My answers to these questions are no, that's ridiculous. While the copyrighted material should not be on the net in the first place, that doesn't change the fact that it exists. But copyright infringement is about infringing on rights. What rights are you infringing on if you already own the material?

No Torrents?
Yes, you should avoid torrents at all costs. That is, if you're ISP and/or country actually cares. There are plenty that really don't, trust me.

The reason you should not use torrents is because ISP's and cable companies can view and monitor what you are downloading since you are using a peer-to-peer network. Many people use VPN's for this very reason, and they can work well, if you ensure that your anonymity is safe. They also can cost you quite a bit, which was the main reason to use my method in my last article here.

Usenet is another option, but you do have to hand over credit card information to get access, so you could still be found out if that service hands over their information to a government agency or company.

Music Methods
The easiest to way get music is to use YouTube. There are numerous online sites that allow you to turn YouTube videos into MP3. There are some sites that will do the same conversion but output FLAC.

Albums are a bit different, and can be tedious if using the YouTube method. You can use "index of" tricks to search directories, and you may get lucky enough to find what you're looking for (if it's popular). There are plenty of sites that are just for downloading albums, not singles. And of course, there are plenty of host sites that allow downloads of albums. FilesTube.com used to be a good way to search, but they have since changed completely to legal content. There are other sites that will allow you to search these host sites though...

Video Methods
The YouTube methods for music also apply here. There are a lot of sites that will download YouTube videos for you, but there are better ways.

All over the internet hundreds of sites stream movie and TV show content for free. They will likely have a lot more variety than what YouTube offers, but they can also do one other thing that can greatly benefit you.

If you have a download manager you can download your videos at blistering speeds. This does depend on the hosting server limits and your Internet speeds, but it can be extremely helpful for those with slow speeds.


Games & Software Methods
These are a bit more difficult as your only options are hosting sites. Normally, if free, games or software will be divided into multiple chunks, and can take quite a long time to finish. What's worse, if there are something like 20 parts, and you get to part 15 realizing it has been taken down, you just wasted a bunch of time. To avoid this, open each part first and make sure they are available to download.

Furthermore, a download manager can help here too. Some hosting sites allow download managers for free users, and some hosting sites allow multiple downloads at once. This can greatly decrease the time used on downloading this type of content.

Older consoles and respective will usually have emulators scattered across the net that are free and quick to download.

Is It Safe?
These are by far your safest options. Unlike peer-to-peer networks, your ISP or cable provider can't just see what your downloading and if it's illegal or not. The most that seems to happen is if you use a hosting site for downloads, those hosting companies will either take the download down when they see or are told to by whatever company that owns the rights or represents the rights holder. Hosting companies are normally to big to constantly monitor and peruse through what is actually on their servers.

If you happen to be the uploader and are hosting illegal content, you can have your access restricted or completely revoked.

For Each Beginning, There Is An End
While I gave out ideas as to what can be done, I tried not to specify or detail too much. It's not exactly hard to figure out, but why poke the beast? Regardless, as I wrote earlier, there are legitimate times when downloading content should be legal. This doesn't mean you can't get in trouble nonetheless, but at least you would have a valid excuse if something were to happen.

Torrents: The Smart Way to NOT Get Caught. Or, Why You Shouldn't Use a VPN Anymore.

It's been a long time, and while I have written a couple articles, I didn't publish them because I felt like they just... weren't... grand enough! There are so many ideas and subjects out there, but I like to pluck the few that are truly incredible, original, or created by me.

Today I am going to discuss torrent downloading. Many people use them for illegal purposes, so this information is strictly for educational purposes. I will dive into some ideas on the illegal side, but I am making it clear that I in no way endorse breaking the law. That being said, let's continue...

The Method & The Website

Is a Torrent a Torrent By Any Other Name?
Short answer, no. I just needed a catchy title. There are many ways to go about getting media and/or programs off the net. One such way is through torrents.

Torrents are not illegal, but they are normally used for "evil". To avoid going into too much detail, a torrent is created for whatever (i.e. software, games, movies, etc.). You then use a torrent client to read torrents and download whatever it is it contains.

We've Got Issues
The problem with torrents is that while there are items out there that are free or public domain, most things out there are of intellectual property owned by existing companies who lose money when you download their copyrighted material illegally. This is commonly known as piracy.

Another problem beyond money is ratings. You don't pay per show on TV, you pay a subscription to a cable provider. But ratings help the networks gauge what shows should be renewed or cancelled, and also help bring in money for advertisements. If you download a show, those networks really have no way of knowing that you were watching the show, which in turn hurt the shows ratings and possibly its sponsors.

Ideal Situations
While it is illegal to download these properties, let me give you an example of why it should be allowed in certain situations. Let's pretend I am an avid watcher of a show and I realize my schedule no longer allows me to watch that show on its regular time. And maybe reruns aren't occurring (yet). So, I should be allowed to watch the show offline since I plan to delete once I'm done.

This would be an ideal situation for us watchers, but again, this is a problem for networks and ratings. Some networks do post reruns on their websites, which helps them with monitoring ratings. However, they are just for streaming. If you have an extremely slow Internet connection, it may be as good as not having any type of access at all.

Some Tips
What I have noticed from cable companies is that you get warned about three times if downloading things illegally (and sometimes even legally). It has happened to me - and yes, I deleted the files I had watched - and it will happen to you sooner or later.

There are three ways to avoid the cable companies from finding you out. The first is to find a way without torrents as torrents rely on peer-to-peer networks, which cable companies can access and monitor. Something like Usenet can be helpful, if you set it up for anonymity properly; but there are still other options...

A less stealthy approach is to avoid anything new or popular on torrents. It seems to me that if you are downloading a new show, game or software, the cable company will know. Remember, the cable company has limited resources, so they can't watch every single item on torrents. That would be impossible, and an expensive venture on their part. Instead they monitor whatever is extremely popular, like a movie from last year everyone loved, or that new game from last month everyone is clamoring over. While this may not always be the case, it certainly will decrease the risk associated with using torrents.

The last way is to use my method, which I will be explaining shortly. It is the cheapest technique I have come across yet, and should keep your anonymity.

Back In The Day
The most known methods nowadays is to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service. These services allow you to hide behind their networks with varying anonymity, and often will allow you to bypass restrictions that ISP's give to access certain sites. Proxies are similar in that sense, but they are not meant strictly to hide your identity.

My biggest problem with VPN's are that some services keep permanent logs of data. Those logs are what can get you into trouble. Even though you may have been anonymous when downloading, if that VPN service handed over their logs to a government agency, they could find your IP address and link you to illegal downloading.

It is always best to check if a VPN service keeps logs, and if so, for how long. There are plenty who don't keep any logs, and others who keep them for a matter of time before dumping them. The ones that just keep them are the ones that can cause you problems.

My New Method
When I stumbled upon this it was purely by accident as I was actually searching for a hosting site that would allow uploading of my (personal) files and create torrents from them that could be downloaded by others; thereby avoiding the use of my resources - mainly bandwidth issues. Instead, I found a site that will allow you to ditch VPN and give you the same benefits.

You might ask, "Why would I ditch a VPN if this does the same thing?" That's a good question, with a better answer. While I did not find what I was looking for, I did find a site that allows me to download torrents through them. So you do avoid any of your resources being spent. That extra bandwidth can now be spent watching YouTube videos, or whatever you want to do with it.

Sure, at some point you might need to download the files yourself. I say might because if it is video (maybe music too?), you can do streaming directly from the site. But even if you need to download the files, you can use a download manager that will allow you to pause downloads when necessary and get them at much faster speeds - if you don't have extremely fast Internet speeds already. Otherwise, your browser should be able to pause and restart the downloads as well, albeit at slower speeds.

But by far, the best additional benefit is the price. The site does have monthly subscriptions, so that is fine and dandy for those who prefer to do things periodically. However, they offer a lifetime membership! That membership costs about $70 USD.

Now compare that to a VPN service. The cheapest I know of, that follows the guidelines I have outlined above, is about $10 per month. If you plan to use a VPN service for more than 7 months, this will greatly benefit you. Even if not, $70 for a lifetime membership is still pretty great since you could come back anytime and use it.

As a final point, they have the benefit of unlimited storage space. This is great for me. And while files can only be up to 10GB in size, that can always be circumvented by doing something like splitting up a larger file into several smaller ones like .RAR files. No VPN service I know of offers cloud storage, and no cloud storage I know of offer unlimited space...

Site Please?
I feel a bit odd at this point as it's like I'm advertising for a company who doesn't pay me. Yet I'm not trying to trick anyone, just trying to inform people of a better way to use torrents.

The site is: UploadHero.co

This is a French site, but it has an option [flag] to change the language to English. The reason I chose this site is because France seem to be one of the safer choices if choosing a foreign online service. They also have some interesting laws in concerns with downloading copyrighted material. 

In the US, people merely have to send a letter or notice stating to stop using or downloading copyrighted material in order for a company to obey. In France (and other parts of the EU), a simple letter will not suffice. A notice needs to come from the company or person who holds the rights, or their legal representation, and I believe it also needs the power of a court order or something similar. This is a big hassle for foreign companies to go through, and it can be actually be smarter for them to avoid these legal troubles and take a small hit rather than going through all that (as unjust as that is).

From what I have read, France now has some system to automatically fine people every time they are caught downloading copyrighted material illegally. I am not sure how that works for companies, but it shouldn't matter for the end user unless that company actively seeks out illegal content in their servers. UploadHero does not seem to be one of those companies...

Anonymity, Am I Safe?
This method should be the safest route. Given the laws stated above that must be adhered to, it makes it difficult for a company to even get companies who are infringing to stop doing so. And even if it goes far enough to make a company stop, there should be little to no consequences to the end-user. Maybe a warning or a hiatus of service for a certain period of days.

However, it is unlikely that they will get your billing information, and thus your identity, as the company is the one allowing the "disservice", not its users. Besides, I am fairly sure there are some strong international laws that would forbid this being done easily. However, it might be different for cases involving French content.

Taking that all into account, the money wasted on a company going after these type of upload services - especially one such as this which has little impact in countries other than its own, and even then I'm not sure how popular it is in France - would be counterproductive to trying to maintain and increase profits. That being said, this information should only be needed if you are committing illegal acts. Users who are not performing crimes should have nothing to worry about.

BETA Testing
The current torrent uploading feature on UploadHero is in Beta. I tried it only a couple times and each time it gave me an upload error. They do ask to report errors, but I'm guessing from how they worded it that using English won't help much...

In addition, I didn't know about this feature until after I signed up and explored a little bit. As far as I know, they don't have any information on the site about torrents. If you search on the net you might find some other review sites that briefly detail this function.

One More Thing
I did neglect to mention that if you want to signup for UploadHero and are not in France, you may not be able to make a payment the first time around. I had this happen to me and I had to contact my bank to ensure that they would allow the transaction to go through. Once they did, I had no problem making the payment.

A final word of warning, the payment portal is in French, but it should be easy enough to understand what needs to be done. If not, use Google Translate to understand what is being asked.

The End Is Coming
As I noted earlier, this is not meant to be for those who illegally obtain copyrighted materials and intellectual properties. But in the interest of making an interesting article, I did include information that would seem to oppose this. In my defense, there are times when perfectly legal downloads will be wrongfully considered illegal, and that is why I have described everything as I have.

Knowledge is only power if you have it.

How to Install Android 5.1.1 (Lollipop) on Nexus 7 (2012) without OTA or ADB Sideload + Root & Recovery! (UPDATE!)

UPDATE: Lollipop 5.1.1 has been rolled out to the Nexus 7 (2012) WiFi tablet. Google's page provides very little help in updating the tablet, and while there are a few articles that explain it better, it is still a hassle. The method described here is still the easiest and safest method to install the update...

I love the Nexus 7 (2012) tablet. Not because it's the best, or because it has features others don't. Simply because it has so much support, even from Google! There are so many good tricks for it such as gaining the ability to do Miracast, or enabling 3G data (on the WiFi version). The "trick" I'll be doing today is how to easily upgrade to Lollipop. Just remember, there are always some risk involved in these techniques, however they are minimal, and if you do everything correctly you should be fine.

Android 5.1 (Lollipop), Root & Recovery

DISCLAIMER:  This is for the Nexus 7 (2012) WiFi tablet. If you decide to try this with the mobile data (or the WiFi) version, you assume all responsibility.

OTA & ADB Sideload
When I first found out that the Nexus 7 had received Lollipop, I was pretty excited. I was already on KitKat, and wasn't sure that an official Lollipop build would even come anytime soon given its age (among other factors). I immediately looked up some articles to find an easy way to get Lollipop onto my Nexus 7. Many of the articles - which are usually just copies of each other - were stating two methods: OTA (Over The Air update) and ADB (Android Debugging) Sideload.

I had already rooted and was on a custom ROM, so OTA was out of the question unless I went back to a stock factory image and updated. The second method seemed a bit less time-consuming, but I was wrong. After downloading the files necessary and getting to my recovery's ADB option, the ADB interface would not start through my recovery. Just my luck.

I then figured out an even simpler method that should work for anyone, rooted or not...

Nexus Root Toolkit
The first thing you will need to do is download the Nexus Root Toolkit. It is a fabulous toolkit that works for all Nexus devices. It is fairly intuitive, if you are already familiar with the workings of rooting and ROMs.

1. Download the newest file here.
2. Install the program and allow it to check for updates.
3. A message about choosing your Nexus device and ROM will come up. Choose "Nexus 7 (WiFi Tablet)".
4. Click "Apply".
5. It will then pop up with the main menu.

Google & ADB Drivers
The first thing you need to do in preparation for the below method, is to ensure that your computer can see your Nexus 7 when connected by USB. If you do not see it in Computer (My Computer), then either the drivers you have aren't working correctly, or you don't have them.

To install the Google drivers:

1. Open Nexus Root Toolkit.
2. Select the "Full Driver Installation Guide - Automatic + Manual".
3. Click tab "Step 3".
4. Push the "Google Drivers" button.
5. Install the "Google Drivers" by clicking "Next" in the window that appears, and confirming any other prompts.

You should now be able to see the Nexus 7 from Computer as a viable device with storage.

If you already have ADB drivers installed, and cannot get ADB to recognize (authorize) the device, ensure that you have enabled USB debugging in "Developer Options" in the "Settings" menu. If not:

1. Click on the Settings app.
2. Select "About tablet".
3. Click on "Build number" area 7 times (it will count it down for you).
4. Go back into the "Settings" menu.
5. Select "Developer options".
6. Check off "USB debugging".

Note: If you already have "Developer options" as a selection, you do not need to perform steps 2-4.

If you still cannot get ADB to recognize your device, or you checked off "Always allow from this computer" on the RSA fingerprint prompt every time you plug in your Nexus 7 to your computer (as this caused a lot of issues with my LG G2), or if you have never done anything with ADB before, follow these steps:

1. Download the ADB Driver Installer.
2. Install the ADB Driver Installer.
3. Once completed, a window should pop up showing your device. If there is an issue with it for ADB, it will show a red stop sign-like image.
4. Click "Install" to give a successful green.

Note: If nothing shows up in ADB Driver Installer, or it is already green, then there are likely other issues going on (i.e. driver conflicts, faulty cable, etc.).

OEM Lock
If you are already rooted and/or using a custom ROM, you can skip down to obtaining Lollipop. Otherwise, we need to unlock the bootloader. You may also want to backup all your data first as this procedure will wipe all data:

1. Open Nexus Root Toolkit.
2. Click on the "Unlock" button.
3. Follow and confirm any prompts.

Your phone will likely turn off and boot back up a couple times during this procedure. It should be completely automated, so you should not have to do anything but wait.

Android 5.1 (Lollipop) Factory Image
While there is already a ROM with the ability to keep your current root and recovery, it is not the official stock factory image. The OTA method is by far the easiest of the three to do, but it can be very time consuming, especially if you haven't been upgrading. The ADB sideload method should be the fastest, but if you are not experienced with it (or able to use it like in my case), then you might want something that is more automated. This method will use the official Google factory image to install Lollipop.

If you haven't already, download the Nexus Root Toolkit and install it or you will not be able to perform the following:

1. Connect the Nexus 7 via USB to your computer.
2. Click "OK" when you see the RSA fingerprint on your tablet.
3. Open Nexus Root Toolkit.
4. Click on the "Flash Stock + Unroot".
5. Click "OK".
6. Select "NAKASI-GROUPER: Android 5.1.1 - Build: LMY47V".
7. Select " Automatically download + extract the factory image above for me." This is under "Choice". If it cannot, choose to download manually and it will provide a link to download from. A message to browse for the image will already have popped up. Browse for the downloaded image and select it. Then click "OK" to proceed. The image should then merge into the Nexus Root Toolkit.
8. Click "OK". The Lollipop factory image will then download. Once done, Nexus Root Toolkit will check for ADB status...
9. If successful, the Nexus Root Toolkit may also try to download TWRP recovery. If it is not, you will go through the same additional steps above required if you cannot download it automatically.
10. The Nexus 7 should then turn off and go into bootloader as it tries to flash the rooted boot image. It will boot up again, but leave it alone. The tablet will turn off again and go into bootloader as it tries to flash the root kernel. Once done, it should temporarily boot into TWRP recovery.
11. Finally, it should reboot into Lollipop. It may seem like it is stuck in a bootloop, but give it 5-15 minutes to load and it should finish.

Note: I already had the newest TWRP recovery image integrated with Nexus Root Toolkit, so I did not get a prompt to download it (step 9) during this process.

Root & Recovery
If you want your Nexus 7 rooted with recovery follow these steps. You can also just have it rooted if you don't want recovery. And if you just want to make a full backup (Nandroid) without recovery, you can actually perform a temp recovery:

1. Connect the Nexus 7 via USB to your computer.
2. Click "OK" when you see the RSA fingerprint on your tablet.
3. Open Nexus Root Toolkit.
4. Click on the "Launch" button.
5. Select the "Boot (Temporary)" radio button under "Boot/Flash Image".
6. Click on the "Recovery" button.
7. Select "TWRP". This should start an automatic download. If it does not work, it may give a link to download it. If it just wants you to browse to a folder that has it (as I already had it before trying this), you can download the newest, official, working version of it from here.
8. The tablet should then reboot into TWRP where you can make a backup or whatnot.

Note: If you already have the TWRP recovery image for step 7, then you can select "Manual" and browse for it instead.

If you want to root and add a recovery (or just root) follow these steps:

1. If you do not already have the free BusyBox and SuperUser apps downloaded, you can save a little time by downloading them now. (You cannot use them until you are rooted).
2. Connect the Nexus 7 via USB to your computer.
3. Click "OK" when you see the RSA fingerprint on your tablet.
4. Open Nexus Root Toolkit.
5. Check off "Custom Recovery" under "Root" if you want to add root and recovery.
6. Click the "Root" button.
7. Click "OK".
8. The Nexus Root Toolkit will then check for the root boot image. If not present, it will try to automatically download it. If it cannot, choose to download manually and it will provide a link to download from. A message to browse for the boot image will already have popped up. Browse for the downloaded root boot image and select it. Then click "OK" to proceed. The root boot image will merge into Nexus Root Toolkit.
9. The root kernel will now try to download. If it cannot, you will go through the same additional steps above required if you cannot download it automatically.
10. The Nexus Root Toolkit may also try to download TWRP recovery, and will also require the additional steps for the root boot image if it is unsuccessful.
11. The Nexus 7 should then turn off and go into bootloader as it tries to flash the rooted boot image. It will boot up again, but leave it alone. The tablet will turn off again and go into bootloader as it tries to flash the root kernel. The turn off and boot off process will likely happen once more to place TWRP recovery permanently. Once done, it should temporarily boot into TWRP recovery.
12. When you are back in Lollipop, Nexus Root Toolkit should tell you to get the SuperUser and BusyBox apps.
13. Open the SuperUser app.
14. Go to "Settings".
15. Check off "Enable Superuser".
16. Ensure to select "[Prompt]" or "[Grant]" under "Default access". "[Grant]" just skips asking you for superuser permissions when accessing an app.
17. Open the BusyBox app. If you selected "[Prompt]" in SuperUser, you will get a prompt to give superuser permissions to BusyBox.
18. It should give you some message about buying it, close it.
19. Click "Install".
20. Less than a minute later you should get a successful message.

Note: I had the tablet hang while trying to flash the root kernel during step 9. If it takes more than 5 minutes at this stage, then the procedure is stuck. To fix this, I rebooted the tablet then restarted the process, which then succeeded.

Obviously, the steps for the TWRP recovery won't be applicable to those who only chose to root the tablet. And you can delete the image files you downloaded once they have been integrated with Nexus Root Toolkit. To be safe, I would wait until the entire process is done.

Steps for Images Unsuccessfully Downloading
Reading those additional steps should be unnecessary as everything is meant to be automated. But for some reason my downloads would finish almost instantaneously [it should take some time] and then have a hash mismatch.

I partially blame my computer for this as it always has this problem with Nexus Root Toolkit for anything, including updating itself! Thankfully, it did download the factory Lollipop image without an issue.

Have Fun Nexus 7 (2012) Users!
I hope this helps anyone who find themselves in the same situation I was in. While there are a lot of steps, none are difficult to accomplish. So enjoy Lollipop, root status, and a custom recovery (if you went through everything like I did). I know I am!

USB Flash Drive Getting Sluggish? Here's a Quick Method to Speed it Up (Torrent Fix)

I have a plethora of USB flash drives at my disposable. I have three Toshiba's that include one 16GB and two 32GB versions. I then have two generic USB flash drives, one is 64GB and the other is 128GB. They all serve various purposes and I usually only have one that is "resting". Until recently, I never really saw an unbearable lag on any of these USB flash drives. And when I did, only one thing actually fixed it...

Speed (Performance) Trick

A Download Story
As I have written before, I find it good practice to actually use a USB flash drive as the location for all my downloads. They are inexpensive to replace, and will help deter against running down your hard drive or SSD.

To give a better perspective of how tough I can be on these USB flash drives, I could be running anywhere between 1-5 downloads from a download manager, while using a torrent client from 1-10 different torrents, and still using my browser to download files like a PDF, ZIP, or EXE.

As such, I started with one of my 32GB USB flash drives. It did well and I cannot recall ever watching it show lag more than a few seconds (when applicable). I soon realized that I would often run out of room, and instead of just slowing down my download agenda, I decided to upgrade to a 64GB USB flash drive. After rearranging all the locations for my browsers and download manager to point to the 64GB, I started up my downloading frenzies again. It too did a phenomenal job and I saw no real performance hit compared to the 32GB. The thing was that I yet again noticed my storage space was insufficient for my needs.

So, I decided to try a 128GB USB flash drive. I purchased a generic one for about $10 that included shipping from China. I should mention that the 32GB was a brand name USB flash drive (Toshiba) purchased for around $30-$40 when it was brand new a few years ago. The 64GB USB flash drive was also a generic brand, very likely Chinese considering where I got it from, and was bought for less than $20.

128GB Too Much?
Before I designated the 128GB as my main drive for downloads, I tested it out to make sure it worked. It seemed to, so I made the necessary arrangements and began my downloading.

At first, everything was fine. I wasn't downloading nearly as much as normal, but downloads were completing in good time with little to no lag. I started off with one torrent at a time, which seemingly did well. However, when I started adding multiple torrents (e.g. two or three), I started to notice how sluggish the 128GB would get...

It was so bad that downloads on my download manager would complete and then take anywhere between 15-45 minutes to actually finish. My torrent client would suddenly freeze for similar amounts of time. And when I would try to transfer files off of the drive, it could take up to 30 minutes. Sometimes all three of these things would be occurring increasing the already lengthy times to double those amounts!

I had even used the Task Manager to end the torrent client process on numerous occasions, and while it would be speedy on startup, it would soon revert back to a sluggish state. After reformatting the 128GB USB flash drive a few times, it would always start the same, speedy. But it would always end up the same with lag coming back into play.

The Speed (Performance) Trick
Then I recalled a trick that I had seen while looking up some other information. If you are using a lot of generic USB flash drives, or have a lot of the same name brand drives, you will either want to take them all out save the one in question, or already know the generic name given to that USB drive, in preparation of this method:

1. Open up "My Computer".
2. Right-click on the USB flash drive (any drive will actually do).
3. Click "Properties".
4. Click the "Hardware" tab.
5. Choose the generic name of the USB flash drive.
6. Click on "Properties".
7. Click the "Policies" tab.
8. Click the "Better performance" radio button. (If this is already selected, you are out of luck.)
9. Click "OK".
10. Click "OK".

Note: Changing to "Better performance" only has one downside. It will force you to eject the USB flash drive every time you want to remove it (something you should be doing regardless). If you don't, you could compromise data integrity and cause a loss of data.

This technique should work on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8/8.1, and 10; and can be done from the Device Manager if preferred. It is not a speed increase in the normal sense, but if your USB flash drive is sluggish, it will help speed it back up to what it should already be able to do.

This technique does not require or perform a format to your USB flash drive, so your data should remain intact. However, as a safety precaution, you may want to copy all the data on the USB flash drive to another safe location.

Test Results
I immediately noticed a difference in the lag, as it had dwindled itself to that of the 32GB or 64GB USB flash drives (if not a tad better). To test this I started two downloads with my download manager and one torrent with my respective client.

When the first download from the manager completed, it took very little time to finish and transfer it. Transferring took a minimal amount of time despite being a large file and using the move command (which I've noticed takes more time than copying). The second download from the manager then completed, which took a bit more time to actually finish. To transfer I decided to use the copy command, which still took more time than the first, but it was on par with the 32GB or 64GB.

Throughout this time the torrent never hung once, which indicated to me that this trick was indeed working, and could also be accounted for the lag on the second download (given the increase in speed the torrent client got after each download completed).

The torrent never stopped. Not even while opening another torrent. I did notice that trying to download initial torrent files (to start a torrent), and magnetic links clicked while waiting for the initial torrent files to download, did take an abnormal amount of time. Possibly about as much as when it was sluggish. Regardless, the torrent chugged along only freezing when I had clicked a good amount of magnetic links that were failing to open quickly. Eventually, the magnet links worked.

At one point the torrent froze completely, likely due to me trying to add another additional torrent while I had other magnet links popping up. This shouldn't have been a problem for a "normal" USB flash drive, but given this 128GB's history, it certainly could be a remaining issue.

I started the torrent client again, which did take some time before it was functioning properly. By this time I had two torrents running, one nearly finished, another one just starting. The first finished and started flushing to disk. I had to go before it would be transferable, and the second finished before I got back, so I can't say if it took an extremely long time before I could actually do anything with the files.

To retest the torrents and see them through, I started up a single download with my download manager, and three torrents with my client. When the download from the manager completed, it did end up freezing the torrent client as it finished. But once it finished, the torrents started back up. I used the move command to transfer the file and I would say it wasn't as fast as the first download with the manager, but quicker than the second.

Note: It seemed to put a little less stress (and lag) on the USB flash drive to already have its folder opened before moving or copying anything from it.

The first of the three torrents to complete was about half the size of the very first torrent I had downloaded. It took about 4 minutes to flush to disk. I at first had an issue with trying to move another file I had downloaded with the manager while waiting. I had to restart Windows Explorer. After doing so, and when I could get back to the directory of my torrents, I used the copy command which was by far the fastest transfer yet. I then redid my transfer (with the copy command) of the file that had caused Windows Explorer to crash. It too was extremely quick.

At this time, I had closed my torrent client as I needed the extra bandwidth for something else. I came back and restarted the client. Another torrent file completed soon after, that was about 3/4 of a gigabyte. About 2 minutes later it was fully flushed to disk. I made the mistake of opening another folder with the torrent client (which took another two minutes). I then copied the file over, which took another minute or two to start, but the actual copying took a few seconds. The second download finished in about 2-3 minutes. I used my pre-opened folder of the USB flash drive and copied the download. It took around a minute or so to finish transferring.

One additional note, while the last two torrents were finishing the third had stopped downloading from lack of seeders. This may have helped somewhat in moving things along. 

The Lesson Here
While this simple method can help a sluggish USB flash drive, it should be noted that my problem seemed to really stem from torrents. I open several initial torrent files and magnet links in an attempt to add more trackers. Sometimes this is beneficial for torrents with few seeds or peers. Other times it is not. While this helps perpetuate the lag I experienced, the torrent and client itself were still the main culprits.

That being said, whether using the method or not, I still noticed quite a lag to navigate or perform actions on items in my USB flash drive while using the torrent client.

Moreorless, don't use torrents. If you do, try to keep to a maximum of 2 for best results. Three is when things start adding lag for me. And try to download via magnetic links. If you must use initial torrent files, download and open them one at a time and be patient.

Everything Comes to an End
So, there you have it. A way to speed up your USB flash drive. Some people may try it and notice no difference, but they should really perform tests on it first to see if there was truly a significant difference. Others may be using torrent clients and realize that this is a method to aid them in their downloading endeavors.

Part of my thoughts as to why this happened is because it is a larger USB flash drive making it more susceptible to slower write speeds (as evident with SSD's, which are essentially what USB flash drives are). But this could happen to USB flash drives of any size, and performing the above steps should help.

If you feel jilted, then I apologize. There is only one real technique I know of to get USB flash drives to increase their read/write speeds. Come back to my blog later to find out...