Using flash memory for opera's cache folder

You can opt to have opera cache it's webpages and images and other stuffs, on an SD card or compact flash card or on a keychain drive - a memory card which is permanently plugged in, through one of your usb ports (or pcmcia slot). This will speed up opera, somewhat, while you surf the web.

I assume, as I write this tutorial, that you already have a flash memory card and a reader for this - and that you know fluently, how to plug it into your computer, and use it.

With your flash memory plugged in, when you look in the root of your folder structure, you should see an extra drive letter which corresponds with your flash memory card. Open that drive - and peruse through the folders, and search out whether you have any photos, or other insundry stuffs you would like to move over to your computer - before you let opera use the flash card. Then, create a folder on the card with a name of your choice. In this tutorial, I'll use the name "operacache". Thus, if my flash memory is recognized by the computer as Edrive, then my folder path will be e:\operacache

Next, you want to look through the folder where you installed your opera web browser. Inside, you'll discover an inner folder named "profile", and within that, you will find a file named "opera6.ini". Open it, with a plain text editor, such as notepad.exe. The top lines which you see, ought to be:
//Opera Preferences version 2.0//
//; Do not edit this file while Opera is running//
//; This file is stored in UTF-8 encoding//

Immediately below, you should see a section which is labeled [User Prefs], and just under there, I'll insert a line which reads: cache directory4=e:\operacache, like this:
[User Prefs]
**cache directory4=e:\operacache**
...

Substitute the appropriate pathway which you have chosen, to the right of the equals sign. Save that file, and the next time you use opera, you'll be navigating the internet more smoothly.
notes

1) Oh - and if you forget, and don't have your flash memory plugged into the computer, it's no big deal, opera will simply place it's cache back in it's old location.

2) It's always a good idea to save an archival copy of your opera6.ini file before you edit it, so that if you make an error, you can restore the original file.

3) You'll need to make certain that opera is keeping a disc cache of a size which will fit properly onto the free space of your flash memory card. You can look at the current size of opera's cache allotment, in opera8, in your preferences panels. Run your finger up to your tools menu, choose preferences, touch on the advanced placard, and look at the history section. You'll see a dropdown box, where you can choose the largest size of the disk cache, which is allowed opera. There should be options there, ranging from 2megabytes up to 400 megabytes.