The guide

Set up and use your Pocket Help Desk

Start here

Windows: double-click Start (Windows).cmd on this stick and click Yes when Windows asks to "allow changes".
Mac: double-click Start (Mac).command. The first time: right-click it, choose Open, then Open.
Linux: in a terminal, run bash start-linux.sh from this stick.

Never signed in on this stick? Read First start. No internet on the laptop? Read No internet?

Claude Code on a USB stick. Plug it into a laptop, tell Claude what's wrong in plain words, and it checks the laptop, explains what it found, and fixes it once you say yes. Claude itself is never installed on the laptop, a fix like a new driver happens only after your yes, and it checks for leftovers when you quit.

It works on Windows laptops (and on Macs and Linux too, if you choose that during setup). Claude runs straight from the stick with its own settings, its own notes and a toolkit of repair tools it knows how to use.

Your Claude login is kept on the stick locked with a passphrase that only you know. Without it, the stick is useless to anyone else.

Claude never installed Asks before every change Windows, Mac, Linux

What you need

A USB stick, 32 GB or more
A Windows computer to set it up on, with internet
Your Claude account (Pro or Max)
About 30 minutes, once

Once

Sign in

Once

Set it up

The download is tiny: just the setup. It then fetches Claude and every tool straight from their official websites onto your stick, so everything is the genuine, current version.

Download the setup (zip, under 50 KB)

Plug in your USB stickAnything on it may be erased in step 4, so use an empty one or copy your files off first.

Unzip the downloadRight-click pocket-help-desk-setup.zip → Extract All. You get a folder called Pocket Help Desk setup.

Double-click Set up my stick.cmdIf Windows says it protected your PC, click "More info", then "Run anyway". The setup lists the USB sticks it can see; type the letter of yours.

Let it format the stick if it asksThe stick needs a format called exFAT, the one Windows, Mac and Linux all understand. If yours isn't, setup tells you and asks you to type ERASE to format it.

Answer one question: Mac or Linux too?Say no unless you'll use the stick on a Mac or Linux computer. Windows-only is smaller and faster.

Wait 10 to 30 minutesIt downloads about 1.3 GB and checks every file is genuine. When it says ALL DONE, your stick is ready.

First start: sign in and choose your passphrase

Do this once, at home on your own computer.

Open the stick and double-click Start (Windows).cmdClick Yes when Windows asks to "allow changes". A menu appears.

Press 1 (Claude)A private browser window opens. Sign in to your Claude account and click Authorize, then close that window.

Choose a passphraseFour or more random words, like maple tunnel orbit seven. You type it twice. Nothing appears on screen while you type; that's normal. Write it down somewhere safe.

Claude opensYou're done. The login lasts a year; after that, the stick walks you through signing in again.

On a laptop

Every day

Plug in and double-click Start (Windows).cmdClick Yes to "allow changes" (on a school laptop that may need the admin login). Saying No still works, but then Claude can only look, not fix.

Make sure the laptop is onlineClaude needs internet. If the Wi-Fi is the problem, connect through your phone: see No internet?

Press 1 and type your passphraseClaude checks your login for a couple of seconds, then opens.

Tell it what's wrong, in plain words"Her speakers stopped working after she used the projector." Claude investigates and explains what it found.

Say yes or no to each fixClaude asks before changing anything. Ask for a report and it saves one to the stick's Reports folder.

Type /exit, press Q, then unplugQ tidies up and checks nothing was left on the laptop. Pulling the stick out in a hurry also closes everything within a few seconds.

On a Mac or Linux computerMac: double-click Start (Mac).command (the first time: right-click it, choose Open, then Open). Linux: run bash start-linux.sh from the stick in a terminal. The rest is the same.

When the laptop can't get online

No internet?

Claude needs internet, but the laptop's own Wi-Fi may be the thing that's broken. Lend it your phone's internet over a USB cable. A phone hotspot over Wi-Fi won't help here, because that still goes through the laptop's Wi-Fi.

Plug your phone into the laptop with its USB cableUse the cable that came with the phone. Some cheap cables only charge, and those won't work.

Turn on USB tethering on the phoneOn a Samsung: Settings → Connections → Mobile Hotspot and Tethering → USB tethering. Windows connects by itself after a few seconds; there is nothing to install.

Start the stick as usual and tell Claude the Wi-Fi is broken"The Wi-Fi doesn't work. I'm online through my phone." Claude finds the cause. Often it's a switched-off adapter or a broken setting; if it needs a driver, Claude downloads it over your phone and installs it after you say yes.

Once the Wi-Fi works, turn tethering offCarry on over the laptop's own Wi-Fi. That saves your phone's data and proves the fix really worked.

If that doesn't work

The USB tethering switch stays grey: try another cable or another USB port on the laptop.
Your phone plan blocks tethering: plug the laptop into a network socket with a cable. Laptops without a network socket need a USB network adapter (any with the Realtek RTL8153 chip works without installing anything, about $15).
Claude says the Wi-Fi card isn't there at all: the card itself has probably failed and no driver will fix it. A USB Wi-Fi stick or a replacement card will; stay on your phone until then.
On a Mac: Android tethering may not work. Use the cable and adapter instead.

Windows

The toolkit

The stick carries free repair tools from Microsoft and other trusted makers. You don't need to learn them: Claude knows each one and picks the right tool for the problem. They're listed here so you know what it's using.

Claude's tools

Sysinternals by Microsoft

Microsoft's own troubleshooting kit: what starts with Windows, what's running, what's using the network, what's locking a file, what's eating disk space.

Helps withslow laptops, pop-ups at startup, "file is in use", a full disk, anything suspicious

smartctl smartmontools

Reads the disk's own health report.

Helps witha slow, freezing or clicking laptop: is the disk dying?

BlueScreenView NirSoft

Reads the crash records Windows saves after a blue screen and names the driver behind it.

Helps withlaptops that crash or restart by themselves

DriverView NirSoft

Lists every driver with its version and date.

Helps withprinter, sound, Wi-Fi or screen trouble after an update

LastActivityView NirSoft

A timeline of installs, crashes, shutdowns and sign-ins.

Helps with"it worked until yesterday"

WifiInfoView NirSoft

Nearby Wi-Fi networks, signal strength and channels.

Helps withslow or dropping Wi-Fi

PSWindowsUpdate

Lists, installs, hides and removes Windows updates, with clear error messages.

Helps withstuck or failing updates, rolling back a bad update

7-Zip

Opens any archive, and unpacks installers without running them.

Helps withgetting at a driver inside a download

When a job needs something more, Claude fetches the current version from the official site, after asking you: the laptop maker's driver tool (HP, Lenovo, Dell), Snappy Driver Installer for laptops with no internet, Microsoft Safety Scanner for a second-opinion virus check, and Display Driver Uninstaller for a clean graphics-driver reinstall.

Your tools

A few tools with windows to click, in the stick's Tools\For you folder:

WinUtil Chris Titus

One window for turning Windows features on or off, tweaks, common repairs (like resetting Windows Update) and installing apps.

Open itask Claude to start WinUtil for you (it needs admin)

Rufus

Makes a bootable USB stick, such as a Windows installer.

Helps withreinstalling or repairing Windows

O&O ShutUp10++

Windows' privacy and telemetry settings, all in one window.

Helps withtidying up a new laptop's settings

Process Explorer, Autoruns, TCPView

The point-and-click versions of the Sysinternals tools, in Tools\sysinternals.

Helps withlooking for yourself

Every tool is free for schools and organisations. Where each one comes from is listed on the stick in Tools\Where these came from.txt.

Security

Keeping it safe

Your login is lockedClaude's login sits on the stick locked with your passphrase. It's unlocked only into the computer's memory while you work, never saved on the laptop.

Nothing left behindClaude's settings, notes and files stay on the stick. When you quit, it checks the laptop and tells you it's clean.

Asks before every changeClaude explains each fix and waits for your yes. It never touches the teacher's own files unless you ask.

If the stick goes missingWithout your passphrase nobody can use your Claude login. To be completely sure, sign in at claude.ai, go to Settings → Claude Code and remove the stick's token with the trash icon. It takes a minute. If you had set Codex to stay signed in, also use "Log out of all devices" in ChatGPT's security settings.
If the stick turns up again, run Set up my stick.cmd on it before using it, so every program on it is fresh.

Extras

Good to know

Updating the stickRun Set up my stick.cmd again and pick the same stick. It refreshes everything and keeps your login and notes.
Forgot your passphrase?On the menu press 3 (Logins), then sign in to Claude again and choose a new one.
Folders on the stickFiles keeps anything Claude saves for you, Reports keeps one report per laptop, and tmp is scratch space that's wiped every time. home holds Claude's settings and chat history, and secrets holds your locked login. Leave system alone.
Codex (optional)Menu item 2 is ChatGPT's coding assistant, for anyone with a ChatGPT plan. By default it signs in fresh each time with a code on your phone and saves nothing. On a stick that never leaves you, it can stay signed in instead (Logins, menu 3), but its login then sits unlocked on the stick, because Codex can't use your passphrase. To sign in, pick "Sign in with Device Code" and type the code on your phone (switch on device codes in ChatGPT's security settings first), and only ever type a code this screen just showed you. You don't need Codex at all.