Jeff Brown - How To Use A USB Flash Drive
What is a USB Flash Drive? It is a device that can store and transfer many different types of files, like photos, music, documents and such. It plugs into a USB port in your computer.
Years ago, one would use a floppy disk to store your information. It would hold a maximum of 1.44 megabits of information. Today a single picture file size is over this size which automatically disqualifies the floppy disk. One might say that the floppy disk has gone the way of the 8 Track Tape.
Now CD's, DVD's and storage devices like the USB Flash drive are in common usage. They simply hold the information we want better and in greater quantities.
Learning how to use a USB Flash drive will help you store your files and such, and give you greater mobility with them from home to home or office to home locations.
In summary, an USB Flash drive can be known by other names such as a thumb drive, a mass storage device and such. Unlike the floppy drive which can only hold 1.4 megabytes of information, this device can hold up to 8 gigabytes of information. That is about 8000 megabytes, or about 4000 pictures. They are easy to transport around. This is one of the factors that has have made this device so popular.
We want to learn how to use this device properly to avoid data information loss, data damage, and damage to the device itself.
Inserting A USB Flash Drive Into A USB Port
As the name implies, the device plugs into a USB port. This port is usually located in the front face of the computer on a desktop, or on the side of a laptop computer.
If you look at the inserted end section of the USB Flash drive, you will notice a rectangular block in the lower one half of the device.
The USB port receptacle or receiver for the USB Flash drive also has a similar rectangular part so that the USB Flash device will only fit one way.
So look at the end of the USB Flash drive and insert it properly into the USB port. Do not force the USB Flash drive into the USB port. It should go in easily.
Once you plug in the USB Flash drive, the Auto run or AutoPlay window will appear; depending on which version of Windows you are using. It will essentially look similar to this, with or without a few options present:
You will be clicking on the Open folder to view files option. This will allow you to access the files that you want use.
Removing The USB Flash Drive From Your Computer
When we are finished with the USB flash drive, we do not pull it out directly. There is an important step that must be completed first before it can be removed from the computer.
Do not pull the USB flash drive out without first disconnecting it.
- You will see in the lower right part of the computer screen an icon designed to help you remove the USB Flash drive safely.
Windows Vista - 8th icon to right of clock. It looks like a grey USB with white check mark in green circle.
Windows XP - 4th icon from the clock. It looks like a grey brick with a green arrow over it.
If you rest the mouse pointer over these icons, a screen tip will appear saying: Safely Remove Hardware. This is how you can tell that you are about to left mouse click on the right icon.
- Left mouse click on this icon, depending on your version, and a box will appear:
- Left mouse click on Safety remove USB Mass Storage Device or Safely Remove Device.
If you have two or move USB storage devices connected, you will have to figure out which one is the USB flash drive you want to disconnect. You can use the Windows Explorer program for this. It will show you what files and folders are contained in each device and identify the device you want to remove. If you only have one device connected, it will be obvious to you what to do.
- You can now pull the USB flash device out of the USB port. You will get a message that it is safe now to remove the device.
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