Use a USB Flash Drive

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Do you have a flash drive, but aren't quite sure how to use it? They are portable storage devices that can be accessed on virtually any computer. Follow these steps to start putting your flash drive to work.

Steps

On a Windows Computer

  1. Find a USB port. On laptops, they are typically located on the sides or on the back panel. For desktop computers, most have front ports, as well as several ports on the back side. The front ports may be hidden by a flap.
  2. Insert the USB drive into the port. If you plan to use it frequently, insert it into the front port. Make sure you insert it into the correct port - some desktops and laptops have different types of ports available, such as 2.0 and 3.0 ports, which could be hi-speed and non-hi-speed ports. Proceed accordingly. It should fit snugly. Do not force it in. USB drives insert one way, so if it doesn’t fit, try turning it upside down. When you insert the flash drive, Windows will install the drivers for it automatically. You will see notifications about this in the bottom right corner of the desktop. NOTE: If Windows isn't able to identify the device or install the drivers automatically, you may either visit the manufacturers webpage for the appropriate driver (it is often located in the support or download section of the website), or visit the Windows Compatibility Center which lists thousands of devices and links to their respectful webpages.
    • Unless it has been disabled, the Autoplay window will open when you insert your USB drive. It will list several options depending on what is stored on the flash drive. The most common one is “Browse files…”
    • If it doesn't, go to Computer or My Computer from the Start menu. This will list the devices attached to your computer. You should see your USB flash drive here. It is often named for the manufacturer of the drive. Double click it to open the drive.
  3. Find the file you want to copy. Then, navigate to the file(s) you want to copy to the flash drive. You can either copy and paste them to the flash drive, or click and drag them.
  4. Wait for the transfer to complete. This could take several minutes depending on what you are copying. Once the transfer is complete, you can remove your flash drive. To remove the USB Flash Drive safely, locate the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the system tray located on the bottom right of the screen, on the taskbar (next to the clock);right-click it and choose the USB Flash Drive from the list of devices. Be careful not to remove the wrong device (your device can carry its own (manufacturer's) name or a generic name that Windows recognises it by. After clicking the USB Flash Drive, Windows shall notify you once the device is safe to remove from the USB port. An alternative method would be to go to Start>Computer, right-click the USB Flash Drive and click "eject" from the menu.

On a Macintosh Computer

  1. Plug the drive in any available USB port. Wait a few moments while the computer automatically sets the drive up to be accessed.
    • If the flash drive has been formatted using the NTFS filesystem, then it will not be recognized in Mac OS X. The flash drive must be formatted in the FAT32 filesystem.
  2. Wait for the drive to appear. Once the drive is successfully installed, it will appear on your desktop. You can double-click it to open it and browse the files as you would any folder on your system.
  3. Copy and paste or click and drag files and folders onto the drive. Once the transfer process is complete, you can remove the drive from the computer.

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