How to Use a Flash Drive to Store All of Your Documents
If you're like me, you'll have an opportunity to use at least half a dozen computers in a day. In your classroom, in the teacher's lounge, in the library... everywhere but at home. If all your documents are sitting at home on your desktop, though, you're outta luck!
With a flash drive, you can carry all of your documents with you. This way you can sit down to any computer, open up the word processor, and get to work on that test or handout you need to finish. This tutorial will show you what a flash drive is, how to connect one, how to put files on it, and how to disconnect it safely.
What is a "flash drive"?
If you remember floppy disks from oh-so-long-ago, then a flash drive is kind of like a super floppy disk. It's a removable disk that can hold a whole bunch of information – which means you can store documents, pictures, and even music on it.
Unlike old floppy disks, flash drives are compact and they have no moving parts. The typical flash drive is smaller than a lipstick case, making it quite portable. The lack of moving parts also makes them more stable and durable than their old counter-parts.
Sometimes flash drives are referred to as "pen drives" or "usb drives." They all refer to pretty much the same thing.
The amount of information a flash drive can hold will vary – an average one these days will hold about one to two gigabytes. In terms of music, that's about 1,000-2,000 minutes. In terms of documents, that could hold anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000. If all you're lugging around is documents, chances are that one gigabyte is more than you'll ever need.
Enough already. How do I plug it in?
This open USB port is on the front of the computer's tower, next to the floppy drive and the CD-Rom drive.
The flash drive plugs into the USB port on your computer. A USB port is a rectangular opening in your computer – about a quarter of an inch by an eighth of an inch. Take a look at the picture to the right of a standard USB port.
Most computers have two of these in the back, near where the keyboard and mouse plug in. On more modern computers you can typically find two USB ports on the front as well, near where the CD-ROM or floppy drive is. If you're using a Mac, you can probably also find two ports on the side of your monitor.
If you look inside the USB port, you'll see a rectangular piece and a similarly sized rectangular opening. If you look on the end of your flash drive, you'll see a mirror of this. Simply plug the flash drive into the USB port – lining up the rectangular pieces with the openings. Give it a slight push, but you shouldn't need to apply too much pressure.
Putting Stuff On the Flash Drive
Position the Flash Drive like so. Give it a little push. Voila!
Now that your flash drive is plugged in, you need to open it up on your computer.
If you're using Windows, you should go to "My Computer." You should see an option called "Removable Disk" or something similar – probably drive F: or G:. Double click on that to open the flash drive's folder. If you're on a Mac or a Linux machine, a new folder will appear on your desktop – just open that.
Now all you have to do is drag and drop files onto the flash drive. For example, if you want to copy your whole "My Documents" folder onto the flash drive – click on "My Documents" on your desktop, drag the folder into the open Flash Drive folder, and let go. Voila!
Your Flash Drive should have a name attached to it. By default, this is usually "Removable Disk" or "Removable Media." If you're in an application, like MS Word, you can save files directly to your Flash drive. Click on the "Folder," "Location", or "Save As" option, find the name of your flash drive, and select that.
Likewise, you can open files from your flash drive by going to the "Open" window and selecting the name of the Flash Drive. Or you could go back to the folder you opened, find the icon for the file you want to open, and double click on it.
So Do I Just Pull This Thing Out?
In this screenshot, you can see the Flash Drive in the My Computer window. When you want to disconnect your flash drive, right-click on the flash drive's folder and choose "Eject."
No! Well, you could... but it's a bad idea.
If your computer is in the middle of writing some information to the flash drive and you simply yank it out of the USB port, you might damage the files already saved on it. Some USB drives flash a green light when they are being accessed by the computer, but this isn't always reliable.
To be on the safe side, you should always "Eject" or "Unmount" the Flash Drive before you pull it out. In Windows, find the Flash Drive's icon in "My Computer." Right-click on it, and select the "Eject" option. After a few seconds, the flash drive should disappear from the list. If something is accessing the Flash Drive, then an error will show up – alerting you to close the application before taking the Flash Drive out.
If you're on a Mac, highlight the Flash Drive's folder on the Desktop. In the top toolbar, you should find an option titled "Eject." Depending on your version of Mac OS this might be under Special, File, or the Apple icon. If you're running Linux, then right-click the folder on your desktop and choose "Unmount Volume."
Review Time
Once you know what you're looking for, using the Flash Drive is pretty simple. To review, here's what you need to remember.
- Find the USB port on the front of the computer (by the CD ROM drive) or in the back of the computer (near the keyboard plug).
- Line up the plug with the hole, and give it a slight push. No force required.
- Find the folder in "My Computer" or on your desktop, and drag and drop files onto your Flash Drive. Or, find your Flash Drive by its name in an application like MS Word and save files onto it.
- Most importantly, always eject or unmount your Flash Drive before pulling it out of your computer.
Alright, go to it! With a Flash Drive in hand, you'll be a much more productive person... trust me.
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