How to Use a USB Flash Drive
Level of difficulty: Easy
A USB flash drive is a handy device for storage. The size of a flash drive ranges from an inch to two inches. The storage capacity of flash drives range from 64 megabytes to 128 gigabytes. This device connects to a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port on a computer. It is a helpful tool if you want to carry data with you without having to carry large hard drives.
Materials Needed:- USB flash drive
- Computer
Step 1
To store data on a flash drive, determine if the size of the files that you are going to copy fits on the flash drive. To do this, locate the file that you want to store on the flash drive and right click. A window will appear containing the information of the file. Check the file size beside the label 'Size'.
Step 2
Connect your flash drive to a USB port on your computer. The USB ports are often located behind the CPU for desktop computers and on the sides or at the back for laptop computers.
Step 3
Most flash drives are plug-n-play devices. You do not need to install a driver in order for it to function. Wait for the computer to be familiar with your flash drive. Once your flash drive has been detected, you are ready to copy files.
Step 4
Click on the 'My Computer' icon on the desktop. A window will appear. On the window, locate the icon for your flash drive. You can determine the space available on your flash drive by right clicking on the icon and choosing 'Properties'.
Step 5
Copy the files that you want to transfer to your flash drive by dragging the files to the flash drive’s icon. You can also transfer files by right clicking on the file that you want to transfer and choosing 'Copy'. Click on the icon of the flash drive and the contents of the flash drive will appear. On an empty space on the window, right click and choose 'Paste'. The file that you want to transfer is now copied on the flash drive.
Step 6
You can now disconnect the flash drive from the computer. Do not pull out the flash drive from the computer without ejecting it first. This is to avoid damaging the flash drive or the data inside the flash drive. Locate the icon 'Safely Remove Hardware' on the lower right part of the desktop on the System Tray.
Step 7
Right click on the icon and choose 'Remove Hardware Safely' from the options. Wait for the 'It is now safe to remove the hardware' message to appear on the System Tray. You can now disconnect the flash drive from the computer.