How to Choose an External USB Drive

Universal Serial Bus (USB) drives are compact and are connected to the USB port to transfer data between computers. These drives are compatible with almost all the computers. If the USB port is not there, it can be attached to the machine using appropriate connectors. These drives are commonly available with pseudo names such as pen drives, flash drives, thumb drives, jump drives and key drives. Here’s how to choose an external USB drive.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Go online and search in Google or Yahoo for a list of companies that make external USB drives. Narrow down the brands list that suit your purpose.

2. Decide upon the capacity you want for your USB drive. The common drives come in the sizes of 512 MB, 1 GB and 2 GB. If the requirement is only for text files such as spreadsheets and documents, go for a 512 MB USB. For videos or graphics, you need a higher capacity drive. Choose the USB drive with a higher storage capacity. The difference in price decreases as you scale up on storage size.

3. Decide on style shape and color. The USB drives come in variety of shapes, sizes and have several color options.

4. Look for a USB drive that is self-installed. Normally, USBs are self-installed with the latest configuration. If there is need for installation, read the manual that has come with the USB package. Follow the installation steps exactly.

5. Learn about the security features in the USB drive before choosing it.

6. Plan the budget for buying a USB drive.

7. Visit only authorized Web sites while buying online.

8. Check whether the USB drive is coming with an original warranty. Usually, USB drives have a lifetime warranty.

Tips & Warnings

• The manufacturer’s warranty starts from its manufacturing date and not the date of sale. Saving a little money and buying a new model but with no warranty may not qualify for replacement.