How to Use an External Flash Drive
External flash drives, also known as thumb drives and memory sticks, are small devices that are used to store programs and data from your computer. Most often, they are connected to the computer via a USB port, and because of their small size, are convenient for transporting and synchronizing documents between two computers. In most cases, any computer that has a USB port can read them. Most external flash drives have a way for the drive to be secured to a key chain for easy transport.
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Instructions
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Attach the external flash drive to your computer. Your operating system should recognize the drive immediately as a USB mass-storage device.
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Click on "My Computer" to double-check that the drive has been found. It should be labeled Drive E or higher under "Devices with Removable Storage."
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Set up any programs you have on your computer that have automatic backup options to back up to the flash drive. Because external flash drives can be removed from the computer, they are protected from regular hard-drive crashes.
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Install favorite programs on the external flash drive if the software creator has written a software version for this purpose. This will allow you to use your favorite programs on any computer that can read the drive.
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Send specific files and documents to the drive for safekeeping by right-clicking on the file name, folder or selected files, and then choosing the "Send To" option from the menu. Choose the external flash drive from the next set of options that appear on the screen.
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Open files from the external flash drive in the same way that you would from your hard drive. Click "File" and then "Open" in any program and navigate to the flash drive to retrieve the document you need.
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Store flash drives in a cool location where they are safe from moisture, excessive heat or freezing temperatures.
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Tips & Warnings
External flash drives can be formatted from the "My Computer" screen in the same manner as a floppy disk. Right-click on the drive and choose "Format" to accomplish this task.
Many software publishers are creating special versions of their programs specifically to be installed on a flash drive. This makes working on your favorite project easy, since you can access the program at work, at the library or while visiting friends and relatives.
