How to Use the Kingston Data Traveler

By Greg Burosh

Kingston DataTravelers can store files and may even boost your RAM.
i usb flash drive image by Bosko Martinovic from Fotolia.com

Kingston DataTravelers are portable flash memory drives (also referred to as thumb drives) that plug into a computer's USB port. They can store music, picture, video and other data files, and, using Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can even get a slight boost in random-access memory (RAM).

Plug your Kingston DataTraveler into an open USB port on your computer or laptop. Wait for your computer to automatically install the device driver.

Click "Start" (or the "Windows" logo in Vista and Windows 7) and click "My Computer." Double-click your DataTraveler under "Devices With Removable Storage."

Click on "Start" again and click "My Computer." Double-click the hard drive with the files or folders that you want to transfer to the DataTraveler and search for the files.

Right-click on the file or folder that you want to transfer and select "Copy." Left-click and drag the mouse to select multiple files, then right-click and select "Copy."

Return to the DataTraveler window. Right-click an empty area and select "Paste." Wait for the files to finish transferring. Once the process is finished, click on the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in your desktop taskbar and select your Kingston Data Traveler. Remove it from the USB port when the popup window tells you that it's safe to remove it.

Your Data Traveler can now be inserted into any computer with a USB port to view or play the files you transferred. Repeat Step 2 to find the files.

If you use Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can take advantage of the "ReadyBoost" feature and gain a boost in random-access memory. "ReadyBoost" is designed to enhance your computer's performance speed and requires at least 512MB of space on your Kingston DataTraveler in order to work.

Insert your DataTraveler into an open USB port. Click "Start" (or the "Windows" logo in Vista and Windows 7) and click "My Computer." Right-click your Kingston Data Traveler under "Devices With Removable Storage" and select "Speed Up My System Using ReadyBoost." Click "Use This Device" and slide the button to select how much memory you want Windows to use. Any memory that you allot to "ReadyBoost" will be unavailable to use for data storage.

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