Things You Can Do With a Flash Drive

Flash drives come in all shapes and colors.

Flash drives, also commonly known as thumb, jump or USB drives, are small flash-based storage devices that connect through the USB port. Small enough to carry on a key chain, flash drives make extra storage for your computer files easy to transport. Make the most of your flash drive by considering all of the uses for this device.

Storing Files

Like a hard drive in a computer, a flash drive contains a small storage drive for storing any type of files or data. Unlike hard drives, the memory inside a flash drive is solid state and very compact. Flash drives are available that hold as much as 256 gigabytes says CFGear, but these drives cost upwards of $1,000 as of this publication. A flash drive this size will securely store more than 300 CDs worth of music files or thousands of important documents.

Transferring Files

Before the simple USB flash drive was invented, transferring files from one computer to another required CDs, floppy discs or difficult to use cord connections. A CD burned on one operating system may not be read by a different OS on the next computer, making transfers even more difficult. The UnArchived website says that all computers feature USB ports, whether they run Windows, Mac OS or Linux. Use your flash drive to transfer a document or favorite song from your Windows desktop to a friend's Mac laptop without worrying about burning CDs or installing new software.

Repair

When a hard drive is erased or replaced, the operating system of the computer goes with it. This usually erases the drivers needed for the CD or DVD drive to operate, making repairs from a disc difficult. USB ports are simply enough that computers require no drivers to access them, according to USB4Ever, so flash drives make computer repair easier. Loading up an anti-virus or other repair program goes faster with a USB than a CD because there is no need for time-consuming disc burning.

Running Applications

Many of the most popular software options come in portable format, which allows them to be installed and loaded from a flash drive says Everything USB. Computers labs in schools and libraries rarely let you install your own programs. Bringing a flash drive with PowerPoint, OpenOffice or a photo editing program lets you use the software of your choice without installing anything on the computer you are using. Installed programs take up more space than files, so try keeping one flash drive for portable programs and one for files.

References

• CFGear; What is the Biggest USB Flash Drive?; March 2010
• UnArchived; The Benefits of Using USB Flash Drives; James Walsh
• USB4Ever: USB Flash Drive Advantages and Limits;
• Everything USB: Run Applications on Your USB Flash Drives