Emerson Library Computing Guide

Flash Drives

Function and Usage

What is a personal USB flash drive?
A USB flash drive is much like a portable version of your computer's hard drive. It is much smaller than a floppy disk and can hold much larger amounts of data. An average flash drive can hold anywhere from 64MB - 256MB (some hold as much as 8GB). Compare to a floppy disk that holds 1.44MB and you can start to see why USB flash drives are the wave of the future. Flash drives are also very durable since they have no moving parts to malfunction or become damaged due to dirt.

Using a Flash Drive in Emerson Library
Make sure when you buy your personal flash drive that it requires no device drivers or special software to be installed for use with Windows XP.

Connecting a USB Flash Drive to an Emerson Computer

1. Find your USB port and insert the drive.
   
   
2. When you insert the usb flash drive into a USB port you will see a brief message on your computer screen that says, "Found New Hardware" and a new icon with a green arrow in your system tray.
   
   
   
   
3. The disk is now connected and should be fully functional.
4. To save to it, select "Removable Disk (E:\)" from the "My Computer" directory (If a zip drive is attached, the flash drive may be drive (F:\) instead).

Removing a USB Flash Drive from an Emerson Computer
Proper removal of a USB flash drive is VERY IMPORTANT in making sure your data is preserved.

1. First make sure all programs are closed (i.e. MS Word, My Computer Folder, E:/ Drive Folder). Then single left click the green arrow icon in the system tray (Double clicking is disabled on this icon).
   
   
   
   
2. A box will pop up with a list of devices. Choose the USB Mass Storage Device (E:/).
   
   
   
   
   • If you receive a message saying that the device is active, wait 2 or 3 minutes and try the removal process again.
   • If you receive the message again, close and reopen the My Computer folder. Make sure your saved work is listed in the Removable Disk (E:\). Close the My Computer folder and try clicking on the jump drive icon in the system tray again. If the process fails again, you will have to pull out the jump drive without stopping it. The possibility that your data may be lost does exist if this method is used.
   • Remember to save often and save in more than one place. Flash drives can fail.
3. You should now be able to safely remove your jump drive.