TECHNOLOGY TIPS – JUST HOW MANY FLASH DRIVES ARE TOO MANY?
You've heard the same name for the same
kind of
device - jump drive, flash drive or thumbnail. Essentially,
these are external drives used to save information that you want to keep. But,
how many of them do you really need?
A flash drive usually connects to your
computer via USB ports. When they were first created, that had a maximum storage
of 256MB. Today they come with several
gigabytes of storage capacity. You can have huge external hard drives with
terabytes of data storage space, but we will concentrate
on the flash drives for now.
With flash drives you have several
advantages. The first and
probably most important is portability. You can use them with any computer with
a USB port. Your data is always with you when you need it. Second, they are
durable. Because they are no bigger than your thumb, their size and lack of
moving parts, a little jumbling is tolerated well. Third, they can store
massive amounts of data for almost instantaneous retrieval. Keep your pictures,
music, videos and movies on flash drives to be used anywhere, which can replace
carrying around large bundles of paperwork.
Realistically, you only need as many
flash drives as you have different tasks to use them for. For example, personal
and business needs can be kept on separate flash drives to avoid mixing the two. Buying a flash drive, with future storage in
mind, ensures the most memory for your buck.
It is easy to check to see how much
memory you have on a flash drive to know if it is time for another one to be
purchased. When you plug one in to your computer, you can access information on
it and about it. From your Start menu, go to Computer. Under Removable Storage,
you will see your flash drive listed according to the port it is attached to.
Right clicking on the picture will reveal a menu. Choose Properties and view a
pie graph showing free space.
To keep the integrity of your flash
drive intact it is recommended that you either "eject" or stop the drive from
running. It's common for most users to
simply insert and remove the drive, but a lot of this type of use will cause
the drive to eventually get damaged. To
remove your drive, go to the Start menu, go to Computer. Under Removable Storage, right click on the
drive and select Eject. You should see a
message in the lower right hand corner of your monitor stating that it is safe
to remove your drive.
Flash drives
are useful for portable storage when you don't need to take your laptop along.
This is great for PC users who can't possibly drag their desktop everywhere
with them. Buy flash drives with sufficient memory for present and future
needs.
CATHY MALLERS & DEAN'S TEAM
CHICAGO
