USB Flash Drive??

[Randy_]

This is something I am not familiar with; but thought it might be an inexpensive way to back up some files I would prefer not to loose.

Do you just plug in those little units and GO?? Or do they have be installed and set up somehow??

Do they require special software or is it built into Windows??

A sentence or two to get me pointed in the right direction would be appreciated or perhaps someone could post a link to a good site where I could learn more?

Thanks.

 

[Sylvanite]

Windows 98 and ME require USB drivers.

With Windows 2000, XP, and Vista, just plug them in and go.

 

[alamocdc]

Just plug it into a USB port and watch what happens. It should be rather intuitive, but it will show up as a new drive.

 

[rlharding]

Nah, just plug it in your usb port and copy as you would something to a CD. If this is for regular storage it's not the best method. If it's for a particular 'thing' that you need/want to keep, first look at how big the files are to make sure you get a big enough drive (usb thingy).

 

[kghinsr]

What everyone else said and remember to click on the icon in the lower right hand of the screen to turn off the flashdrive before you remove it from the computer. that way it doesnt scramble info.

 

[WWAtty]

Drives with over 1GB are fairly cheap. I've bought a couple 4GB drives for around $30 each. Much more capacity than CD-R discs and they are rewritable. Just drag and drop files onto it using Explorer.

Here is a primer on it to get you going:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,123793/article.html

If your drive comes with encryption s/w - set that up BEFORE you copy files onto the drive. While not hack-proof, it will at least afford some protection in the event someone else gets their hands on the drive.

Cheers.

 

[DocStram]

All of my students use them for my Technology in Education course. Zip drives ... or flash drives .... are way cool. Mine is an 8 gig that I got dirt cheap for 30 American dollars.

 

[R2]

Great little devices! Just do as the others say.
If you have a huge amount you want to back up then external hared drives might be the way to go. Thes are currently about$1.00(Aus) a Gig for 200 gig.

 

[Penmonkey]

I have an external hard drive and I love it, I have 1,000's of songs and 10,000's of pictures on it all backed up.

 

[toolcrazy]

Flash drives are fine for transfering files around, but for backup it is not the best solution. for backup, you are better with CD-R or DVD-R or even better an USB external harddrive. I think they are currnetly going for around $100 bucks for 250gig. The last I looked. And yes they are plug and play on XP and Vista.

 

[Aderhammer]

Tips from an engineering student that has experience, if it accidentaly goes through a pocket and into the wash, send it through the drier too and it won't get fried!

 

[Randy_]

Thanks for all of the comments.

I have an older computer and the whole hard drive is only 8 gig!! And it is only 1/4 full!!

I surf the Internet, do a little word processing and have a few pictures. I really don't need a 250 gig external back-up. I think a little USB flash drive should serve me just fine unless there is something I am overlooking??

 

[Ron in Drums PA]

http://dealmac.com/
http://supermediastore.com/adata-pd2-my-flash-4gb-usb-20-usb-flash-drive.html

4gig flash drive for $17

I love these little things, I got a handful of them

 

[bradbn4]

The computers I use to have that only used 8 gig drives did not even have an USB Port on them. So you may want to double check to see if your computer has that support.

Also drivers are not built into the OS for Windows 98 and earlier. So you may have to download some software to get the usb memory stick.

But at todays prices - well worth the risk getting one.

Bradbn4 - having fun in colorado

 

[jack barnes]

Randy maybe it's time to up grade your computer, unless your like a friend I have that believes if it still works why spend the money.

Jack

 

[Randy_]

Jack: I guess I am a lot like your friend. While many folks would consider my computer system obsolete, it still will do everything I need it to do and about 98% of what I would like it to do. In spite of the fact that it has a relatively slow processor in today's terms, try as I might, I have never been able to type fast enough to outpace the computer. I will admit that every so often, there is something i can't do on the old system and I have given some thought to upgrading; but so far, the added functionality jest hasn't been worth the cost of upgrading.

And now another question for all of those who had been so kind as to give me a little flash drive education. I was just looking on eBay and folks are selling 8 gig USB flash drive sticks for anywhere from 1¢ to as much as $50. I see them advertised in the paper for something between $10 and $20. What I am curious about are the ones on eBay for a dollar or less and even offering free shipping. Are the inexpensive sticks on eBay of comparably quality to the ones sold in the local stores or are they of significantly less quality? I know there is a lot of mark-up on stuff like this. Obviously, There is nothing to loose in buying one of those 1¢ sticks; but maybe that is just device to get your name on a mailing list or maybe those sticks are seconds or defective and will possibly mess up your computer. What do you think??

In Their Memory

 

[Brewmeister35]

Randy, you can get a 2 gig flash drive from buy.com for about $2 if you use google checkout. Someone posted about that a few weeks ago. Heck of a deal.

 

[GaryMGg]

Randy,
The deal David is referring to was for a Kingston 2GB USB thumb drive. It was $10.95 with a $10 rebate if you used Google checkout. Buy.com was the reseller.
I read your comments WRT not needing a lot of external storage and not needing a new computer.
You know what's best for your needs, so the only suggestion I'll add is that if you're going to use this for data protection, get two and make duplicate backups. At the prices you're seeing, the investment is minute compared to the cost of potentially recovering lost data -- <s>even if it's only</s> especially if it's pics and files about making stuff.

 

[Randy_]

Thanks, guys!!

They are no longer selling a $10.95 unit; but they do have one for $11.95 which I ordered so it will cost me 2 bucks. Gary, I think your idea of having two sticks is a good idea and that is what I will do eventually when I'm sure they will work on my computer.

I've done a little more reading based on some of the information in this thread. My OS is WIN98 and it does not support these little USB drives without downloading an aftermarket driver and it turns out there are problems, sometimes, with these drivers such that the flash drives won't work or you have to spend a lot of time fiddling with them. It is not worth my time to waste a lot of it trying to make a $2 item compatible with my old OS. If the thing won't work right out of the box, I'll just look at alternative solutions.

 

[toolcrazy]

Randy,
If the thumb drive don't work. You may be able to find a used ZIP drive. If memory serves, they had 250meg capacity and you can get as many disk as you like. You could probably find a used one pretty cheap on Ebay. With your old OS, this may be your best alternative, short of buying a CDRW drive.

 

[pssherman]

Randy,
If you decide to go with the zip drive, let me know. I have the 100 MB and 250 MB drives that I no longer use. I also have a bunch of the zip disks.

Paul in AR

 

[Randy_]

Paul:

Thanks for the offer.

I have already found and downloaded what is supposed to the best driver available for these little guys so now I am just waiting on the PO for my FD to arrive. If it won't work, I will definitely take you up on your offer.