Good advice. Now if I could just figure out how to USE a flash drive.... everybody just says "Oh, it's so easy". Which is fine until I go to use it. *sigh* Nancy the original techno-tard ----- Original Message ----- From: <JYoung6180@aol.com> To: <senior-newbie@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2009 5:22 PM Subject: Re: [SR-NEWBIE] (no subject) >I store photos on flash drives rather than lose quality by lowering the > size/resolution. A 4 GIG flash drive can hold quite a few photos. > > Joan > > > In a message dated 6/14/2009 4:43:46 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, > WoodyWoodworth@aol.com writes: > > If you need more hard drive space, buy an external drive, preferably the > new portable types that don't require a clumsy power supply. The > portables > are very small in size and get their power from the USB connection. > > Woody > >

Hello Nancy, Monday, June 15, 2009, 5:18:28 AM, you wrote: NK> Now if I could just figure out how to USE a flash drive.... NK> everybody just says "Oh, it's so easy". Which is fine until I go NK> to use it. When you plug a flash drive into a PC for the first time you get a 'installing drivers' pop-up and after that's finished you should get a message about what you want to do with the drive contents, usually the option to 'View files' is the one you want and this opens up a window on the desktop with the drive contents ( empty if it's a new drive of course ! ). Now open up another folder, e.g. 'My Pictures' and you can copy files from one folder to the other using drag-and-drop or the Copy / Paste method. Drag-and-Drop: Left click on a file and hold the button down whilst dragging from one window to the other - when over the window where the file should be placed you'll see a little [+] sign appear. Left go of the mouse button and the file will be copied. Copy / Paste (1): Click on the file you want and then on 'Edit' on the menu bar and select 'Copy'. Now click on the 'Edit' option on the menu bar on the window you want the file to go to and select 'Paste'. Copy / Paste (2): Click on the file you want then hold down the [CTRL] key and press [C]. Now click on the window where you want the file copied to and hold down the [CTRL] key and press [V] - the file will be copied. When finished working with a flash drive always use the 'Safely Remove Hardware' icon that appears in the system tray, i.e. the area at the bottom right of the screen where the clock lives. You may get away with merely pulling out the drive but it can lead to corruption of the data on the flash drive. Once used to the idea of working with flash drives it really is easy so have a go using the above as a guide and see how you get on :-) Just a final point to note: These flash drives are very good but don't use them for the *only* place where you store your data, they can and do go bad and lose everything that's on them without any means of getting it back !!! Think of them as temporary storage to move files from PC's or as a backup location ( i.e. the original isn't deleted ). They are no substitute for a larger Hard Drive ! -- Best regards, Barry mailto:barry@yobunny.co.uk MicroSoft Free Zone running Ubuntu 9.04 'Jaunty'

Barry Thank you for this very complete and clear response! I think I can do all of that! However, I do have one question, still. "When you plug a flash drive into a PC for the first time".... I have a very elderly computer, and I just don't know WHERE to plug in the flash drive! No, really! I don't! Is it possible that the older computers simply didn't have a *place* for plugging in hot sticks? I bought one to take with me to research libraries and such, but since I can't find where to plug it in at home, I have no experience with plugging it in anywhere else and, therefore, no experience using it. I know, I'm my own best road blocker... but would you - or someone - please give me a clue as to what I'm looking for for plug-in purposes? Good advice regarding the "temporary storage". One of my sons has installed an external hard drive for my computer, as I do the accounting for his company. I can even use it all by myself! :-) Thanks for your response. Nancy in sunny, warming-up Michigan, U S of A ----- Original Message ----- From: "Barry" <barry@yobunny.co.uk> To: "Nancy Keith" <senior-newbie@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 5:00 AM Subject: Re: [SR-NEWBIE] Flash drives > Hello Nancy, > > Monday, June 15, 2009, 5:18:28 AM, you wrote: > > NK> Now if I could just figure out how to USE a flash drive.... > NK> everybody just says "Oh, it's so easy". Which is fine until I go > NK> to use it. > > When you plug a flash drive into a PC for the first time you get a > 'installing drivers' pop-up and after that's finished you should get a > message about what you want to do with the drive contents, usually the > option to 'View files' is the one you want and this opens up a window > on the desktop with the drive contents ( empty if it's a new drive of > course ! ). > > Now open up another folder, e.g. 'My Pictures' and you can copy files > from one folder to the other using drag-and-drop or the Copy / Paste > method. > > Drag-and-Drop: Left click on a file and hold the button down whilst > dragging from one window to the other - when over the window where the > file should be placed you'll see a little [+] sign appear. Left go of > the mouse button and the file will be copied. > > Copy / Paste (1): Click on the file you want and then on 'Edit' on the > menu bar and select 'Copy'. Now click on the 'Edit' option on the menu > bar on the window you want the file to go to and select 'Paste'. > > Copy / Paste (2): Click on the file you want then hold down the [CTRL] > key and press [C]. Now click on the window where you want the file > copied to and hold down the [CTRL] key and press [V] - the file will > be copied. > > When finished working with a flash drive always use the 'Safely Remove > Hardware' icon that appears in the system tray, i.e. the area at the > bottom right of the screen where the clock lives. You may get away > with merely pulling out the drive but it can lead to corruption of the > data on the flash drive. > > Once used to the idea of working with flash drives it really is easy > so have a go using the above as a guide and see how you get on :-) > > Just a final point to note: These flash drives are very good but don't > use them for the *only* place where you store your data, they can and > do go bad and lose everything that's on them without any means of > getting it back !!! Think of them as temporary storage to move files > from PC's or as a backup location ( i.e. the original isn't deleted ). > They are no substitute for a larger Hard Drive ! > > -- > Best regards, > Barry mailto:barry@yobunny.co.uk > MicroSoft Free Zone running Ubuntu 9.04 'Jaunty' > > > > > ********* > Visit the threaded archives of this list: > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/SENIOR-NEWBIE > ********* > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > SENIOR-NEWBIE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Just plug it into one of your usb ports. ----- Original Message ----- Barry However, I do have one question, still. "When you plug a flash drive into a PC for the first time".... I have a very elderly computer, and I just don't know WHERE to plug in the flash drive!

Hello Nancy, Monday, June 15, 2009, 1:44:58 PM, you wrote: NK> However, I do have one question, still. "When you plug a flash NK> drive into a PC for the first time".... I have a very elderly NK> computer, and I just don't know WHERE to plug in the flash drive! NK> No, really! I don't! Is it possible that the older computers NK> simply didn't have a *place* for plugging in hot sticks? These USB Flash Drives need a USB port, which is an oblong shaped hole which the oblong plug of the drive pushes into. These only fit one way up but I have seen them pushed in the wrong way given enough force - it shouldn't take a lot of pushing for it to fit <lol> Now - when you say an 'elderly' computer there can be a problem here if you are using Windows 98 as it did not have the drivers for these devices built in and most modern makers do not provide them any more as Win98 is now unsupported. If you do have Win98 then you may not be able to join the Flash Drive Brigade unless you upgrade your system. So, which version of Windows are you using ?? -- Best regards, Barry mailto:barry@yobunny.co.uk MicroSoft Free Zone running Ubuntu 9.04 'Jaunty'