Electronics

[pickleslarue]

On 9/20/2014 focksie said:

Oh now I see Caffeina -- it's a horizontal scroll in the middle of the screen. You can see the size if you scroll right. I have 4 computer icons in the top box but unfortunately, the first two icons have no drive letter at all next to them, the 3rd icon has (C and the 4th icon has (D, so I'm not touching the 3rd and 4th. The first icon, when I scroll to the right, shows a size of 1.46 GB which is the closest equivalent to my 1 GB flash drive. But when I right-click on that icon like the instructions say to do, the only thing that comes up is a "Help" menu and nothing else, and that's because there's no letter listed next to that icon to be changed!

I knew there was a reason I was the last hold-out in my family to get a computer. It's so bewildering and frustrating to me when something goes wrong.

sciencegeek - Yes, my D: drive holds the CD. That's where my files are backed up weekly.

It's not going to show more capacity than the flash drive.

If, when you right click, the option to change the drive letter is greyed out it might mean it's toast. I tried this on a SD card I was having trouble with to see if it would fix it and the option is greyed out. If you don't even see that option you might not be in the right place.

Have you tried uninstalling the flash drive in Device Manager?

Look more on YouTube, it's very reassuring to be able to watch.

[focksie]

Hi everyone,

I went to Staples this morning and learned that my flash drive is kaput. The staff person inserted it into a couple of computers and nothing showed up. I'm thankful it was that and not a problem with my computer! I'm just surprised and never would have thought the flash was bad because it's relatively new and has only had the one document on it. Also, I never got a message that it was corrupted. I didn't know that flash drives were temporary and had their own life span. That's what I learned this time around.

I bought a new flash drive and it works fine, but I have also saved this doc to CD. I know I should probably get an external drive but other than this one time doc, there's nothing on my computer that's important.

Thanks again for all your help.

[chickenbutt]

Well, I guess that's good news - that it's not your ports or anything. I figured it was just the drive. But I'd do research on which flash drives to purchase.

I've gotten all of mine from Amazon and I pay attention to the reviews. Clearly, some reviewers are full of bunk but you can garner a lot of info. Buy a good quality brand and go for USB3.0 when you can because it's newer technology. They can still be used in older 2.0 ports.

Mine are a combination of brands - Sandisk, Kingston, PNY, Toshiba, Patriot, and maybe one or two others that do not come to mind right now. Several of them are quite a few years old and I keep them in cases. CaseLogic makes nice, and very inexpensive, cases for flash drives and other external drives. They are always high quality and amazingly inexpensive, all things considered.

[Lynnj]

On 9/21/2014 focksie said:

Hi everyone,

I went to Staples this morning and learned that my flash drive is kaput. The staff person inserted it into a couple of computers and nothing showed up. I'm thankful it was that and not a problem with my computer! I'm just surprised and never would have thought the flash was bad because it's relatively new and has only had the one document on it. Also, I never got a message that it was corrupted. I didn't know that flash drives were temporary and had their own life span. That's what I learned this time around.

I bought a new flash drive and it works fine, but I have also saved this doc to CD. I know I should probably get an external drive but other than this one time doc, there's nothing on my computer that's important.

Thanks again for all your help.

How are you going about removing your flash drive from the computer when you are done saving stuff? They way you remove the device, if not done right, can damage it.

Do you just pull it out of the slot to remove it? This is wrong!

First, you need to right click on the drive, then click on remove device (or something to that effect. Maybe it says safely remove device? Don't have the exact wording because I am on Mac now and its phrased differently).

Clicking on remove device first will run through a process that, internally with the computer, disconnects the USB from the inner workings. This takes a few seconds, and you'll see a pop up that says it is now safe the remove the device when that process is complete. Once you see that pop up, then you can pull the flash drive out of the socket to remove from the computer.

Seriously, if you don't do this process first you will ruin your flash drive, and possibly ruin the USB socket on the computer. This is probably why your flash drive failed while it is still fairly new.

[chickenbutt]

Oh wow, great advice from Lynn! I am so used to this that it didn't even occur to me that some people don't realize how to remove the drive properly.

On my computers, near the bottom right there will be a little symbol when a drive is plugged in. I just click on that and it offers me the choice to remove/eject the drive. Always always do this!!

[Lynnj]

On 9/21/2014 chickenbutt said:

Oh wow, great advice from Lynn! I am so used to this that it didn't even occur to me that some people don't realize how to remove the drive properly.

On my computers, near the bottom right there will be a little symbol when a drive is plugged in. I just click on that and it offers me the choice to remove/eject the drive. Always always do this!!

I agree. Some things come so natural, after doing it for so long, we can forget to point out the simple. But I am surprised by how many people don't stop the device on the computer before pulling out the drive from the socket. I witness people doing this all the time. That's why it came to mind right away when OP said the drive is fairly new and already failed.

We all don't know a lot of different things, knowledge in areas for some can be stronger in different areas. I am sharp with technology, but I have no clue how to cook. The kitchen and kitchen tools are so foreign to me. I am sure I do things incorrectly, or out of order, if it is anything related to kitchen/cooking. We don't know what we don't know, until we are told differently. ya know.

[chickenbutt]

Good points, Lynn! I'm good at cooking but I learn a lot about technology from others, such as you.

One can never learn enough, no?

[Lynnj]

Absolutely, chickenbutt, one can NEVER learn enough. I learn so much from all of the different forums everyday. I love that we are all able to share our knowledge with each other here.

[focksie]

Yes, I know about removing hardware properly. Thanks Lynnj!

I click on an icon on my bottom tool bar that says "Eject USB device." If it's ok, it will then say "Safe to Remove Hardware" and that's when I know I can detach the flash drive. If it isn't ok, I get a warning box in the center of my screen that says "Other programs in use. Close them before removing hardware."

I really like my inexpensive computer. It's very good with warnings for everything.

[Mz iMac]

"it's relatively new"

If you are still under warranty, contact the manufacturer for a refund.