How do you use a memory stick?

[lynbrown]

I have some important stuff i want to be sure not to lose, and someone has given me a memory stick. How do they work?

[jno]

probably plug into one of the slots on the front of your computer? It will then show up as a removable disk or something in the list under 'My Computer'. You can then copy files over to it.

[Buenchico]

Simply plug the stick into a spare USB socket. (You'll probably see a 'found new hardware' or 'found new drive' message is displayed on your screen).

Go to Start>My Computer and you'll see the new drive displayed there. (It will be allocated the next new drive letter available. So, if your floppy drive is 'A', your hard drive is 'C' and your CD/DVD drive is 'D', and you've got no other drive letters allocated, it will be drive 'E'. But if you've already got lots of other 'drives' - such as media card slots - it will be the furthest letter through the alphabet).

Double-click on the icon for the new drive to open a window displaying its (non-existent) contents. Reduce that window to a size which only occupies part of your screen. Then go to the folder where your important documents are and display its contents in another small window, alongside the first one. 'Drag-and-drop' files from that window into the one for your memory stick, in order to copy them.

Job done.

Chris

[jno]

oh, and just to add, you can then take the stick away and store it, preferably somewhere away from the computer so that if the computer is stolen or catches fire or whatever, your files will be safely elsewhere. Just plug it back in to get at the tiles.

[jno]

*files*

[squarebear]

And keep another copy not on the same memory stick, as they can be prone to breaking.

[ChuckFickens]

As SB says, backup to somewhere else as well, a single memory stick is not good enough for the only backup.

Unless your data is backed up in at least two separate places then it might as well not be backed up at all.

[jno]

how so, Chuck? Three is better than two, but two is still better than one.

[Jemisa]

Whats all this about 'memory sticks'? I haven't got one, do I need one,? Not that I've felt a need. I wouldn't know where to stick it anyway.
I've been using a computer for over 10 years now and in all that time NO-ONE has mentioned a memory stick.
Am I missing out here? Would my life be enhanced by this memory stick?

Jem

[jno]

not if you haven't needed one before, Jemisa. They're just little things the size of your finger so you can carry them around, which may be occasionally useful if you want to take some files to a friend's house or something. It is useful backing up your files (ie making a copy) though, in case anything happens to the originals. Normally you'd probably do this to an external hard drive (about the size of a paperback) rather than a memory stick, though.