USB flash drives are fairly self-explanatory, aren’t they? All you must do is plug it into your PC and it’s able to go, whether or not you’re utilizing it to switch information, play media, or launch an app.
However errors can occur, and these errors can go additional than the acquainted meme of at all times needing not less than three makes an attempt to lastly get that USB connection plugged in. (Much less of a problem with USB-C, however I digress.)
Listed below are the varied methods you could be utilizing your USB flash drive incorrectly and the sorts of points that may crop up.
Additional studying: How lengthy does information final on a USB flash drive?
You’re utilizing the improper USB port
Many PCs and laptops have a number of USB ports, and many individuals merely assume that every one USB ports are mainly equal. When you have to plug in your drive, you may assume it doesn’t matter the place it goes so that you simply stick it into whichever port is most handy.
However that’s removed from the reality. In reality, it may well make a enormous distinction to how effectively your USB drive performs, and it’s most keenly felt while you’re transferring information. Decide the improper port — even when your drive suits — and you possibly can be hampering your learn and write speeds.
USB expertise has continued to enhance over a few years however the form of a USB-A port hasn’t modified. While you plug in, it may very well be a slower USB 2.0 port or it may very well be a quicker USB 3.2 port. And it may be laborious to inform which ports are which, so don’t really feel too unhealthy in the event you didn’t know.
On most units, the quicker USB 3.0 ports are normally positioned on the rear aspect and have a blue inside strip contained in the port. (If the port is coloured inexperienced or purple, it’s USB 3.1 or USB 3.2.) Slower USB 2 ports, alternatively, are typically on the entrance and don’t have any particular colour. When you have a USB 3.x flash drive, be sure you use the corresponding 3.x port.
Associated: What ports are important in a brand new laptop computer?
Your USB drive isn’t optimized
In case your USB flash drive feels prefer it has slowed down and isn’t performing in addition to it as soon as did, you possibly can optimize it utilizing Home windows.
To do that, use the Home windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run window, then sort diskmgmt.msc and click on OK. It will launch the Disk Administration window, the place you possibly can right-click on the USB flash drive (be sure that it’s at present plugged in) and choose Properties.
Within the Properties window, navigate to the {Hardware} tab, choose the right disk drive, then click on Properties. Then navigate to the Insurance policies tab and test each “Enable write caching on the device” and “Turn off Windows write-cache buffer flushing on the device.”
If profitable, information transfers ought to be considerably quicker. Alternatively, you may as well change the file system of your USB flash drive to 1 that may higher deal with massive quantities of information. Nevertheless, beware that formatting a drive will delete all the information saved on it.
Associated: Why your USB drive’s file system issues
You aren’t eradicating your USB drive safely
In lots of instances, it doesn’t actually matter whether or not you “safely eject” your USB drive earlier than unplugging it. Nevertheless, in the event you adopted the above ideas and optimized your drive, you have to begin ejecting it safely earlier than elimination or else the information on the drive may very well be misplaced.
To securely eject a USB flash drive, open This PC in File Explorer and right-click on the USB drive in query, then choose Eject. That may correctly deregister the drive and make it protected to unplug.
You’re tossing your “broken” USB drives
What do you do when a USB flash drive begins to malfunction? Possibly information can’t be deleted anymore, or perhaps the drive itself can’t be formatted. This could occur, particularly with older or low cost drives.
However you shouldn’t instantly despair, and undoubtedly don’t throw it away till you’ve tried to recuperate it. There are methods to avoid wasting the USB drive, which you’ll be able to examine in our information to reviving a damaged flash drive.
This text initially appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and localized from German.
