Files & Folders:
Using Removable Media

Step-by-Step: Using a Removable Disk

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What you will learn:

to insert & eject to label or mark to view the contents to write-protect to respond correctly to an error message

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Start with:   

These lessons will use the floppy disk icon to mark steps where you need to save to whatever removable media you are using.

Insert & Eject a Floppy Disk

If you do not have a floppy disk drive on your computer, you can skip to the next section.

1. Find the floppy drive on your computer. It is a slot with a button and a small light which comes on when the drive is accessing a disk. The button will stick out when there is a disk in the drive. [Old drives have a lever instead of a button.]
    
2. Put a computer disk label on your floppy disk if it doesn't already have one. Please use a label designed for floppy disks. Other kinds of labels may come off inside the drive, with expensive results.

   Be careful when you put the label on. It should not cover the holes or touch the metal parts of the disk. Be sure all the label edges are stuck down tightly so the label won't come off inside the disk drive!
    

3. Write your name on the label and the class it is for. This label will help you keep track of what is on a disk as well as identifying your disks to others if you lose it. Some computer disk labels wrap around the top of the disk to the back. Some just fit on the front.

   We will call this your Class disk, meaning the disk to which you are currently saving documents. You will use this disk to practice working with files and folders.

   If you are using the older 5¼" disks, be sure to write on the label BEFORE putting it on the disk. It is easy to damage the insides of this larger type of floppy by writing on it. A felt tip pen can be used after the label is on the disk. Never use a pencil or ball-point pen on a 5 ¼" disk.
    

4. Insert the floppy disk into the floppy drive, with the label side up and the side with the round metal part down. Be sure the disk is entering the slot straight and don't force the disk in. Only one will fit in at a time!

   The eject button should be sticking out when the floppy disk is in the drive.

   Be careful when inserting and removing disks so that you don't snag the metal slide and bend it. That could keep the disk from working in the drive.
    

5. Now eject the disk by pushing the eject button on the drive. See how easy this is!

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Insert & Stop/Eject USB Flash Drive

If you are not currently using a USB device to store your documents, read through this part anyway! You will be using such devices in the future.

1. Locate the USB ports on your computer. There may be ports on the front, on the back, on the monitor base or edge, or even on the keyboard. (Keyboard ports may not carry enough power for your device.)
   
    
2. Remove the cap from your USB flash drive.
    
3. Insert the USB flash drive into the USB port. Be careful not to force it in the wrong way!
   Windows recognizes that you have connected a USB device.
   
   Any of several events may happen:
   • a notification sound plays
   • a popup message appears, notifying you of that a new device has been found
   • a message tells you that drivers are being installed.
   • a search progress bar appears as Windows looks for an AutoPlay command
   • a dialog offers you several choices of what to do next, including Open folder to view files using Windows Explorer and No Action.
   • new icon appears in the notification area of the Task Bar
   • a new window displays the drive's contents
     
      
4. If you do not have the new icon in the tray of the Task Bar, skip to alternate method.
    
5. If you have the new icon in the tray of the Task Bar, left click it. A menu appears that lists USB devices that are currently connected.
    
   A printer that is connected to the computer with a USB cable may not show in this list. It probably will if it can read files directly from a camera or if it has a port for inserting the storage card from a camera.
    
6. Click on your USB Mass Storage Device.
   A popup message tells you when you can safely remove the device. The light on the drive turns off for most drives. If a window was showing the drive contents, it closes automatically.
   In Windows Vista: If the contents of the device are displayed in a window, Vista will not let you 'safely remove' the device. You must close any such windows as well as any open documents from the device.
   
   Problem: Message - Cannot remove the device
   If a file on your device is in use, you should not remove the USB device yet.
   Solution: First close any open documents and Computer windows that display the contents of the drive. Then try again.
   
   Problem: You don't know which USB device to choose
   Solution: Right click on the Safely Remove Hardware icon. A popup menu appears with only one command, Safely Remove Hardware. Click on it. A dialog appears that lists the USB devices. Choose one and click on Stop. Another dialog appears with several names for the same device. Now you should be able to tell if this is the device that you want to stop. If not, Cancel this dialog and choose another device in the previous dialog until you find the right one. Then you can click the Stop button. <Whew!>
    
7. Verify that the drive light is off.
    
8. Remove the USB drive by pulling it out of the port.
    

Alternate methods to safely remove USB flash drive:

Method 1: Open a window that shows the drives on the computer (My Computer/Computer/Explorer). Right click the drive and select Safely Remove, if it is available, or Eject. Wait for your drive's light to go off. Then remove the device.

Method 2: Log off the computer. Verify that the device's light is off. Then remove the device.

Why go through these steps? What not just pull a USB flash drive out of its port?

• If the device is in the process of writing, you can corrupt your file and even damage the device permanently.
• The computer may not recognize the next device you plug into that port. Rebooting the computer clears up this issue but logging off and back on again does not.
• The computer may not let go of the drive letter it assigned to the USB drive. There are only so many letters available! Rebooting does not usually clear up this issue. It can be tricky to fix.

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View Contents of a Floppy Disk

Start with: ,  (removable disk is not in the drive yet)

If you don't have a floppy drive, skip to the next section.

1.  Double-click on  the My Computer icon on your desktop. A My Computer window opens that shows icons for each drive on the computer and for certain special folders.
    
2.   Double-click on the 3½" Floppy (A:) drive in the My Computer window. The icons are a little different in each version of Windows:
   Win98  , WinXP
   (Be sure the drive is empty for this step!)
   

   You will see the failure message at the right. You will hear the drive trying to access the floppy. (A scary sound when not expected!) You may hear the computer's error sound. This message usually just means that the disk is not in the drive.

   Problem: You get a message when a disk is in the drive that says the device is not ready or tells you to insert a disk. It may mean that there is either a:
    

   • Physical problem: 
     Dirt inside the cover or other physical damage. Perhaps the metal slide is stuck or the disk won't spin inside the plastic case because of grit inside. (Ouch!)

   What you do: 
   Eject the disk and move the metal slide back and forth a few times. Turn the disk to the back and rotate the metal circle a time or two in both directions to be sure it is spinning smoothly. If all seems well, insert the disk and try again.

   • Data problem:
     A magnetic field has scrambled or erased the data on the drive without doing physical damage.

     What you do:
      Re-format the disk and use it again, if there is no physical damage. Your data is lost.

   Sometimes disks formatted in one computer are indigestible to another one for no apparent reason. Don't assume that your data is lost forever until you try the disk in the original computer.
    

3.  Insert the Class disk into the drive and click on the Retry button in the error message.

   The My Computer window that appears will be blank - if the floppy was blank to begin with!

    Always view the contents of a floppy before formatting! It is very easy to grab the wrong disk.
    

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View Contents of Other Removable Media

If you are using a removable disk other than a floppy disk, the drive may not show in My Computer or Computer until you actually insert your disk. It depends on the kind of drives you are using. Internal Zip drives will show up as well as card readers (which read media cards for cameras). USB drives will not show up until a flash drive is inserted into the port.

1. Without inserting your removable media yet, open a My Computer or Computer window by either:
    Double-click on  the My Computer icon on your desktop.
   OR
   Start menu > My Computer or Computer
   A window opens that shows icons for each drive on the computer and for certain special folders.
    
2. Look for an icon for your removable media drive. If you are using a permanently attached drive like a Zip drive, you will see an icon for it. If you are using a USB flash drive, you will not see it in the list yet.

   

   The example above shows 5 hard disk drives, which are actually separate partitions of a single physical drive. Under Devices with Removable Storage, there is a floppy drive A:, a CD drive I:, and several removable disk drives, H:, J:, K:, and L:.

   H: is a Zip drive that is installed in a bay in the computer. J:, K:, and L: represent different slots in a USB device that reads three different media used in cameras. Drives H:, J:, K:, and L: are showing even though they do not have media in them at this time.

   There are no USB flash drives are showing because no USB drives are currently connected. A confusing difference!
    

3. Insert your removable media. An icon appears with a drive letter that depends on how many other drives you have. A USB drive can have a letter assigned permanently.
    
   You should hear a sound that indicates that Windows has found a new device. AutoPlay will look for an AutoRun command. In some situations, a window will open to show the contents of the drive.

   

   My Computer window now shows a USB drive.

   Problem: Message - the drive needs to be formatted
   This message may be sent because there is a serious problem with your disk, but the problem might be with what you connect it to or insert into.

• Physical problem: 
      Parts are dirty or broken or bent.

What you do: 
Clean the parts of the disk and of the drive or port of all dust or particles, try to carefully straighten the bent connector, and try again.

• Data problem:
      A magnetic or electrical event has scrambled or erased the data on the drive without doing physical damage. This is much harder to do to a USB Flash drive or Zip disk than on a floppy disk, but it can still happen. 

What you do:
Re-format the disk and use it again, if there is no physical damage. Your data is lost. Be SURE that the problem is with the disk and not what you plugged it into!

 Reformatting a flash drive is not recommended unless absolutely necessary.

Sometimes a flash drive is not readable in one computer but can be read by another computer. Be SURE your drive is dead before trying to reformat. Remember also, if a flash drive was removed incorrectly (not with Safely Remove Hardware), the computer may fail to see a new device on that connector until after the computer has been rebooted.