How to Copy Documents from Computer to USB

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Flash/USB drives are great for storing your frequently used documents and can be connected to any USB-enabled computer. These compact devices can hold up to a terabyte of data in less than 6 centimeters, but in terms of popularity (and cost) lower-capacity USBs are used the most. Even if this is your first time using a USB, copying files to a flash drive is very simple.

Table of Contents

On Windows

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Go to the folder containing the file you need to copy. Open Explorer (or File Explorer) by pressing ⊞ Win + E . Scroll through the list of drives and folders on the left until you find the folder containing the files you want to copy to the USB.

Personal documents are usually stored in the “Documents” folder (or “My Documents”, sometimes named “Nam’s Documents” if your name is Nam).
If you want to find pictures/music that you have saved on your computer, go to the “Pictures” or “Music” folder.

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Plug the flash drive into the USB port on the computer. ^{[1] X Research Source} The USB port is usually located in different locations depending on the computer. With desktop computers, this port is located on the front of the case, but sometimes you can find a USB port on the back of the monitor. Laptops usually have USB ports located on either side of the chassis.

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Find the folder on the USB to copy the file to. You can copy files to any folder on the flash drive.

After the device is connected, the system may pop up a dialog box. One of the options will be “Open fpder to view files”. Click this link to go to the home directory on the USB. The file can be copied to this folder itself or any other folder you see here.
If no windows pop up, press ⊞ Win + E to open a new Explorer window, then double-click the USB’s name on the left side of the screen. The flash drive may show up as “USB Drive,” “Removable Storage,” or the manufacturer’s name (eg “Sandisk”).
You should create a new folder with an easy to remember name for easy management. To create a new folder on the USB drive, press Ctrl + ⇧ Shift + N , then enter a folder name (for example, “Personal”, “Pictures”, and so on). Press ↵ Enter . Double-click the new folder to open it.

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Drag the file from the computer and drop it on the flash drive. With two Explorer windows open (the folder window on the computer and the USB window), drag the file from the computer and drop it on the flash drive. Dropping the file onto the flash drive creates a copy of the file on the USB without erasing the original.

To copy multiple data at once, hold down the Ctrl key and click each file. Once all the required files are highlighted, click anywhere in the highlighted area and drag the file group and drop it onto the USB drive.
You can also copy entire folders to your computer with the same drag and drop.

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Save the open file to the USB drive. If the file is open in a program like Microsoft Word or Photoshop, you can save it directly to a USB drive without dragging and dropping the file between Explorer windows. Click “File,” select “Save As,” and then choose a location on the USB drive.

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Remove the USB properly. To ensure that the data on the flash drive is not affected, you need to safely remove the USB.

Next to the clock in the lower right corner of the screen there is a USB button (depending on your version of Windows, this icon has a green check mark or not). Right click on the icon and select “Safely eject”.
When the message “It’s safe to unplug your device” appears, you can unplug the USB from the computer.

On a Mac computer

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Plug the flash drive into the USB port. ^{[2] X Research Source} If you use a laptop, the USB port is usually located on the side of the chassis. On Mac desktops, the ports are usually located on the back of the monitor. The drive will automatically be recognized on the computer, then you will see a new small white hard drive icon appear on the desktop.

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View the data on the USB drive. Double-click the new USB drive on the desktop. The contents of the drive will appear in a new window. You can copy files directly to the main folder or any folder shown in the right pane.

The amount of storage available on the USB will also appear at the bottom of this window.
You can also access the USB drive by launching Finder and then selecting the USB drive from the “Devices” area on the left side of the screen.

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Create a new directory to copy the file to. Creating a new folder on the USB drive to copy files to (optional) is very useful. Folders with names that match the contents inside will help you manage them easily.

On the flash drive’s window, press ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Command + N to create a new folder.
Enter a name for the folder and then press ⏎ Return .

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Find the file you want to copy on your computer. Open Finder, then go to the folder containing the data you want to copy to USB.

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Drag the file to the flash drive. To copy data to USB while keeping the original on your computer, drag and drop the file into a folder on the flash drive.

If you have created a new folder to copy files to, drag and drop the files into the correct folder.
To select multiple files at once, hold down the Contrp key while clicking the name of each file you need to copy, then drag the highlighted area and drop it into the new folder.

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Take out the USB. ^{[3] X Research Source} Remember to “eject” the USB drive before unplugging the device from the computer’s connection port. This will help limit data errors. Open the desktop, drag the USB drive and drop it into the Trash (the trash can turns into an “eject” icon when you drop the USB in). Then you can safely unplug the USB.

Advice

If you can’t find the flash drive in your computer’s file browser once it’s connected, try unplugging the USB and plugging it back in.
You need to make sure that the USB drive has plenty of storage space. USB 2 GB (gigabyte) is enough to meet if you only use it to save assignments or copy documents. If you plan to store music or photos on the device, consider using a 64GB or 128GB USB stick.
According to experts, 50% of USBs plugged into computers are often collected by bad guys. ^{[4] X Research Source} You should consider encrypting data on flash drives to prevent information and data theft.

Steps

On Windows

On a Mac computer

Advice

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