Nicolet Federated Library System
  • Home
  • Libraries
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Online Resources
    • Beanstack Library Reading Challenges
    • Digital Libraries
      • Wisconsin's Digital Library
      • Wisconsin's Online Library: BadgerLink
        • BadgerLink Resource Guide for Public Libraries
    • Library Catalogs
      • InfoSoup Library Catalog
      • Brown County Library Catalog
    • Wisconsin State Documents
      • Wisconsin Digital Archives
      • Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau Digital Collections
      • Wisconsin State Government Web Archives
  • Library Services
    • Inclusive Services
    • Youth Services
  • Trustees
  • About
    • NFLS Staff
  • Blog
  • Home
  • Libraries
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Online Resources
    • Beanstack Library Reading Challenges
    • Digital Libraries
      • Wisconsin's Digital Library
      • Wisconsin's Online Library: BadgerLink
        • BadgerLink Resource Guide for Public Libraries
    • Library Catalogs
      • InfoSoup Library Catalog
      • Brown County Library Catalog
    • Wisconsin State Documents
      • Wisconsin Digital Archives
      • Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau Digital Collections
      • Wisconsin State Government Web Archives
  • Library Services
    • Inclusive Services
    • Youth Services
  • Trustees
  • About
    • NFLS Staff
  • Blog
Search

USB Storage Devices - Last Forever?

10/12/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
As more and more of you realize how important it is to backup your data, you are bound to purchase a flash/thumb drive or an external hard drive.  These devices are also a great way to carry your files around with you and/or move them from one computer to another.  However, not many people realize that they have a surprisingly short life span.  Not to mention, if you remove the USB cable improperly from your computer, you might corrupt your data or make the drive inaccessible.

Every form of storage, from the old cassette tapes to CDs to your computer's hard drive, has a finite lifespan - meaning they can only "do their thing" so many times before wearing out.  Here is a great article describing storage media and how long each type is "supposed" to last.  Flash drives and hard drives (to which my posting is referring) are at the bottom of the article.

When you plug in any USB storage, a USB icon appears in the Notification Area, a.k.a. System Tray (lower right corner of your screen by the time/date).  It may be set to be hidden, in which case you click on the little white triangle at the left to see it.  The icon is supposed to be the end of a USB cable overlaid with a white check mark in a green circle.  All you have to do is click on this once and then select the device you want to remove.  It will say something like, "Eject [name of device]".  Within a couple seconds a message will appear saying, "Safe To Remove Hardware".  At this point you can pull out the cable or flash drive and be on your way.  Do this every time and your drive may last longer than expected.




0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    John's collection of tech tips, trends, and training for NFLS librarians

    Click to set custom HTML

    Archives

    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    RSS Feed

    Back to Tech Support
    The Tech Tank
Home
Libraries
Employment Opportunities

​Online Resources
Beanstack library reading challenges
Wisconsin's Public Library Consortium digital library

Wisconsin's online resources: BadgerLink
Brown County Library online catalog
InfoSoup libraries online catalog
Vertical Divider
Library Services
Continuing education​​
​Cricut maker
Digitization kits
Ellison dies
​Grants
​Helpful sites & abbreviations
​​Homework hotspot labs​​
​Inclusive Services resources
​​Interlibrary Loan & Delivery

Vertical Divider
Intertype library services
​​Librarians' advisory committee meetings
​​Marketing resources
NFLS newsletters
OWLSnet
​
​Programming & resources (blog)
​​Tech support
​​Travel & expenses

Workforce Development resources
Youth Services resources
Vertical Divider
​Trustees
Board members
Board meetings
Trustee resources
Meetings archive

About
About NFLS
​NFLS staff

Blog
return to homepage
Nicolet Federated Library System
1595 Allouez Avenue, Suite 4, Green Bay, WI 54311
Email: nic@nflsoffice.org
​
Phone:
 920-448-4410
​Fax: 920-448-4420
Staff Hours: Weekdays, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Visitor Hours: By Appointment Only
Accessibility Statement
​​Office 365 Email Login
© Nicolet Federated Library System
  • Home
  • Libraries
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Online Resources
    • Beanstack Library Reading Challenges
    • Digital Libraries
      • Wisconsin's Digital Library
      • Wisconsin's Online Library: BadgerLink
        • BadgerLink Resource Guide for Public Libraries
    • Library Catalogs
      • InfoSoup Library Catalog
      • Brown County Library Catalog
    • Wisconsin State Documents
      • Wisconsin Digital Archives
      • Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau Digital Collections
      • Wisconsin State Government Web Archives
  • Library Services
    • Inclusive Services
    • Youth Services
  • Trustees
  • About
    • NFLS Staff
  • Blog