How to Use a USB Flash Drive

Flash drives connect to the computer through a USB Port. USB ports are marked with this symbol:

Opening/Saving on a flash drive for Mac

1. Plug the drive in any available USB port (For Mac you will need a USB-C adapter) 
2. Once drive is installed it will appear on desktop 
3. Double-click to open and browse files
4. Copy and paste or click and drag files and folders onto the drive
5. Safely eject your drive from your Mac by making sure the trash us empty and click the eject icon next to your drives name in Finder
6. You'll notice that the USB drive or external hard drive disappears from the list of available drives on your computer. It is now safe to remove the USB drive or external hard drive from the USB port.

Opening/Saving on a flash drive for Windows

1. Find a USB port and insert drive
2. Windows will install the drivers for it automatically and a notification will appear in the bottom right corner of the desktop
3. Open the file explorer and locate your flash drive name in the left panel
4. Copy and paste or click and drag files and folders onto the drive
5. Once transfer is complete you can remove flash drive ( Quick removal is a default setting on Windows 10 computers) or you can go to the file explorer, locate your flash drive and double click it. Click the eject and you can safely remove your flash drive. 

Notes and Words of Caution

• Some USB flash drives may require software to be installed on the computer before use; these models may not work on computers with limited rights.
• You should be able to take a USB flash drive back and forth between Macintosh and Windows computers; however, not all files are compatible with both platforms.
• Plug-and-go USB flash drives are the ONLY flash drives that will work on campus. If you need to install a program for the flash drive, it will not work.