This wikiHow teaches you how to move, save, and download files onto a USB flash drive (flash drive) that is plugged into your computer.
Step
Method 1 of 6: Recognizing and Installing a Flash Drive
Step 1. Look for a USB port on your computer
On a laptop, the port may be on the right or left side of the case. On desktop computers, you can find them on the front or back of the case. However, iMac computers place a USB port on the back of the monitor.
Step 2. Determine the type of USB port on the computer
There are 2 main types of USB ports on modern computers:
- USB 3.0 - The slot is a small square almost 2 centimeters wide. At the top of the slot there is a piece of plastic. USB 3.0 slots can be found on most Windows computers, or Mac computers made before 2016.
- USB-C - The slot is a small oval about 1 centimeter wide. The USB-C slot is commonly used on MacBook and MacBook Pro computers, although some Windows laptops also have one installed.
- If your computer has both slots above, you can use any port that matches the type of flash drive.
Step 3. Find out what type of flash drive you are using
Check the end of the metal connector on the flash drive:
- If the connector is rectangular and there is a piece of plastic covering the connector, it is USB 3.0.
- If the connector is oval in shape and doesn't have a piece of plastic inside, the flash drive is USB-C.
Step 4. Purchase and plug in an adapter if necessary
If your flash drive is USB 3.0, but your computer only provides USB-C ports, buy a USB-C adapter and plug it into the USB-C port on your computer.
The USB-C port is commonly used on 2016 and newer MacBooks and MacBook Pros, as well as some Windows computers
Step 5. Plug the flash drive into the computer
On a USB 3.0 flash drive, make sure the plastic piece in the flash drive connector is placed at the bottom so that it fits snugly under the plastic piece at the top of the USB 3.0 port.
- USB-C flash drives can be inserted into the computer port both ways.
- If you are using a USB-C adapter, plug the flash drive into the USB 3.0 slot on the adapter.
Method 2 of 6: Copying Files to a Flash Drive on a Windows Computer
Step 1. Make sure you have a flash drive plugged into the computer
If the flash drive isn't already plugged into your computer, you'll need to do this now before continuing.
Step 2. Open File Explorer
Click the File Explorer icon in the form of a folder on the taskbar (taskbar), or press Win+E key.
Step 3. Copy the desired files
Open the location of the file you want to copy, then click on the file once, and press Ctrl+C.
If you want to copy multiple files, hold down the Ctrl key while clicking each one you want
Step 4. Click the name of the flash drive
The flash drive will appear in the left pane of the File Explorer window. You may have to scroll down the left panel screen to find it.
If the flash disk name doesn't exist, click This PC at the top of the left pane, then double-click the name of the flash drive in the "Devices and drives" section.
Step 5. Paste the file
Click an empty spot in the flash drive window, then press Ctrl+V. The file you copied will appear in the File Explorer window.
If you want to paste the file in a specific folder on the flash drive, double-click the desired folder before you paste the file
Step 6. Eject the flash drive before you remove it from the computer
By ejecting it first, the computer will save the file to the flash drive. That way, the files won't be lost when you remove the flash drive. How to eject a flash drive:
-
Click the flash disk icon in the lower right corner (you may have to click first)
Android7expandless here), then select Eject Flash Drive.
Step 7. Unplug the flash drive
Once ejected, you can remove the flash drive from the computer by gently pulling it out.
Method 3 of 6: Copying Files to a Flash Drive on Mac
Step 1. Make sure you have a flash drive plugged into the computer
If the flash drive isn't already plugged into your computer, you'll need to do this now before continuing.
Step 2. Open Finder
The icon is a blue face in the Dock.
Step 3. Copy the desired files
Open the location where you want to copy the file, click the file once, then press Command+C.
If you want to copy multiple files, hold down Command while clicking all the files you want
Step 4. Open the flash drive
Click the name of the flash drive at the bottom left of the Finder window. The flash drive is under the " Devices " heading.
Step 5. Paste the file you copied
Do this by pressing Command+V. The file you copied will appear in a Finder window.
If you want to paste the file in a specific folder on the flash drive, double-click the folder and paste the desired file
Step 6. Eject the flash drive before you unplug it from the computer
By ejecting it first, the files you want will be saved and won't be lost when you remove the flash drive. How to do it:
-
Open Finder, then click the "Eject" icon
Maceject to the right of the flash drive's name in the lower left of the window.
Step 7. Unplug the flash drive
Once ejected, you can remove the flash drive from the computer by gently pulling it out.
Method 4 of 6: Saving Files Directly to a Flash Drive
Step 1. Make sure you have a flash drive plugged into the computer
If the flash drive isn't already plugged into your computer, you'll need to do this now before continuing.
Step 2. Run the program you want to use
Use menu Start
(on Windows) or Spotlight
(on Mac) to search for the program if necessary.
Step 3. Create a file if necessary
If you want to create a new file using the program you opened and save it directly to a flash drive, create the file first before continuing.
Skip this step if you only want to make copies of the files on the flash drive
Step 4. Open the "Save As" window
If the document has never been saved before, just press Ctrl+S (on Windows) or Command+S (on Mac) to open this window. If the document has already been saved, do the following to open the Save As window:
- Windows - Click File, then select Save As. If using Microsoft Office, double click This PC after clicking Save As to open File Explorer.
- Mac - Click File, then select Save As… in the drop-down menu that appears.
Step 5. Name the document if necessary
If you want to give the file a different name, type it into the " File Name " (Windows) or " Name " (Mac) text box.
Step 6. Select the flash disk
Click the name of the flash drive at the bottom left of the window. Maybe you should scroll down the left screen first.
On Mac computers, you may need to click the drop-down box Where, then click the flash drive's name in either the drop-down menu or on the left side of the Finder window.
Step 7. Click Save
It's in the lower right corner. The file will be saved on the flash disk.
Step 8. Eject the flash drive before you unplug it from the computer
By ejecting it first, the files you want will be saved and won't be lost when you remove the flash drive. How to do it:
-
Windows - Click the flash disk icon in the lower right corner (you may need to click first)
Android7expandless here), then select Eject Flash Drive.
-
Mac - Open Finder, then click the " Eject " icon
Maceject to the right of the flash drive's name in the lower left of the window.
Step 9. Unplug the flash drive
Once ejected, you can remove the flash drive from the computer by gently pulling it out.
Method 5 of 6: Downloading Directly to Flash
Step 1. Make sure you have a flash drive plugged into the computer
If the flash drive isn't already plugged into your computer, you'll need to do this now before continuing.
Step 2. Open a web browser on your computer
If you want to download files from the internet to a flash drive, open your preferred web browser (eg Chrome).
Step 3. Make sure you have enabled download confirmation
Most web browsers will automatically download files to the default downloads folder, which is "Downloads". However, you can make the browser ask you where to save the file by doing the following:
- Chrome - Click ⋮ in the upper right corner, click Settings, scroll down the screen and click Advanced, scroll to the " Downloads " section, and click the " Ask where to save each file before downloading " button if it's still grayed out.
- Firefox - Click ☰ in the upper right corner, click Options (or Preferences on a Mac), scroll to the " Files and Applications " section and check the " Always ask you where to save files " box.
- Edge - Click ⋯ in the top right corner, click Settings, scroll the screen and click View advanced settings, then click the gray "Off" button in the "Ask me what to do with each download" section (if the button is blue, the feature is active).
- Safari - Click Safari in the upper left corner, select Preferences…, click the "File download location" drop-down box, then click Ask for each download in the drop-down menu.
Step 4. Open the file you want to download
In a web browser, visit the page or service that provides the file you want to download.
Step 5. Click the Download button or link
The text on the download button will vary depending on the file to be downloaded. After clicking the download button or link, a pop-up window will appear.
Step 6. Select your flash disk
When prompted to specify a storage location, click the name of the flash drive in the menu on the left, then click Save. Doing so will immediately download the file to the flash drive.
- On Mac computers, you can click Choose, instead of Save.
- If you want to save the file to a specific folder on the flash drive, double-click the folder before you click Save.
Step 7. Eject the flash drive before you unplug it from the computer
By ejecting it first, the files you want will be saved and won't be lost when you remove the flash drive. How to do it:
-
Windows - Click the flash disk icon in the lower right corner (you may need to click first)
Android7expandless here), then select Eject Flash Drive.
-
Mac - Open Finder, then click the " Eject " icon
Maceject to the right of the flash drive's name in the lower left of the window.
Step 8. Unplug the flash drive
Once ejected, you can remove the flash drive from the computer by gently pulling it out.
Method 6 of 6: Troubleshooting Flash Disk
Step 1. Make sure the flash drive is not full
Flash drives usually fill up quickly-especially older devices that have little storage space. Try deleting some unnecessary files when they are full.
You can quickly delete files by dragging them to the Recycle Bin (on Windows) or the Trash (on Mac)
Step 2. Check the size of the file to be moved
Many flash drives are not capable of storing files larger than 4 GB. If you want to save a file larger than this, you will need to format the flash drive to a different file system. See details in the next step.
Step 3. Format the flash drive
Formatting will allow you to change the file system of the flash drive, which can be useful if you want to store files larger than 4 GB, or if you want to set the flash drive to work on a specific computer. All contents will be lost if the flash drive is formatted.
- If you want to save a file larger than 4 GB, select exFAT (for Windows) or ExFAT (for Macs).
- Flash drives specially formatted for Windows cannot be used on Mac computers, and vice versa. You can work around this problem by formatting the flash drive to a compatible format.
