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Introduction
USB Buying Guide to what you need to know about USB Flash Drives, which are data storage and transfer devices for your computer. The USB Flash Drive is also sometimes known as a Memory Stick, or even UFD. We also cover the U3 Smart Drive.
USB Flash Drives have been available since early 2000. Since then, they have become extremely popular, replacing the floppy disk. Compared to the floppy disk, a USB Flash Drive is faster, more robust, holds much more data, and is physically smaller.
There are three parts in a USB Flash Drive:
- Flash memory, which stores your data.
- A USB connector to connect to your computer.
- Some electronics to control the memory, and the connection.
None of these are moving parts, so there isn't anything to wear out - which makes the USB Flash Drive extremely robust. The device gets its power supply from the computer, but only when the USB Flash Drive is connected to your computer. The flash memory holds your data even when it has no power supply. So when the USB Flash Drive isn't connected to your computer, it doesn't need any power - hence it has no need for batteries.
How to use a USB Flash Drive
Before you buy a USB Flash Drive, check that you have a USB port on your computer. It will be labeled with the USB Trident, as shown on the right. Apple have been providing USB ports since 1999. Due to the vast range of manufacturers for PCs, we can't be sure that your older PC has one. On a desktop computer, look at the back (where most of the connectors are), and on the front of the case. It might even be somewhere on the keyboard. Your laptop could have one on the side or back.
Take the lid off your USB Flash Drive, and insert the drive into a USB port on your computer. If you are lucky the computer will detect it, and spring into action. If nothing happens (we're speaking about PCs here - Apple Macs should work transparently as usual) or you want to watch it carefully, bring up a copy of Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer) by right-clicking on the "Start" button on the bottom left of your screen. Then insert your USB Flash Drive into the USB port. Your Explorer window should then change to show the new drive. On the example here, the USB Flash Drive appears as drive "D". If you have a floppy disk drive, or one or more CD/DVD drives, it can appear as "E" or even "F".
Once you've finished, you should get into the habit of "ejecting" your USB Flash Drive from your computer. If you don't, there's a chance that the computer won't have finished writing every bit of your data, and your file(s) may get corrupted. Eject the drive by right-clicking on it in Windows Explorer, and then clicking on the "Eject" menu item. Then it will be safe to pull the USB Flash Drive out of the port. Don't forget to put its lid on.
Comparison with other Drives
We've already covered floppy disks above - they are beaten hands down on all counts by USB Flash Drives. New computers tend not to have floppy disk drives anymore - they've been superseded.
Slightly more modern alternatives are CD-R and CD-RW, but even these have been replaced by the various kind of DVD - for full details, see the DVR Glossary page. DVDs usually store 4.7Gb, though 9.4Gb versions are available. These optical disks take up more room than a USB Flash Drive, so aren't as convenient for carrying around. They might be a good solution for you, if all you want to do is store a lot of information cheaply, near your computer.
USB Flash Drives stand out for their robustness and ease of carrying about (e.g. on a key ring). Scratches or dust that would affect your CD or DVD, won't affect your USB Flash Drive. On the Internet there are stories about USB Flash Drives which have been put into a washing machine by mistake, and working fine once they've been dried out.
The USB standard has become ubiquitous - all new computers (Windows PCs and Apple Macs) come with a set of USB ports, so you'll not have to worry about whether a particular computer supports your USB Flash Drive.
Research is still being done on Flash memory, so storage capacities are increasing and prices are dropping. There's even talk of Flash Drives replacing hard disk drives.
See Best Buy USB Flash Drives.
USB 2.0
USB 2.0 is the current USB version - which means that all of the USB Flash Drives that you'll find in the shops are labeled "USB 2.0".
Before USB 2.0, USB ports could work in either Low Speed or Full Speed. USB 2.0 devices work at the faster Hi-Speed. This just means that the newer devices work faster than the older ones, provided your computer supports USB 2.0. If it doesn't, all is not lost - a USB 2.0 device will work ok with your computer, just slower than it would on a newer computer.
U3 Smart Drives
You can copy your data onto a USB Flash Drive. However, you can't install a Windows application onto a standard UFD. This is because when you install an application on Windows, the install process also updates your Windows Registry - which resides on your computer's internal hard disk. In effect, the application's residence would be split across the USB Flash Drive and the hard disk. Which means that if you put that UFD into a different computer, the application couldn't run because it wouldn't be able to find the information it needs in that new computer's Registry.
U3 Smart Drives were designed to solve this problem. They have an extra component - the U3 Launchpad - which starts up when you insert your U3 Smart Drive into your computer. The U3 Launchpad looks a bit like the normal Windows Program Manager which you see when you press the Windows "Start" button. When you start an application on the U3 Smart Drive, the information it needs gets copied to the Registry for you. When you eject the U3 Smart Drive, the Registry gets cleaned up - leaving it as it was before.
Let's assume that you have your favourite browser, Mozilla Firefox, installed on your U3 Smart Drive, together with your bookmarks/favourites. You visit a friend's home, and slot your U3 Smart Drive into his computer. Even if he hasn't got Firefox installed on his computer, you can start Firefox from your U3 Smart Drive as if it were in your own computer. You surf the web, using your bookmarks/favourites exactly as usual. When you're finished, eject your U3 Smart Drive, and all traces of you get wiped from your friend's computer.
You don't even need Admin rights to do this. So you could even do this trick on your corporate office computer, the computer in the airport lounge, or on your school or library computer.
U3 is relatively new, so there aren't that many U3-enabled applications available yet. One application which is perfect for U3 is Skype, the free Internet phone system. Check out what other applications are available on the U3 website.
Parental Warning
If your child uses a U3 Smart Drive which has a browser such as Mozilla Firefox installed, he or she will be able to surf the net without leaving any trace on your PC. His/her favourites and history will be stored on the U3 Smart Drive, to which you may not have access, and may even be password-protected.
Summary
We've explained all you need to know about USB Flash Drives, including how to use them. We've also described the newer U3 Smart Drives.
