You've been using USB flash drives wrong all your life, and you probably don't even know it
The USB flash drive, that little device that's probably been with you since high school —depending on your age— but is still used by many, seems to hide more secrets than you might imagine.
Many believe that you can just plug it in and go, but the reality is that you could be wasting its potential or, worse yet, risking losing important data.
For starters, did you know that not all USB ports on your computer are created equal? That port you plug your flash drive into for convenience could be slowing down what you send or receive. The faster USB 3.0 ports are usually on the back of the computer and have a blue stripe inside them. If your flash drive is USB 3.0, make sure you use these ports to get the most out of it.
On the other hand, Windows has some options that you probably don't know about that can take your flash drive to a new level. Open Disk Manager — type diskmgmt.msc into the Run menu — and find your drive's properties. Enabling "write caching" can do wonders for transfer speeds.
Now, if you've already followed all these tips with your flash drive, it's very important that you also start "safely ejecting" it before unplugging it. Yes, that step that many skip could be the difference between having your data safely saved or losing it forever. A simple right-click and selecting "Eject" can save you a lot of headaches, really.
And what happens when your USB flash drive seems to have died? Before you throw it away, take a deep breath because there are ways to resurrect seemingly broken USB drives. From software tools to hardware tricks, it's worth trying to salvage your device before you give up on it. Check out the internet.
Lastly, another big mistake you've probably made is not having too much care or esteem for this little guy. Just like any storage device, USBs will break down over time if you don't take proper care of them.
First, pamper them a bit and don't mistreat them by sticking them in your pocket or bag, and second, occasionally use diagnostic tools to detect potential problems before it's too late.