Ask MetaFilter

I'm trying to load a 4GB USB thumb drive with [200 iPhone photos + 27 short iPhone videos + 9 Android photos ]. It's not working. The iPhone files won't open and I get a popup saying, "The file “IMG_1234.JPG” could not be opened. It may be damaged or use a file format that Preview doesn’t recognize." ...Why? [more inside]
posted by nouvelle-personne on Jan 1, 2020 - 5 answers

I use Macs. I use a flash drive to carry powerpoint presentations and other documents that I need to access on PC's running various flavours of Windows, which are not mine and I will not have administrator access to. Is there a way that I can protect/encrypt the drive in a way that will let me use it on both systems, without having to pre-install software on the Windows system? I do not need government-grade encryption, just something that will stop casual snoopers accessing the data if I lose the drive.
posted by modernnomad on May 11, 2015 - 6 answers

Is there a free downloadable mac program to password protect my entire usb flash drive? I've already tried TrueCrypt and using a .dmg with Disk Utility.
posted by CarlyH on Oct 30, 2012 - 5 answers

Where can I get a pack of four or five 256/512 mb usb flash drives to be used as give-aways? [more inside]
posted by robobrent on Apr 13, 2011 - 19 answers

I've come across an unusual USB flash memory stick. What's going on here? [more inside]
posted by chmmr on Sep 25, 2010 - 10 answers

Booting Ubuntu from a USB flash drive [more inside]
posted by Scoops on Aug 16, 2010 - 9 answers

Hello! I'm looking for a simple solution to turn my 64GB USB Thumb Drive into a portable MP3 player. Nothing fancy, simple display, controls, and small screen. I have Microsoft Sync in my new car, and a laptop that I travel with. Seems like it would be easy to keep all my mp3s on one thumb drive and take it with me rather than having multiple copies floating about on all devices. There used to be an old Lexar & I believe a Sandisk product that allowed for this. Anyone aware of anything more recent or that supports all 64GB? Thank you in advance. PS. My USB drive is not one of those fancy encrypted ones, so it works in every device I've tried it in.
posted by hussmanne on Jun 22, 2010 - 4 answers

How do I set up a computer to automatically copy files to any flash drive when it is plugged into the USB port? [more inside]
posted by dcams on Apr 29, 2009 - 5 answers

I'm hoping to use a portable harddrive with a USB storage device (Digital Audio Player, as it turns out) without a computer in between. Does such a product exist? Preferably at a non-exorbitant price? [more inside]
posted by JMOZ on Apr 7, 2009 - 14 answers

Are USB memory sticks a smart or stupid backup solution? [more inside]
posted by DU on Mar 16, 2009 - 20 answers

What is the fastest USB flash drive I can get my hands on?
posted by parttimeninja on Feb 21, 2009 - 7 answers

What's the best way to dispose of a USB flash drive? [more inside]
posted by brandman on Oct 2, 2008 - 14 answers

I have a Dell Inspiron 600m that has a weird problem: USB flash drives aren't detected at all, but other usb devices (i.e. external usb harddrives) work perfectly fine. Clean install of Windows with updated drivers does not fix this problem. My google-fu apparently isn't sophisticated enough to dig up a solution. Ideas?
posted by jytsai on May 30, 2008 - 6 answers

I'm interested in a fast, high-capacity (at least 4GB) usb flash drive. Does anyone have any suggestions? Speed and reliability are important.
posted by cahlers on Mar 18, 2008 - 8 answers

I've recently purchased a new external USB DVD drive, as I do not have a floppy drive or internal CD/DVD drive on this windows PC. I am trying to set it up now for dual-booting Solaris+Ubuntu but, even after updating the BIOS (Phoenix 6.00) I cannot boot a USB drive. First, does anyone have a way I could somehow add USB drivers as a boot option (along with XP), so that I can then add Solaris and Ubuntu (making it four options at boot)? [more inside]
posted by christopherbdnk on Dec 26, 2007 - 9 answers

I did something dumb, have I screwed up my USB key / flash drive?? [more inside]
posted by katala on Oct 20, 2007 - 9 answers

Thumb Drive Life Cycle [more inside]
posted by KRS on May 24, 2007 - 2 answers

How do I add or change something in Windows' "what do you want to do?" list for a plugged-in device? [more inside]
posted by yclipse on Apr 15, 2007 - 16 answers

I'm returning a worthless SanDisk USB Flash card reader. What is an alternative card reader brand that you recommend? [more inside]
posted by hodyoaten on Mar 9, 2006 - 10 answers

ObsoleteWindowsFilter: Is there such a thing as a universal or at least general driver for USB 'Pen' Flash Drives for Windows 98? [more inside]
posted by grahamwell on Oct 13, 2005 - 6 answers

So I have a big conference coming up and we’re considering giving each attendee a usb-drive with all the presentations on. The problem is that if I don’t find a way to automate the copying of files I have to do it manually by myself! (+) [more inside]
posted by bering on Feb 16, 2005 - 17 answers

I'm off back to the parents in a couple of days time for Christmas and will invariably need to tune up their Windows PC. My USB key-chain currently contains Firefox, Thunderbird, AdAware, Spybot S&D and ZoneAlarm updates as well as service packs and virus definition updates. What else should I include?
posted by ralawrence on Dec 21, 2004 - 7 answers

Can a USB flash drive be used as your Windows swap space? What are the positive aspects of a design such as this?
posted by Keyser Soze on Sep 7, 2004 - 18 answers

Trying to find an appropriate model of one of those little USB flash drives.. [more] [more inside]
posted by ac on Apr 22, 2004 - 7 answers

I recently got a new Sony Vaio. Its great, except I didn't realize it didn't come with a floppy disk drive. So, what I'm looking for to replace it is a small USB drive (around 64-128 megs). I've seen a bunch online and at stores for sale, but anyone here personaly use them and know what a good brand is? I want one that hooks to a keychain and can take a good amount of abuse (I don't care about extra features like security- my main concern is will it break easily and be around for a good while). Any ideas?
posted by jmd82 on Dec 24, 2003 - 15 answers