This tutorial shows how to plug in, open, use, and disconnect a flashdrive or USB hard drive.

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A flashdrive (or thumbdrive) is a small storage device that plugs into your computer's USB port. Currently, they hold up to 128 GB of data. This small USB hard drive hold 1500, while larger drives may hold 4000 GB or more. 

If the flashdrive folder doesn't open automatically when you insert it, Open (double-click) the "computer" folder, then under "devices with removable storage", open the entry for the flashdrive.

If flashdrive folders don't open when you insert them, here's how to make that happen. Click "start", type 'autoplay', press enter. Check the box at the top ("use autoplay...").
Under "mixed content", select "open folder...", click "save" at the bottom of the window.

You should rename all flashdrives or USB hard drives, so you can tell them apart. To rename: open the "computer" folder, right-click the entry for the drive, select rename, type a new name, click somewhere else in the window to save the new name, close the window, then write the name on the drive. 

DO NOT JUST UNPLUG ANY USB DRIVE:
To remove a flashdrive: Close any folders or files open on the flashdrive.
Right-click the shortcut, select "eject", Wait for the message that it's safe to remove it.

To remove a USB hard drive, select the "remove hardware" icon in the notification area of the taskbar (it looks like a USB connector). If you don't see it, click the double-arrow symbol to the left of the notification area to see more icons. (demo).

Windows assigns drive letters to each USB device based on the order they are plugged in. If you frequently use multiple flashdrives at the same time, or use USB hard drives, you should reserve a unique drive letter for each drive, and create permanent shortcuts on the desktop. See the tutorial "How To Reserve Drive Letters For USB Devices".

That's the end of this tutorial. Thanks for watching.