Working with Flash Drives and Memory Cards
Digital camera owners eventually become acquainted with memory cards - those little plastic squares that replaced the awkward rolls of film. Windows can read digital photos directly from the camera after you find its cable and plug it into your PC. But Windows can also grab photos straight off the memory card, a method praised by those who've lost their camera's cables.
The secret is a memory card reader - a little slot-filled box that stays plugged into your PC. Slide your memory card into the slot, and your PC can read the card's files, just like reading files from any other folder. Some tablets, laptops, and PCs include built-in memory card readers.
Most office supply and electronics stores sell memory card readers that accept most popular memory card formats: Compact Flash, SecureDigital High Capacity (SDHC), Micro-SecureDigital High Capacity (SDHC), Micro-SecureDigital Extended Capacity (SDXC) and a host of other tongue twisters. Some computers even come with built-in memory card readers on the front of their case.
The beauty of card readers is that there's nothing new to figure out: Windows treats your inserted card just like an ordinary folder. Insert your card, and a folder appears on your screen to show your digital camera photos. The same drag-and-drop and cut-and-paste rules covered earlier in this tutorial still apply, letting you move the pictures or other files off the card and into your Pictures folder.
Flash drives - also known as thumbdrives - work just like memory card readers. Plug the flash drive into one of your PC's USB ports, and the drive appears as an icon (shown in the margin) in File Explorer, ready to be opened with a double-click.
Warning:
First, the warning: Formatting a card or flash drive wipes out all its information. Never format a card or flash drive unless you don't care about the information it currently holds.
Now, the procedure: If Windows complains that a newly inserted card isn't formatted, right-click its drive and choose Format. (This problem happens most often with brand-new or damaged cards.)
OneDrive: Your Cubbyhole in the Clouds
When you're sitting in front of your computer, you naturally store your files inside your computer. There's really no place else to put them. When you leave your computer, you can bring along important files by stashing them on flash drives, CDs, DVDs, and portable hard drives - if you remember to grab them on the way out.
But how can you access your files from any computer, even if you've forgotten to bring along the files? How can you grab your home files from work, and vice versa? How can you view an important document while traveling?
Microsoft's solution to that problem is called OneDrive. It's your own private file storage space on the Internet, and it's built into Windows 10. With OneDrive, your files are available from any computer with an Internet connection. You can even grab them from phones or tablets from Apple, Android, Blackberry, or Windows: Microsoft offers a free OneDrive app for all of them.
If you change a file on OneDrive, Microsoft automatically changes that file on all of your computers and devices. That way, your OneDrive folder automatically stays up-to-date on every device.
Windows 10 makes OneDrive easily accessible by building it into every folder. However, you still need the following things in order to put OneDrive to work:
- Microsoft account:
You need a Microsoft account in order to upload, view, or retrieve your files from OneDrive. Chances are good that you created a Microsoft account when you first created your account on your Windows PC. - An Internet connection:
Without an Internet signal, either wireless or wired, your web-stashed files remain floating in the clouds, away from you and your computer. - Patience:
Uploading files takes longer than downloading files. Although you can upload small files fairly quickly, larger files such as digital photos or movies take much longer to upload.
For some people, OneDrive offers a safe Internet haven, sometimes called the "cloud," where they can always find their most important files. For others, OneDrive brings another layer of complication, as well as another possible hiding place for that missing file.
The following sections explain how to access OneDrive directly from any folder on your computer, as well as by visiting with a web browser. You also find out how to change OneDrive's settings to make sure its huge storage capacity doesn't hog all of your computer's storage space.
Choosing which OneDrive folders should sync with your PC
Windows 10 places OneDrive in every folder's Navigation Pane, where it's easily accessible. There, OneDrive works like any other folder but with one exception: Files and folders you place inside your OneDrive folder are also copied to your OneDrive storage space on the Internet.
That can create a problem: Today's smaller phones, tablets, and laptops don't include much storage space. OneDrive, by contrast, can hold lots of files. Some smaller computers, usually tablets, don't have enough room to keep a copy of everything you've packed away on OneDrive.
Windows 10 offers a solution: You can pick and choose which folders should live only on OneDrive, and which should also be mirrored - also known as synced - so they live on your computer, as well.
The files that you choose to sync will be automatically updated between your computer and the cloud. On the cloud, your files serve as a backup, as well as a way for you to access them from your phone, tablet, or PC.
Files that aren't synced live only on OneDrive. If you need them, you can access them by visiting OneDrive on the Internet, as I describe later in this section.
When you first click the OneDrive folder on a new PC, Windows makes you choose which files and folders should live only on OneDrive, and which should also live as copies on your PC.
To decide which OneDrive folders should live on both your PC and OneDrive, follow these steps:
- From the taskbar, click the File Explorer icon and click the OneDrive icon in the folder's left edge.
Since this is the first time you've set up OneDrive on the computer, OneDrive displays an opening screen. - Click the opening screen's Get Started button, and, if asked, sign in with your Microsoft account and password.
Only Local account holders will need to sign in; Microsoft account holders already sign in when they sign into their user account.
OneDrive asks if you want to change where your OneDrive files will be stored on your PC. - If you want to change where to store your OneDrive files, click the Change button. Otherwise, click the Next button.
If you're using a desktop PC with plenty of storage space, just click the Next button. OneDrive will store all of your OneDrive files on your C drive, which normally has plenty of room.
Small tablets, by contrast, contain very limited storage space. To add more storage, many tablet owners buy a memory card and slide it into their tablet's memory slot. If you've bought and inserted a memory card into your tiny tablet, click this window's Change button and tell OneDrive to save its files on your tablet's memory card instead of the default C drive. - Choose which folders to sync to your PC.
OneDrive lists all of your OneDrive folders. - Select the files and folders you'd like to keep synced between your PC and OneDrive, then click the Next button.
OneDrive gives you two options:- Sync All Files and Folders in my OneDrive: Unless you have a reason not to, select this option to keep all of your OneDrive files mirrored on your PC's or tablet's memory card. Most desktop PCs won't have a problem with this option, and it's the most trouble-free way to access OneDrive.
- Sync Only These Folders: Select this option on tablets or PCs with very little storage. If you select this option, place a check mark next to the folders you want to remain both on your PC and OneDrive.
- Click Done to save your changes.
At the Fetch Your Files From Anywhere screen, click Done.
You don't need to sync the same set of folders on each of your computers. For example, you can choose to sync only the essentials on your small tablet - perhaps just your photos. On a desktop PC with large storage, you can choose to sync everything.
If you want to access a OneDrive folder that's not synced on your PC, you have two options: Change OneDrive's settings to sync that desired folder, or visit OneDrive on the Internet and access the file there.
Accessing your PC from the cloud
OneDrive makes it pretty easy to share files with all of your gadgets. But what if the file you need isn't stored on OneDrive? What if it's sitting on the desktop of your Windows 10 PC back home?
Here's a solution: You can make all of your PC's files and folders available from the OneDrive website. There, you can select the check box labeled Let Me Use OneDrive to Fetch Any Of My Files on This PC.
If you select that check box, you can access your entire PC from the OneDrive website. That's right: You can drop by the OneDrive website to grab any of your PC's files and folders. You can even access files and folders stored on networks accessible from that PC.
Naturally, Microsoft took some security precautions with such a bold move. Before letting you access a new PC for the first time, OneDrive asks you to type in a code.
In the background, Microsoft sends a text message to the cell phone or e-mail associated with your Microsoft account. When you receive the message, you type it into the computer you're using to access the PC. When Microsoft receives the matching code, it adds that PC to your list of accessible PCs.
You can access only a Windows 10 PC that's both turned on and connected to the Internet. If you're planning on using this handy OneDrive feature, be sure to enter your cell phone number as a verifier when setting up your Microsoft account.
Changing your OneDrive settings
As your needs change, you may want to tweak your OneDrive settings, perhaps changing which OneDrive folders should also live on your PC.
To revisit your OneDrive settings and change them, if necessary, follow these steps:
- From taskbar's notification area, right-click the OneDrive icon and choose Settings.
You may need to click the little upward-pointing arrow in the notification area to see the OneDrive icon (shown in the margin). OneDrive's Settings dialog box appears. - In the Settings dialog box, click the Choose Folders tab and then click the Choose Folders button.
The Sync Your OneDrive Files to This PC window opens, listing all of your OneDrive folders. - Make any changes, and click the OK button.
OneDrive begins syncing your files and folders according to your changes.
Microsoft starts you off with 15GB of OneDrive storage space, but you can increase that by taking advantage of promotional offers, or paying a monthly fee.
Tip:
To see your amount of available OneDrive storage space, right-click the OneDrive icon in your taskbar and choose Manage Storage from the pop-up menu. When your browser takes you to your online OneDrive settings page, sign in with your Microsoft account. The online OneDrive settings page then lists your amount of storage space available, as well as how to increase it.
OneDrive and Windows 8.1
In Windows 10, OneDrive works very differently than it does in Windows 8 and 8.1. Like Windows 10, those previous Windows versions didn't sync all of your OneDrive files to your computer. Instead, they synced something called smart files - little stubs that represented your online files and folders.
When you open OneDrive through File Explorer in Windows 8 and 8.1, you see all of your files and folders stored on OneDrive, even the ones that are aren't synced to your PC. How? Because you are only seeing smart files that represent your offline files and folders. And those smart files work quite well. They let you see the names of your offline files and folders. You can even search some of them.
Some apps can even use smart files like normal files: When you open a smart file, OneDrive quickly downloads it, and seamlessly hands it to your app or program. The only problem? This smart file magic only works if you are online.
As soon as you are offline, smart files can no longer access their real counterparts, leading to error messages. Microsoft found the concept to be too confusing, so it removed smart files from Windows 10. With Windows 10, you can see only the OneDrive files and folders you've chosen to sync on your computer. The rest remain invisible and out-of-reach unless you visit OneDrive online with your web browser.
Opening and saving files from OneDrive
When you first sign into Windows 10 with a new Microsoft Account, Windows stocks your OneDrive with two empty folders: Documents and Photos.
To see the two folders, open any folder. Don't have a folder open? Then click the File Explorer icon (shown in the margin) on the taskbar. OneDrive is listed in the folder's Navigation Pane along the left edge. Click the word OneDrive, and OneDrive's contents spill out into the folder's right side. You can see the two empty folders, named Documents and Photos. If you already have a OneDrive account, you see your OneDrive folders, instead.
You have nothing new to learn with OneDrive; its folders work like any other folder on your computer:
- To view the contents of a OneDrive folder, double-click it. The folder opens to show its contents.
- To edit a file stored in a OneDrive folder, double-click it. The file opens in the program that created it.
- To save something new inside a OneDrive folder, save it to a folder inside OneDrive - its Documents folder, for example. Don't just save it to the Documents folder on your PC.
- To delete something from OneDrive, right-click it and choose Delete. The item moves to your desktop's Recycle Bin, where it can be retrieved later if necessary.
No matter what changes you make to your files and folders in your computer's OneDrive folder, Windows 10 automatically changes the Internet's copies to match.
Later, when you visit OneDrive through your iPad or Android phone app, your up-to-date files will be waiting for you to peruse.
Tip:
By storing a shopping list on OneDrive, you can add needed grocery items while sitting at your PC. Then, when you're at the store, you can view that up-to-date shopping list on your phone. (Microsoft makes OneDrive apps for iPhones and Android phones, as well as phones from Blackberry and Windows.)
Want to copy a few favorites to your OneDrive folder? I describe how to copy and move files between folders earlier in this tutorial.
Tip:
Many people keep a few desert island discs on OneDrive. Whenever you have an Internet connection, the Windows 10 Music app, automatically lists and plays any music you store on OneDrive. (The old school Media Player program, by contrast, plays only the music stored physically on your PC.)
Accessing OneDrive from the Internet
Sometimes you may need to access OneDrive when you're not sitting in front of your computer. Or, you may need to reach a OneDrive file that's not synced on your PC. To help you in either situation, Microsoft offers OneDrive access from any Internet browser.
When you need your files, drop by any computer, visit the OneDrive website at http://OneDrive.live.com and, if asked, sign in with your Microsoft account name and password. The OneDrive website appears.
After you sign into the OneDrive website, you can add, delete, move, and rename files, as well as create folders and move files between folders. You can even edit some files directly online. (OneDrive even contains a Recycle Bin for retrieving mistakenly deleted files.)
It's much easier to manage your files directly from the folder on your computer. But if you're away from your computer, the OneDrive website provides a handy fallback zone.
Also, the OneDrive website provides something your OneDrive folder doesn't: It lets you share files by e-mailing people links to them, making it a handy way to share folders.
Remember:
If you find yourself using OneDrive regularly, take note that Microsoft offers free OneDrive apps for Apple, Android, and Windows smartphones and tablets. OneDrive simplifies file sharing among all of your gadgets.
