How to Store Data Using Your Computer

Storing files on a removable device or in the cloud is a simple way to increase your accessibility to the files and reduce the risk of your computer failing or you accidentally deleting files. Here is how to store data using your computer.

Removable Media (Flash Drive/Memory or Card/External Hard Drive)

1. Insert the flash drive or memory card into a spare port on your computer or connect the hard drive via USB.
   

   Storing data on your USB drive.

2. Depending on your settings, File Explorer may open to show the content of the removable media. If not, open File Explorer by pressing the Windows key and E, click on ‘Computer’ in the navigation menu, then click on the appropriate drive letter. If you aren’t sure which drive letter to use, look for one reading “Removable Disk.”
3. Open a second File Explorer window (Windows key and E again) and navigate to the files you want to store on the removable media. Hold down Ctrl and click on each file you want to transfer. Alternatively, you can click on one file in the list, then hold down Shift and click on another file to automatically select all the files in between in the list.
4. Click on the list, hold down the mouse button, and drag the files across to the File Explorer window for the flash drive or memory card. As you are moving between different drives, this will copy rather than move the files.
5. When you’ve finished, click on the small upwards arrow in the bottom right of your screen, then click on the icon of a USB drive with a tick. (If you are uncertain, hover over the icon and look for the pop-up message ‘Safely Remove Hardware and Removable Media’.) Click on “Eject”, making sure the drive letter and device name match the removable media you want to remove.
6. Remove or unplug the device.

Tip: Rather than drag and drop, you can also select the files and press Ctrl and C, then click in the File Explorer folder for the removable media and press Ctrl and V.

Tip: You can use specialist back-up tools to automatically back-up files, a folder, or an entire drive to a removable media. One advantage is that such tools can compare the files and only copy across those which have changed since you last did a back-up.

Cloud Storage

You can also store data in “the cloud”, which simply means it is on a remote server rather than on a physical device where you are. You can access the files from any device with an internet connection.

1. Choose a cloud storage service. Most have free and paid options depending on how much data you want to store. Read online reviews to make sure a service is reliable.
2. Sign up for the service, then log in with your account details. Keep these details safe, both to prevent other people from accessing your account and to make sure you can access the files.
3. Check the specific upload method for the service. The most common methods are to drag-and-drop files from File Explorer to a web page listing your cloud-stored files, or to click a button on the web page which brings up a list of files on your computer that you can select.

We hope that helped with how to successfully store data using your computer.  For more advanced IT inquiries, please contact CPI Solutions.