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How to download a file to a USB flash drive from a laptop. Downloading to a USB flash drive from a computer - copying objects, key combination. Why files are not copied to a USB flash drive

Large capacity is one of the main advantages of flash drives over other storage devices such as CDs and DVDs. This quality allows you to use flash drives also as a means of transferring large files between computers or mobile gadgets... Below you will find methods for transferring large files and tips for avoiding problems during the process.

The process of moving itself, as a rule, does not present any difficulties. The main problem that users face when they are going to throw or copy large amounts of data to their flash drives is the limitations of the FAT32 file system on the maximum possible size of a single file. This limit is 4 GB, which is not that much in our time.

The most simple solution in such a situation, it will copy all the necessary files from the flash drive and format it in NTFS or exFAT. For those for whom this method is not suitable, there are alternatives.

Method 1: Archiving a file with an archive split into volumes

Not everyone and not always have the ability to format a USB flash drive to another file system, so the simplest and most logical method would be to archive a large file. However, conventional archiving can be ineffective — there is little gain by compressing the data. In this case, it is possible to split the archive into parts of a given size (remember that the FAT32 limitation applies only to single files). The easiest way to do this is with WinRAR.

The method is time-consuming, but allows you to do without formatting the drive. We also add that WinRAR analog programs also have the function of creating compound archives.

Method 2: Convert the file system to NTFS

Another method that does not require formatting the storage device is to convert the FAT32 file system to NTFS using the standard console utility Windows.

Done, now you can write large files to your USB flash drive. However, we still do not recommend abusing this method.

Method 3: Format the storage device

The easiest way to make a USB stick suitable for transferring large files is to format it to a file system other than FAT32. Depending on your goals, it can be either NTFS or exFAT.

The question in the title of this article has two possible options answer, depending on what the user specifically needs at the moment.

How to write a program to a USB flash drive. Option one

The simplest of these options is when you just need to transfer a file of a program, for example, its installer, to a USB flash drive and nothing more. This can be done in an elementary way, using the standard functions of the operating system, or some third-party tools. The easiest way to do this is to use Windows explorer or some other file manager. In this case, you can copy the program to a flash drive with a mass different ways... Naturally, the first thing to do in this case is to connect the USB flash drive to the computer.

By the way, everything written here can equally apply to both ordinary USB flash drives and flash cards. In this matter, there is no fundamental difference between them.

Next, you can select the file we need in Explorer and, depending on the version of the operating system, select from the menu (standard menu; context menu called right click mice; button on the panel, etc.) the item " Copy to ...". And in the window that opens, where you need to specify the destination for the copied file, find your USB flash drive.

Another way is to use drag and drop, the so-called "drag-n-drop" method. You just need to select the file with the left button and, without releasing it, drag it with the mouse to the desired location - folder, USB flash drive, etc. - and let go there. If you use Windows Explorer, then on the left it will show a tree of folders and computer devices, in which you can easily find the USB flash drive we need.

Another way, possible in the Explorer of some Windows versions is to use the "Send" menu. Highlight desired file right-click and in the context menu that appears, find the line " Send...". If you hold the mouse cursor over this construction, it will expand into a more detailed list, in which, as one of the options, there will be a flash drive to which we need to copy the file.

There is another, universal, copying method that works anytime and anywhere, regardless of operating system versions or file managers used - the copy-paste method.

The word "copy-paste" comes from the English combination "copy-paste" literally meaning "copy-paste".

To use it, you need to select the desired file and select from the menu " Copy"(Note: not" Copy to ... ", but simply" Copy "). Then go to the desired folder (in our case, a USB flash drive) and select the option " Insert". That's it, the file will be copied to the location we need.

It is much more convenient for copy-paste to use not menu functions, but combinations of "hot keys". In this case, the key combination "Ctrl + C" will correspond to the "Copy" command, and the combination "Ctrl + V" - to the "Paste" command.

This is all that is needed if the user just needs to copy the program file to a USB flash drive.

How to write a program to a USB flash drive. Option two

But more often, a slightly different response is required in response to a question in the title. It is necessary not only to copy the program there, but at the same time to make it so that this program can work from this flash drive. Purely theoretically, there is nothing complicated about this, but in practical application this will not always be possible, since several important points must be taken into account.

Let's say you already have the required program or game installed on Windows. Then you can try to simply copy its files and folders to a USB flash drive (in any of the ways described above). But it is far from the fact that it will work at the same time. Or another option - it will work, but only when the flash drive is connected to your computer. She won't want to work with any other PC.

There can be as many as three reasons for this behavior. The first is that the files needed by the program were copied during its installation not only in its own folder but also to other system directories. Therefore, with a simple copy to a USB flash drive, you can copy not everything that the program needs to work, and it is usually quite difficult and time-consuming to understand the details. The second reason is that the program needs some system files that your Windows has, but others, such as your friend, may not. And the third - the program, when installed, is too deeply registered in the operating system, and when you try to run it from a USB flash drive, its connections with the operating system are broken, and all sorts of errors appear, or the program refuses to work at all.

However, no one forbids trying. Find the folder with files on the system partition the desired program and copy it entirely to a USB flash drive. Any of the ways that we described above. And you try to run it from a USB flash drive. It works, without glitches and failures - you are glad that everything turned out well. If not, think about other options.

Another compromise method that you can try. Connect your USB flash drive to your computer and run the installation program. Specify a USB flash drive as the destination folder, and the program will be installed on it. Now it will work from this flash drive, but, most likely, only when the flash drive is connected to your computer, it may not work with other PCs. Again, no one forbids trying.

And finally, how to do it right

In order for the programs to be guaranteed to work from flash drives and other connected devices, you need to use their portable - so-called "portable" - versions ( Portable). These are versions that are specially adapted for this kind of work. To install them, you just need to transfer the folder with such a program to a USB flash drive and find the start file in it to start. Often, such versions come packed into an archive, which you just need to unpack to a USB flash drive.

It should be noted that portable versions of programs can be used not only from flash drives, but also from a stationary hard disk... If such programs are placed in a separate folder on a partition different from the one where it is installed operating system, then you can seriously save time and effort in subsequent reinstalling Windows- in the future, you no longer have to install and configure these programs again. They will remain fully operational from the last installation of the system. All that remains is to drag out the shortcuts to their startup files onto the Desktop (or any convenient place).

Unfortunately, not all programs now have portable versions. But many still have them. There are some in our software catalog... To find them, pay special attention to the word “ Portable»On the files page of any program.

When the need arises to create exact copy flash drives on another similar drive, simple copying of the contents will not work. Files and folders will be copied, but the checksums will differ, and this will affect the performance of the programs installed on the USB flash drive. For example, if you have a program for storing passwords on a flash card, you will not be able to copy the contents of the drive one to one without separate programs.

Copy the flash drive one to one

The first program to solve this problem is USB Image Tool. Download it from the official site and unpack the archive (the program does not require installation). Insert the first USB stick and run the program. In the main window, select the desired drive and click the "Backup" button at the bottom right.

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  • In the window that opens, select the location to save the files and wait for the copying process to complete. Insert the second USB flash drive, which will be an exact copy of the first, select it in the USB Image Tool and click the Restore button instead of the Backup button. An explorer window will open, in which you need to find a previously saved file and open it. Confirm your actions in the dialog box that appears and wait until the process of writing data to a new USB flash drive is completed.

    There is another program for creating an exact copy of a Flash drive. The software is paid, but there is a free trial version with limited functionality, which is enough to copy a USB flash drive one to one. You can download the program. Install it, run it and select the "Copy Disk Wizard" item from the "Wizard" menu at the top.

    In the window that opens, select "Copy a disc quickly" and click "Next." Select the USB flash drive you want to copy and then "Next" again. Select the second USB flash drive to which the information will be copied and click “Next. Put a marker in front of the item "Fitting partitions of the entire disk" and again "Next", and in the next window, click the "Finish" button.

    You will return to the main window, where on the top left you need to select "Apply", after which a new window "Pending Operations" will open. In it, click "Go" and confirm the operation. Creating a copy will take some time, which depends on the type of files on the flash drive and their size. Wait until the end of the operation and click “OK. Now you have two identical flash drives that can be used for their intended purpose.

    A flash drive is an example of a modern information storage device, with the help of which it is possible to write, copy and read various content. Such a digital drive came into modern reality, displacing floppy disks, which very quickly underwent demagnetization. In addition, such a removable drive successfully competes with floppy disks in terms of the amount of stored material, as well as the speed of writing and reading. Also, such a drive takes up less space than a floppy disk.

    Copying information to a USB stick is easy.

    It is thanks to these advantages that the flash drive easily replaced floppy disks. Of course, at the moment, most users can easily operate with various removable media without needing to obtain additional information... However, there may also be users who find it difficult to figure out how to throw information from a computer to a USB flash drive.

    If you are one of these users who is rather problematic to copy a file, upload a video or other content without additional information, we will help you solve this problem by providing useful tips how to copy a file to a USB flash drive from a computer.

    Information transfer process

    Before delving into the process of copying a file to a USB flash drive, it is important to learn how to connect it correctly. Removable drives can have a static connector or slide-out. If you pick up a drive and do not see such a connector, do not worry, everything is available, only the manufacturer made it retractable. On the side of the case, you will see a slider, pulling it up, the connector will appear, after which you can easily insert the drive into computer equipment.

    In a laptop, there may be several such USB connectors, while they can be located on the right and left sides. In the computer system unit there are also several connectors, but they are located on the front and rear panels. Take a close look at your computer equipment, find such a USB connector, and plug in your digital media. If you did everything correctly, the removable drive will appear on your PC.

    You can show curiosity yourself and view its display. It is enough to click on the shortcut "Computer", a window will open in which all logical drives and your connected media. In addition, you can find out under which letter it is displayed and which free place available on it.

    After such successful preparatory work, you can proceed to further mastering the material on how to quickly and correctly reset information from your computer to your USB flash drive.

    Algorithm of actions

    There are several options for copying any content both to a removable drive and from it to a PC. First of all, you need to open the drive you connected itself. This can be done in several ways. You can just click on it in the "Computer" window double click, then it will open.

    You can also click once on it, but only right key mouse, and then select the "Open" option. In any case, the media will open without problems. Now we suggest you use the first method, how to upload a file to a USB flash drive.

    To do this, open the folder on your computer that stores the document that you really need to copy to removable media. Click on this document with the right mouse button and select the "Copy" option. Now open the digital media window, right-click again, but now select the "Paste" option.

    If your document is small, it will be copied instantly. If your document is large, or you are copying a video, then you will have to wait a bit. The copying process will be displayed on your screen. The copy line will be gradually filled with green color. When this line turns completely green, then the document will be copied.

    There is also a second option, how to transfer a file to a USB flash drive. To do this, open two windows at the same time. One window should contain the file you need, and the second window is where you want to copy the content. Now click on the document you need to work with and figure out how to copy it to removable media.

    After you have clicked on it once, hold down the left mouse button, without releasing your finger, pull the mouse towards the window responsible for your USB drive. After your hand has moved to this window, release the pinched finger. That's it, after that the copying process will automatically start. Having done such manipulations again, you will not only know how to throw a document onto a USB flash drive, but also master it all.

    If you want to know how to copy a program to a USB flash drive from a computer, then know that the copying process is no different. Only in most cases the installation file is copied in order to use it later and install the program on another PC.

    If you copy the folder with installed program, this will not allow subsequently in most cases to use such software. After the copying process is completed, it remains to remove the correct digital media by clicking on its image and selecting the "Safely Remove" option.

    So, there are no problems with copying documents to removable media. You will never face difficulties if you study these recommendations and strictly follow this algorithm.

    In the simplest case, we take the following steps.

    Step 1. Connect the USB flash drive to the USB connector. If you have USB flash drive 2.0, then it can be connected to any USB port. If the flash drive is USB 3.o, then it is better to connect it to the USB 3.o connector, since in this case the data transfer speed will be higher.

    Step 2. Right-click on the file that needs to be written to the USB flash drive and select the Send> Transcend (H) command. You can select several files at once by holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard. You can also send a folder with files to a USB flash drive. We will send the "Documents" folder to the USB stick.

    In this case, Transcend is the manufacturer of the flash drive, and the Latin "H" is the drive letter. You may have a different manufacturer and a different drive letter

    After that, the process of copying files will begin.

    Step 3. Now it remains to check that the folder with the documents is written to the USB flash drive.

    Why files are not copied to a USB flash drive

    In the example above, we were able to write files without difficulty, but this is not always the case. Let's try to record on the same USB flash drive a file with video in HD format, the duration of which is about 8 hours. First, let's try to use file manager Total commander and… we get an error message.

    We try to copy as described above and fail again - the "File is too large" window appears.

    Let's figure it out: the file size is 14.9 GB, and the volume of the flash drive is 32 GB, i.e. the volume of the media is sufficient for copying. However, once again we read the Windows message and pay attention to the words “too large for the target filesystem". In this case, we are talking about the file system of the flash drive. By default, flash drives are formatted (marked up) using the FAT32 file system, which can be easily seen by clicking on the shortcut of the flash drive and selecting the Properties command.

    The FAT32 file system has a 4 GB file size limit. we cannot write the file because it is larger than 4 GB.

    How to write large files to a USB flash drive

    Since our file is quite large (about 8 GB), we need to think about how to write it to a flash drive. Besides FAT32, we can use the file NTFS system which allows you to write files big size, i.e. more than 4 GB. We need to reformat the USB flash drive from FAT32 to NTFS.

    Step 1. Right-click on the flash drive icon and select the Format command.

    In the context menu, select the item "Format"

    Step 2. Select the NTFS file system and click the Start button.

    Select the NTFS file system and click "Start"

    Step 3. Formatting will erase all data on the disk. Therefore, if the USB flash drive has the files you need, then discard them to your computer or laptop before formatting.