Flash Drive and Online Storage Help

»Introduction

Overview

This section is dedicated to help you use flash drives and online storage effectively. This includes how to protect your data from being lost, and different troubleshooting topics for flash drives and online storage. We hope you find what you are looking for.

About This Document

Use the links below to view the relevant information. To return to the top, use the "back to top" link, or you can access other sections by using the navigation bar to your left.

»Section Index: Flash Drive

Flash Drive Problems

• How can I prevent my data from being lost?
• I plug in my flash drive and nothing happens, what next?
• I still can't get my flash drive to work. What can I do?

How can I prevent my data from being lost?

Save early, save often. The more copies of a file you have, the better. Don't put the only copy of your graduate thesis on a flash drive which gets stored unprotected in your backpack. Save it online as explained below, and save it somewhere else, such as your e-mail. Also, be sure that you properly remove your flash drive from a comptuer when you are done, rather than pulling it out. On a PC, you can right click the flash drive in My Computer and select "Safely Remove". For a Mac, just drag the drive icon to the trash can and it will become an eject symbol.

I plug in my flash drive and nothing happens, what next?

What should happen when your flash drive is connected is a pop-up in Windows asking what you want to do with this device. If that doesn't happen, the most common reason is that the auto-start feature is disabled on the particular machine you are using. Try opening up "My Computer" and see if your flash drive is listed with the other drives. If not, it could be a temporary issue with Windows. Try re-booting the computer with the flash drive still connected, and see if it shows up in "My Computer" after the restart.

I still can't get my flash drive to work. What can I do?

The OSU Computer Helpdesk (phone: 541-737-3474 email: osucomputerhelpdesk@oregonstate.edu) offers more advanced troubleshooting. Unfortunately, we can't troubleshoot any hardware related problems, so if your flash drive is physically damaged we can't service it. We can troubleshoot for software related problems like drivers, so if you bring us your laptop and flash drive we can try to find out what's wrong.

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»Section Index: Online Storage

Online Storage Options and Problems

• How do I access my ONID space?
• What are some other options for online storage?
• I am unable to upload files to an online storage system. Why?

How do I access my ONID space?

Your ONID storage space is a place that lets you store up to 2 GB of files, and access them anywhere you have an internet connection. For instructions on how to access your ONID space, visit the ONID page here. Storing data on the server has the extra advantage of being backed up nightly by the nice people over in Network Engineering.

What are some other options for online storage?

Blackboard has a section called "Content Collection" which gives you 300 MB of space to store files. This is especially useful, because you have a direct link that you can access your files at without even logging in to Blackboard. To upload a file, log in to Blackboard, click the "Content Collection" tab, and then click the "+ Item" button. This will let you browse for a file to upload. Once the file is uploaded, you can click on the "Modify" link to view the direct link to the file you just uploaded. There are some free online storage sites available that you can use for space as well. Please note that these sites are not supported by OSU nor do we endorse a particular site. A full list of these site can be found on Wikipedia at here.

I am unable to upload files to an online storage system. Why?

The most common reason you are unable to upload a file is the file is too large, or you have too many other files uploaded already. Make sure to check your quota when using your ONID space or Content Collection to make sure you have not reached it. Some other online storage sites restrict the types of files you can upload, so make sure you know they types of files that are accepted if you are using something not supported by OSU. If you are having trouble with Content Collection or your ONID space, contact The OSU Computer Helpdesk (phone: (541) 737-3474 email: osucomputerhelpdesk@orst.edu) and we will be happy to help.

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