Using Pc Media - Basic Classes

In this lesson you will learn:

Using Disks: Hard and Soft

The term for removable drives, cards, CD/DVDs and Floppies are called 'Media'. When inserted into the slot or drive bays, they will show as 'Removable Media' in Windows Explorer.

Hard drives are internal and are maintenance free. They come in different sizes, measured in Gigabytes, between 20 and 1150 (Terabytes). Computers today come with very large capacity drives as standard sizes.

The size refers to the amount of data it can hold, not the size of the case. You cannot determine how much the disk will hold without looking at the label to see the specifications from the factory. Floppy Drives use plastic 3.5-inch disks and are much larger in diameter than a USB drive, but the floppy only holds a very small amount. So small in fact that the computers you buy today do not have a drive for floppy disks. One medium capacity hard drive can hold thousands of floppy drives, so there is no point. Most files today are larger than the disk will allow! The USB 'disk' is actually a small circuit board inside the plastic case and is protected by the case as well as the metal or plastic cap. This slides open or pull off when the drive is inserted.

The main thing to remember is that they can be erased by strong magnetism, like keys in your pocket. Do not store them near monitors, stereos, speakers, telephones or other sources of magnetism.

USB Flash / Thumb Drives

The most versatile drives are the USB Flash Drives. These are small, but hold a large amount of data. They can range from the small, pocket size drives, to MP3 players and cameras that can also serve as USB connected data storage. The drives are plugged into the USB Port on either the front, sides or back of the computer.

The Operating Systems from 2000 on should recognize the drive, and if drivers are needed, prompt the user that drivers are being installed. Operating systems older than 2000 may need a driver disk. Windows 95 does not support USB but Win 95b does, but only slow ports.

When disconnecting the drive, the older operating systems have a USB Icon on the right side of the Taskbar. Simply click on the icon, select the drive from the list and click 'Disconnect'. The prompt. WIth newer machines there is no need.. just plug it in and unplug it when finished.

Using CDs, DVDs and other Media

CDs and DVDs are in the category called 'Optical Drives'. They store information in microscopic pores called pits, and smooth areas called lands. The pits and lands are equivalent to ones and zeros. The data area is actually on the top of the CD on the underside of the label, and the plastic carrier or disk is clear. When you look at the CD from underneath, the data area is actually protected by the plastic you are seeing through. The media is inserted label side up, and if there is an auto run program, the program will start automatically. Sometimes the CD Rom will not start properly, so you will learn to use Explorer to open and navigate for the files that you need.

Card Readers

Cameras mainly use another device called a 'card'. SD Cards are very small and slip into a slot on the camera, printers or other devices. The card 'readers' are usually mounted as several slots of varying sizes on the front of the computer or printer. On cameras they are on the side or sometimes inside of the a small door. To put them in, just press it in to the bottom of the slot and let it go. To release it, just push it back in and then it will slide out.

When buying cards one thing to keep in mind is capacity of the device that uses it. Some cameras cannot accept cards over a certain capacity. So if your camera uses 16 Gb max as it's card size, and you buy a 32 Gb or 64 Gb card, it probably will not work.

Computers today can accept cards of any size, so they make great permanent backup 'drives'. They are easy to use and the data is portable from one machine to the next, perfect for transporting and storing large files.

In Windows Explorer the card looks like any other drive, usually labeled 'Removable Media'. Simply drag and drop files to the drive and they are backed up. To restore, simply drag and drop back over the same directories. Keep in mind that the files on your main computer will be overwritten by the files from your drive, so keep your backups current.

CD, DVD and Disk Media Care

The single biggest failing in media care is leaving them lay around for dirt or moisture. Remember: Magnets will not hurt the CDs or DVDs, but scratches and dirt will destroy the CDs / DVDs, including movies. Use Jewel Cases, Jackets, Sleeves or the boxes.

Magnetism will destroy the card, USB drives or Floppy Disks. Fingerprints and dust don't hurt Floppy Disks or USB or cards, but keep in mind that if you keep it in your pocket there is no guarantee that it will work. Static electricity in your pocket or magnetic keys have the potential of erasing or damaging data. That's not to speak of the dust and lint in your pocket that could get jammed into the slot unless blown out first.

Likewise, if the CD or DVD disk is dusty or has any oil or fingerprints, the data will be unreadable and inserting the dirty CD into the drive could damage or foul the read/write heads. The media will run and run inside the drive, and the system may seem to 'hang'. If that happens, open Windows Explorer, right click on the drive and select 'Eject'.

Cleaning the drives is very important, especially in laptops. The CD or DVD Media disk itself can be cleaned with a soft lens cloth, moving the cloth from the center to the outside. Do not clean by wiping the CD in a circle. Wipe from the center to the outside in narrow strips. Then move to the next area, overlapping slightly. Hold to the light to check. Disk drive cleaning supplies are available in kits. Following the directions should preserve your disk and CD/DVD drives. Cleaning them once every 6 months should be enough to ensure trouble free operation of your computer.