Photos that are only on a USB drive

Give the photos on your USB stick a second copy before the stick is lost or fails.

A USB stick or memory card feels safe because you can hold it in your hand, but it is the only copy of whatever is on it. Sticks get lost, dropped, and washed, and the memory inside them wears out over time. Copying the files to your computer gives them a second home, and lets OneDrive or File History protect them too.

Steps

1. Plug in the USB drive.
2. Open SavedSafe and click "Check my computer".
3. When SavedSafe offers to copy them to this computer, click "Yes, copy them". They go in your Pictures folder, in a folder called "Copied from USB drive". Nothing on the USB drive is changed.
4. Wait until SavedSafe says it is done, then keep the USB drive as your second copy.

Prefer to copy them yourself?

1. Plug in the USB drive and open File Explorer.
2. Click the USB drive on the left. It is usually called "USB Drive" or has a name like "NEW" or "KINGSTON".
3. Select the folders with your photos and files. To select everything, press Ctrl and A together.
4. Right-click one of the selected folders and choose Copy.
5. Click Pictures on the left, right-click an empty spot, and choose Paste. Wait for the copy to finish.
6. Leave the originals on the USB drive. Now you have two copies.
7. Run SavedSafe again to make sure the problem is fixed.

Good to know

• Two copies in the same house are better than one, but a fire or theft can take both. Setting up OneDrive or File History adds a copy somewhere else.
• Copy new photos from the stick to the computer every time you add some, not just once.
• If your computer is running low on space, ask whoever helps you with your computer about OneDrive or a larger backup drive instead.