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    How risky is it to save a Word document to a removable media like a USB drive?

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by JWBlue, Oct 28, 2009.

  1. JWBlue

    JWBlue Notebook Deity

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    ( I edited the title)

    I did find this macro to use in Word, but if I am reading this right, when saving to a removable media like a flash dirve there is a chance of file corruption. Does anyone know how risky is this?

    http://www.gmayor.com/automatically_backup.htm
     
    JWBlue, Oct 28, 2009
    #1
  2. crash

    crash NBR Assassin

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    I changed the actual title for you :)
     
    crash, Oct 28, 2009
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  3. Lithus

    Lithus NBR Janitor

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    That's talking mostly about floppies (as if anyone uses those anymore). Basically, since Word doesn't know how large your file is going to be, it makes a guess and reserves that amount of space. If that amount is larger than the storage space you have (1.44 MB on a floppy), then obviously the backup won't work.

    With the average USB drive at around 2 GBs, you don't really need to worry.
     
    Lithus, Oct 28, 2009
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  4. Amnesiac

    Amnesiac 404

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    I keep all my Word Documents on an 8GB flash drive and I have never had corruption. You shouldn't worry about it.
     
    Amnesiac, Oct 28, 2009
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  5. DetlevCM

    DetlevCM Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I think you shouldn't worry about corruption but more the possebility of data loss when the flash drive fails.

    Having said that - an HDD can also fail.-
     
    DetlevCM, Oct 28, 2009
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  6. Imperfect1

    Imperfect1 Notebook Evangelist

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    There obviously must be a difference in quality between different brands of flash drives. Does anyone know which brands are the most reliable and least likely to fail? I've been using Memorex Travel Drives for several years, mainly because of the name recognition (and they seem to be very reliable devices with a user friendly GUI).
     
    Imperfect1, Oct 28, 2009
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  7. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    Failures on USB flash drives are few an far betwen.

    I would be much more worried about someone pulling the drive with writes pending. As long as the user is religious about using the proper eject drive procedures things should be ok.

    But all it takes is one impatient pull of a flash drive and you'll get data loss.
     
    newsposter, Oct 28, 2009
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  8. minghi

    minghi Notebook Guru

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    just remember to safely eject from the system tray. sometimes it still won't allow for me - says drive in use, then i restart the pc, better safe than sorry?
     
    minghi, Oct 28, 2009
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  9. DetlevCM

    DetlevCM Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    You can shut down the PC, yes.

    What possibly happens in these cases is that some software is still accessing the Flash drive.

    I know it happens for one of my external HDDs... and I don't know why... its exactly the same as my other ones (except smaller in GB)...
     
    DetlevCM, Oct 28, 2009
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  10. bjcadstuff

    bjcadstuff Notebook Consultant

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    How valuable is the Word document to you? The more valuable it is, the more places you need to save it. If you save it ONLY to a USB drive, then it must not be very valuable to you.
     
    bjcadstuff, Oct 28, 2009
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  11. BamAlmighty

    BamAlmighty Notebook Consultant

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    it's about as risky as the likely hood of you losing the drive
     
    BamAlmighty, Oct 29, 2009
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  12. Imperfect1

    Imperfect1 Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes, good advice. And when I sometimes get the warning message that the Flash Drive is still in use, instead of shutting down and rebooting, I find that if you go into Windows Explorer and just open up any file on the C Drive for a second, and then go back to the 'Safely Eject" command on the Flash Drive, it usually clears it.
     
    Imperfect1, Oct 29, 2009
    #12