9 replies to this topic

[mountaintree16]

After posting my usb question, I just realized I have another question about compatibility!

I have an old(ish) usb drive I've had since 2004 or 2005. It's 128 mb (well it really only holds 106 ) and it came with textbooks for a Word and Excel class that I took.

It works just fine on XP, and I just realized that it could potentially not be compatible with Vista, and this would be a problem for me as I am using it to transfer program setups to a Vista from my XP.

I no longer have the packaging, and it came out before Vista was released. Is there any way for me to tell if it would be compatible with Vista?

[yardbird]

FWIW: San Disk company I have appx: 15 usb sticks, some early ones work with XP & Vista. Some of the New San Disk Cruzer's and USB 2gb & 4gb USB Sticks work only on Vista or the New machines, So after you plug 1 in, If it's seen by the pc, you should see another icon (whatever letter the old/new usb stick is) in or next My Copmuter, HD "main" letter.... bottom line: either the pc will see it or it won't..

[mountaintree16]

@ yardbird

Thank you. I am really really really hoping/needing that it will work... I really need it to. This system that I am going to work on does not really have a good AV on it and I need to update things such as flash, adobe reader, etc... reason I am using a usb vs downloading it there is because they have slow dial-up you see... :/

I'm thinking that maybe I should buy a new USB just to make sure that it will work but I am not sure if I will be able to in time (I will be working on it in two days... and wouldn't have a chance again until next week, again). I do have another USB that I can use but I'd rather not use it if I can help it. This one is still at least two years old, but I am sure its probably compatible with Vista.

I had a chance to buy a new one today but I didn't want 2 gigs or higher (that's all they had that I could find), but I guess I should have just bought one anyway... because I didn't think of it until tonight, that it might not work on Vista. I might have a chance to buy a new usb before then, but probably not

I guess I will download the files onto both usb drives and hope that the older one works.

[yardbird]

I find with the old San Disk usb ext. sticks, They would work on all 3 pc"s I had. I have some that are so old they are stamped 128mb, 40mb, 256mb, ... Some of the new Flash drives or usb sticks would not work (the 2gb & 4gb) one's would not work on my 6 year old inspiron... (It said hardware found, but not supported) but the old small mb one s did work.
To bad you can't pick up one of these: http://www.fantomdri...ducts/tmini.htm

The size of the one I have is 4 3/4" L x 3" wide x 1/2 " deep.

you can look over the San Disk site: http://www.sandisk.c.../computing.aspx They everywhere even at Radio Shack if you need one in a hurry. Hum! I didn't know they put up a video on there site....

[exile360]

It'll work in Vista, the driver used for USB flash drives is a generic one that comes with Windows (2000 and above as I recall, 98 requires you to install drivers).

[mountaintree16]

Thanks Exile!

Woohoo! I was worried about it, heh.

Now if only I could have found a 500 mb drive like I wanted... but everything was 2 gig or more and I didn't need that yet... I have a 500 mb drive but its full of files off of another computer that I cleaned off with mbam (av 2009 rogue) but I don't dare empty the files onto my computer... heh. I bet Staples would have what I am looking for, but I won't be able to get there before tomorrow.

[Jacktivity]

@mountaintree16

Whatever happened to the lowly cd/dvd burner? They still work, just a little slower - and they're compatible with just about everything. When I work on someone else's machine, I depend heavily on my flash drives but I take along a flock of CD's and DVD's (particularly bootable ones) just in case. Can't beat the price either. Even my Lightscribe DVD's only average 37 cents in lots of fifty from Newegg. Yeah, the downside is they go obsolete quickly, but they ARE cheap - even cheaper if you don't use Lightscribe. I just use those because they look professional and are a lot less hassle than the adhesive labeling systems.

[mountaintree16]

@ Jacktivity

I don't have one. My significant other bought a computer with the barebone basics on it as far as I understand... (didn't even come with Word or Office!) so no CD burner or anything like that. If it did have one, I would have no idea how to burn files onto it and I would have no idea how to transfer them onto another computer, but I think that that is a great idea

Would you be able to give me a link or something where I could read about this though for my own reference?

[AdvancedSetup]

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.as...=CD-DVD-Burners

http://imgburn.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD-R

http://www.worldstart.com/tips/file-manage...o-burn-a-cd.htm

http://www.wikihow.com/Burn-a-CD

http://computer.hows...m/cd-burner.htm

[mountaintree16]

Thanks Ron

I have a lot of reading to do when I get some free time hehe