USB flash drives have already been on the market for quite a long time and during this period, a great variety of myths about their functioning and maintenance has evolved. Even though the majority of people have used this device at least once in their lives, it turns out there is a great deal of false believes which can be ditched right away.
This article will help you to understand better the way USB flash drives are working.
USB flash drives have to be detached from your computer in a proper way
One of the most common believes about flash drives is into the importance of detaching this device from your computer first by stopping its work in the system. In all likelihood, you are doing it yourself in case you are a Windows user. One click on the icon of a flash drive and Windows removes the device from its system. It is widely believed this step is absolutely crucial for a safe removal of the device from the computer itself.
First of all, you might even be aware of the purpose for which it is done. The majority of people who are aware of this practice, are doing it as they believe their flash drive will be damaged if it is removed from the machine without being stopped by the computer system first. Others think the stored files will be damaged, while there is also a group of people who assume the computer itself will stop working properly.
It is important to understand that the way such devices are made was specifically designed for a possibility of direct changing which means USB flash drives can be directly inserted and removed without any special preparations. The only possible damage can occur to the files themselves if you remove your USB flash drive during the process of copying or moving the files. Still, even if it happens they are damaged, the device itself will not be damaged.
As you can see, there is no need to be worried about your device if you fail to remove it according to the rule based on the folk wisdom, however, this rule is not a bad habit as it can guarantee you the files you were copying to your flash drive are saved in an appropriate way.
USB flash drives can be damaged by water
Another particularly popular belief about flash drives is the one that they are afraid of water. It is quite possible that people believe in this myth since the majority devices without any waterproof protection can indeed be destroyed by water or even just increased humidity of the air.
Yet, it is not the case when it comes to USB flash drives. These devices are safe in the water unless by any chance they are plugged into a source of electricity. Even though it is difficult to imagine something like that, in theory it can happen if some beverage is poured accidentally on the laptop computer right in the place where a flash drive is inserted. Still, as you can imagine, it will also destroy your computer.
Without electricity, the only possible damage which can occur in your flash drive after getting into water, is the initiation of the process of corrosion. In the majority of cases this will not happen right after the first time your flash drive gets wet though. Of course, if somehow your USB flash drives tend to get wet rather frequently, it will be sensible for you to purchase special models with waterproof cover.
Even though the water will not damage your flash drive, it is definitely not recommended to use it right away. This can cause the damage just it has been described above in the example of a laptop computer and a split beverage. Yet, in the majority of cases, it will be enough to let it dry up for a single day. It should be enough and you will be able to use the device safely again.
A USB flash drive inserted into a charger will be destroyed
Somehow the idea of inserting a USB flash drive into a charger and plugging it into an electricity socket seems pretty creepy. It gives many people a feeling something horrible can happen starting from the device getting completely destroyed up to an explosion of an atomic bomb. In the reality, such an experiment will not change anything at all.
In the reality, chargers have a very similar voltage to the one which is available in the computer which does not make any change for your device if you try to plug it into an electricity socket through a charger.
By the way, the people making such experiments are not necessarily crazy or extremely naive. It is recommended to insert a flash drive into a source of electricity at least once in six months otherwise it can start getting damaged while not being used which can lead to the loss of data. Here comes another myth about these devices – they cannot just lie on the shelf for ages and work in the same way once you reach for them.