USB drives, printing and scanning

Computer Basics5 min readText and drawings only

These three cost money at an internet cafe and waste time when they go wrong. A few minutes here saves both, and saves you paying twice for the same page.

1 Copy not move 2 Check open it from the drive 3 Eject then pull it out Skipping step 3 is how people corrupt the only copy of a CV.
Copy, check, then eject. Skipping the last step is what corrupts files.

Push the USB drive in and it appears in File Explorer as a new drive. Copy your files onto it, then open them from the drive to check they really arrived before you leave.

Before pulling it out, use Eject or Safely remove. Pulling it out while it is still writing is the most common way people corrupt a CV and lose it from both places at once.

You are about to print your CV at an internet cafe.

What happens: You discover it is six pages instead of two, or the layout broke, and you have paid for all of them.

What happens: You see exactly what will come out and how many pages you are paying for, before any money is spent.

Do I need a scanner?

Usually not. Your phone camera is a scanner. Most phones have a scan option in the Files or Notes app that flattens the page and saves it as a PDF. It is faster, free, and produces a smaller file than most shop scanners.

I pressed print and nothing came out

Do not press it five more times, or you will pay for five copies when it starts working. Check that the correct printer is selected, since computers often list several, then ask the staff. The job is usually sitting in a queue.

Before you move on

  • Always Eject before pulling out a USB drive
  • Use Print Preview and check the page count
  • Try scanning with your phone before paying for a scan

Check what you know

3 questions. Have a look at what this lesson asks.

1. Why should you use Eject before removing a USB drive?

2. You are printing at an internet cafe. What should you do first?

3. You need to send a scanned copy of a certificate. What is usually the fastest and cheapest?

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