USB port

Like almost every Certified Legal Nurse Consultant on this planet, I use a USB jump/thumb/flash/portable drive to transfer documents, reports, PowerPoint^® shows, programs, videos, photographs, etc., from one computer to another computer using the “sneakernet.” There are many reasons to do it this, but usually it’s one of two: first, the computer I’m moving the file to isn’t networked, or I’m defeating the antivirus software that would block me from emailing an executable file (like an installer) to the user/computer where I need to install or run it.

When you plug a thumb drive into a computer for the first time all sorts of things can happen. Some computers will install the thumb drive or “discover” it, rendering you unable to see or use that drive until the computer finishes the process. Others will simply ask whether or not you want to open up a new window to view the contents of that drive. It depends upon your computer, the age of the thumb drive and what sort of built-in software may or may not be resident on it.

Either way, when you’re done using the drive, either transferring a legal nurse consulting report for your favorite attorney-client onto or off of it, every CLNC^® consultant’s first instinct is to yank that drive right out of its USB port and thrust it back into your purse or pocket. But is that a safe practice? I’ll give you my usual answer – it depends. What it depends upon is whether your computer has finished writing or even reading the file(s) on that device.

Take a look at your thumb drive and you’ll probably see a small LED light that’s either steady or flashing. If it’s flashing there’s data moving back and forth; if it’s steady, there probably isn’t. When you properly eject the thumb drive using Windows^® built-in software, it allows your system to stop any read/write processes and close the active connection it has with that thumb drive. This will prevent data loss or corruption. The thumb drive’s light will often go out and you’ll get a message telling you it’s safe to remove the drive (think of it as “off”). But if instead you simply yank the drive out, especially while the light is flashing, there’s a good chance you’ll end up with a corrupted file(s) or possibly worse. It would be a shame to have put a large number of billable hours into creating a report and corrupting it because you yanked out the thumb drive.

So how do you remove that thumb drive safely? It’s quite simple: mouse over the so-called System Tray in the bottom-right portion of the display of your Windows computer. You’ll see a pop-up label over one of the buttons that says Safely Remove Hardware. Left click once on that button and you’ll see a pop-up list of storage devices plugged into your computer. Left click on Safely Remove USB Mass Storage Device – Drive (D:) (or some other letter) and you’ll see the light on your drive go out and it’s now safe to remove!

If you want to go to a little more trouble to accomplish the same task, double-click on that Safely Remove Hardware button and you’ll see the Safely Remove Hardware window appear. Select USB Mass Storage Device and click Stop. Next you’ll see the Stop a Hardware Device window. Select your drive (usually it’ll be named by the type of USB device or called Generic Volume – (D:) ( or some other letter) – see the picture below.

Select the drive to be removed and click OK. The light on your USB thumb drive will hopefully go out and the device will disappear from the Safely Remove Hardware window. Now just close the window and you’re done.

Now my CLNC^® amigos, you can remove your thumb drive without fear of losing any of the precious data you use for your legal nurse consulting business. Remember, although it takes longer, you should always safely remove your drives, especially if you treasure your data.

Keep on techin’,

Tom

Many of you will recognize that phrase from Vickie’s Wall Street Journal Bestseller Inside Every Woman. As a CLNC^® consultant you need to be agile. The same need extends to your computer accessories. Here’s something new. It’s the Targus 4-port USB Bend-a-Hub.

If you regularly charge your smart phone from a USB port on your computer, you know that those ports on your legal nurse consulting business’s laptop or desktop get used up pretty quickly. This octopus-looking device plugs into any available USB port on your laptop or desktop computer and has one standard-boxy USB port at its base and 3 tentacled USB ports on flexible wires, one of which can double as a mini-USB port for your camera, BlackBerry^® or other mini-USB device. The tentacles make it cool because, as you well know, USB connections, like nurses at a buffet, quickly get in each others’ way and cause congestion. The tentacles allow you to move them about for maximum connectivity and flexibility. Every CLNC^® consultant should have one of these small, handy devices in their bag of tricks.

Keep on techin’,

Tom

Every computer has cookies. Some come from the Internet and are auto-stored on your hard drive in your web browser. Others are stored in your keyboard – they’re the detritus of all those years of Oreos^® you’ve munched on while hunched over your computer. What’s a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant to do other than start a carb-free diet?

The solution is simple and fat-free! Hit the hardware or electronics store and buy yourself a can of compressed air. Then at least once a month (or more if you’re an inveterate snacker) use that sucker to blow the crumbs out of the keyboard and onto the carpet (where they can be nicely vacuumed up). You may have to practice tilting your keyboard into different positions in order to blow everything out but it’s worth it and less painful than quitting snacking.

While we’re on the subject, how many of you keep your PC on the floor (laptop users don’t answer that)? You might ask yourself, “When was the last time I cleaned my PC’s case?” Be honest. If it’s been a while (or never), grab a flashlight, pull out your desk chair and crawl under the desk and inspect the case. Chances are you’ll discover more dust bunnies around the case and in the air vents and USB ports than there are under your bed. I’ve seen computers where the owner couldn’t find a front USB port because it was so clogged. You need your USB ports for your CLNC^® business and moving files between your office and attorney-clients’ offices. Clogged vents lead to overheating which will shorten the life of your PC.

Here’s what to do. Turn off the computer. Unplug all the connections, cables, power supplies, etc. (make note of where they go so you can put it back together). Pull the PC out from under the desk and get after those dust bunnies with your vacuum. Then, use the vacuum to clear the vents and USB ports. Next, using a slightly damp (NOT wet, duh!) anti-static cloth, clean off the outside of the PC case.

Next, if you dare, open the thumb-screws and take the PC case’s cover off. Look inside the PC (it’s cool), grab your trusty can of compressed air and carefully blow the dust out of the PC. Your hard drive is sealed up pretty tight, but if any dust or particulate matter gets in there, it will cause a world of hurt (and lost data) so keep it clean. I don’t recommend sticking the vacuum inside the case (you don’t want to suck any connections loose). The canned air is sufficient. Keep a slight distance away and don’t blow right up against anything (it’s not an ear – it’s a PC).

After you’ve blown out all the debris, put the case cover back on the PC and tighten the thumbscrews. Make sure the underdesk space is clean. Reconnect your cables and fire that sucker back up. You won’t notice any performance changes but you can sure feel good about yourself for cleaning up your act and your PC.

Keep on techin’,

Tom