How Do Flash Drives Work?

• Internal USB Components
  
  A flash drive has several components that allow it to be seen by a computer, store data, and erase data. There are four essential components to every drive: (1) Male Type-A USB Connector, (2) USB Mass Storage Controller, (4) NAND Flash Memory Chip, and (5) Crystal Oscillator. The connector allows for the device to be attached to your computer, the controller enables the computer to see the device, the memory stores your data and the oscillator produces a clock signal (for transfer timing). Without these components, a flash drive would not be functional.
  
  

File System and Formating

• Almost all flash drives are created using the FAT or FAT32 file system. Manufacturers do this because the two file systems are recognized by common operating systems (e.g. Windows, MacOS, Linux). The file system determines how data on the drive will be stored and where.
  
  

Why Does My Drive Not Work?

• If your flash drive is not working between two systems, there may be a file system error. On a Windows-based PC, there are two active file systems: the previously mentioned FAT/FAT32 and NTFS. At the moment, NTFS is only supported by computers running Microsoft Windows. If you've ever formatted your flash drive, you may have set the file system to NTFS, therefore rendering it useless on other machines. A quick fix is to attach your drive to the computer that recognizes it, copy all of the data to your computer, and format the drive as FAT/FAT32. Afterward, you will be able to transfer your files back to the drive and share between other systems.