Anyone here use flash drives? Can I access them just like any folder on my main OS? Example, one of you says "Hey tiny, can you repost that pic of that thing?" Can I just post it strait from the flash drive?

Also, one more stupid question, how is it increasing my hard drive space cost a fortune but these flash drives are only $20 - $30? What am I missing?

This is only really partially off topic. If I have something to put all my documents and smut on that frees up more room on my OS for games, which actually makes this thread VERY relevant. :D Thanks!

Yes, you could just browse for them on the flash drive, then post them. When you post a pic, it gets uploaded to a server anyway, so it matters not whence it came ;)

HDD space is fairly cheap, with 1TB externals regularly going for $70-80, probably even less (internals should be even cheaper). USB sticks too are cheap, but be mindful that too much writing and reading off of flash memory tends to degrade it, so don't use them as secondary HDD, just storage.

Thanks. :D

A three terabyte internal drive (for desktops, mind, not laptops) should set you back maybe $200, which shouldn't be much of a fortune. Like Spinorial said, single TB internal drives are around 70-80 on Amazon. On the other hand, USB flash drives should cost anywhere from two to six times as much per gig; they're cheap because their storage capacity is generally smaller than a hard drive.

YMMV, but there are really cheap RAID/JBOD NAS devices on Amazon (basically cases that hold multiple hard drives) that you can pick up and start to fill gradually. Buy a three terabyte drive today and in a year or so when it's all full up add another one in for half the price you paid today, then two more another year down the line. Twelve terabytes of storage should last all but the most obsessive data hoarders for several years.

With the flash drive, they are cheap, but not cheap per GB. You can get a 500GB external USB drive for around $60-70, the 1TB external around $80-90. Which come out to ~$.14 per GB, and ~$.09 per GB.
Flash Drives on the other hand are usually around $40 for 64GB, or around $.66 per GB.

Flash Drives have limited writes, but they are more resistant to dropping, because they have no moving parts. External Hard drives, while not having limited writes, still will encounter errors and are still likely to break due to having the moving parts.

Just really boils down to how much storage space do you need, do you care how large the drive is physically, and are you a clumsy oaf.

I have a lot of flash drives, but rarely use the damn things...just normally for transferring files between computers or for loading windows.

Flash drives, unlike SSDs have almost no wear leveling, so they tend to be less reliable. A flash drive's life is around 100 write/erase cycles while a SSD can reach around 10000 or more. On the other hand HDDs aren't too reliable either due to the moving parts etc. But still I'd vouch for a portable 2.5" HDD. Those tend to be ok (since they are made for laptops they usually resist transporting them around better).

I've had a 300GB Lacie external USB 2.5" HDD for several years (maybe 5 years already, if not even longer?) in active use, going all the time between my home and workplace, and also with me abroad. At least it has been quite reliable, and I consider it as one of the best and most useful IT purchases I've ever made.

Now I'm thinking of replacing it with a similar 750GB or 1TB USB HDD, just so that I can fit all my GOGs there too... :)

I have three Seagate externals that travel with me every trip. Like yours, my oldest is around 5 years old, the second is 3 or 4, and the new 1.5 TB unit is maybe 6 months old. All have been flawless, from the 120 degree heat of a factory in Dallas to below-freezing sitting in my car. The ubiquity of USB, the durability of drives these days, and the relatively low cost (closer to internal drives) makes them an attractive option for various situations.

As it happens, I have had a few external USB HDDs die on me previously. But for some reason those were always the bigger 3.5" HDDs with external power, and the issue always seemed to be the electricity of the case getting broken (e.g. push the HDD case power button, and nothing happens), not the HDD itself. So I just opened the cases (sometimes they had to be broken), and took the PATA HDDs from inside them to normal use.

if you're going full 3.5" why not get one of the docks instead and just buy bare 3.5" drives. I never saw the point in the external 3.5" drive, as you need to carry around a power brick with you.

That's exactly what I eventually ended up doing, after I realized that prying the HDD out of the case (in order to salvage any data from it by connecting it to PATA/SATA port directly) voids the warranty, while with using a separate case, it doesn't. Nowadays with SATA drives I'm using this (and I am very happy with it, it connects two SATA HDDs, either 2.5" or 3.5", through one USB port):

http://www.verkkokauppa.com/fi/product/48273/dfdvn/Fuj-tech-Clone-Dock-USB-3-0-telakka-kahdelle-2-5-3-5-SATA-ki

I also have <span class="bold">this</span> which would basically allow me to buy any normal 2.5" hard drive (e.g. 750GB or 1TB) and connect it to USB with that, but I think there is still the possibility that the HDD was not designed to be used externally, hence it uses more power than USB can give.

So with the case of these USB powered 2.5" HDDs, I still feel it may be more reliable to buy the case + HDD together, as at least it has been confirmed then that USB power is enough. Not sure if it matters though.

With some of the 2.5" external drives, they use two USB ports for extra speed. You can usually run it fine with one of the two connected (Usually it will be labeled DATA+power), but it will run slower.