2007-06-08 15:57:09 · 12 answers · asked by n 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
A house is a pile of bricks, but a pile of bricks is not necessarily a house.
A flash drive is a USB drive (as of 6/8/07), but a USB drive is not always a flash drive.
A USB drive could mean a flash drive where the medium of storage is "flash" memory. It's flashed onto the memory like a photo and it stays on there even if you take the power out. A USB drive could also mean a real hard drive powered from the electrical outlet; this would connect to your PC via the USB port.
I added the "as of" clause because one day somebody might create a firewire drive or some other port drive.
2007-06-08 16:02:56 · answer #1 · answered by Huge 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A USB drive could contain either a PATA or SATA IDE drive interface, like the drive in a regular computer, but a flash drive is the small thumb drive that connects to your USB port directly (rather than with a cable like a USB drive) and is solid state with no moving parts. A USB drive will be sold with or without a drive (where you supply your own).
2007-06-08 23:05:40 · answer #2 · answered by grawby 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A flash drive is a flash drive...portable hard drive simply put.
A USB drive can really be any drive that is connected through the USB port, like a flash drive, or an external hard drive or floppy drive
2007-06-08 23:02:54 · answer #3 · answered by Mike 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A flash drive related to a solid state drive is a storage device that uses flash memory rather than conventional spinning platters to store data but a usb drive tends to physically imitate conventional hard drives in size, shape, and interface so that they may act as a replacement for hard drives
2007-06-08 23:01:26 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
a flash drive is a device which can be used to transfer files from 1 comp to 1other.a usb drive is a place where u plug in things.
2007-06-08 23:02:42 · answer #5 · answered by The Silver Surfer 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
USB is the slot...a flash drive which uses USB tech is the little thing people where around their necks with all their data on them.
2007-06-08 22:59:44 · answer #6 · answered by Hector D 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Nothing. USB drive, Flash Drive, Thumb Drive--They are synonyms.
2007-06-08 22:59:11 · answer #7 · answered by Me 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Usb drive is the slot where you can put in a flash drive. flash drive is a "nerd stick" with portable information in it.
2007-06-08 23:00:12 · answer #8 · answered by zero_dude_1314 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
usb drive is a hardrive. where it can break. but a flash drive is built in memory and can't break. so if you have to choose betwween . choose flash.
2007-06-08 22:58:58 · answer #9 · answered by Apple Pie Eater 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They are used interchangeably because of the type of memory used-- it's called "flash" because it can be erased/rewritten quickly.
2007-06-08 23:01:46 · answer #10 · answered by Bogart 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋