Use hardware removal icon for flash drives

Q I have five flash drives with capacities of 64 and 256 megabytes, and 1, 2 and 4 gigabytes that I use to save and move files among three Windows XP computers. But only the 64-megabyte and 4-gigabyte drives work properly. The other three accepted files for a while, then quit working -- I get a "file cannot be created" message.

As you suggested recently, I looked for a tiny lock-unlock switch on the side of a drive that blocks or allows access, but there wasn't one. If I haven't accidentally locked the flash drives, what's wrong?

DAVE BERNS, WESTLAKE, OHIO

A Some flash drives go bad. But it shouldn't have happened to you three times unless you're bypassing the "safely remove hardware" feature of Windows, which turns a flash drive off before you unplug it from the PC.

If you don't do this, and the PC is still accessing the flash drive's memory, the flash drive can be corrupted. It sounds like that's what happened to you.

To safely remove a flash drive, click the arrow at the lower right corner of the Windows XP tool bar, causing more icons to appear. Put your cursor on the icon with a green arrow, and the message "safely remove hardware" pops up. Double-click it, and from the box that appears choose your flash drive from the list of devices. (It will probably be listed as "USB mass storage device.") Click the "stop" button, then confirm the device being disconnected by clicking on it. (Typically it's called "Generic USB Flash Drive USB Device.") Click OK, and you'll get a message saying it's safe to remove the flash drive.

Q My HDTV has only one HDMI video connection for plugging in a digital cable. I use it to plug in a DVD player that's capable of upconverting standard DVDs to near HD picture quality. I connect my HDTV cable service to the set via component video cables.

ANDREW LANDHERR, LAKE ELMO

A You'll get a better picture if you use an HDMI cable to connect your cable TV service to your HDTV. But your DVD player also needs an HDMI cable if you want it to upconvert standard DVDs.

The best solution is to buy a second HDMI cable ($20 to $150 online) so both the cable TV and DVD player can have one.

You could switch back and forth between cable TV and DVD by unplugging one and plugging in the other on the back of the TV. But it's more practical to buy an HDMI switch ($35 to $146 online) that lets two HDMI cables share a TV's single HDMI connection.