Transfer Photos & Videos using a Computer
This section provides generic instructions about how to transfer your photos & videos to/from your device or removable media using your computer. If these instructions don't work for your device or computer, please refer to the user manual or consult your device manufacturer's technical support for further assistance.
Contents
Connect your Device to a Computer to View and Copy files
Follow these steps to access files stored on your device storage or SD card using a computer (PC, Mac, Linux)
Connect your device to a computer (PC, Macbook, etc.) via an USB cable.
A notification or icon will appear on your device's screen indicating that the USB cable is connected.
Optionally on some devices, you will also need to tap the notification bar or icon to choose among a few "connection mode" choices. Choose the option that will allow you to copy files to/from a computer. See your device's owner's manual for specific instructions. This option is usually called:
"Turn on USB Storage", or
"Mount as Disk Drive"
Your device will then appear on your computer as a Removable Drive:
On Mac, your device will appear on your Desktop as a "Disk Drive" icon.
On PC, your device will appear under "Computer" in File Explorer, as a "Removable Drive".
The name of your device the Drive varies depending on the model & configuration of your device. These are some examples:
Model name of your phone
"Removable Drive"
"NO NAME"
"MyNOOKColor"
Now you can view and copy photos & videos to/from this "Drive" like you normally do e.g. copy folders by dragging and dropping them into the "Drive" folder.
When you are done, follow instructions below to properly unmount your device from the Computer before disconnecting the USB cable.
When you are done with viewing and transferring files using your computer, always properly unmount your device before disconnecting the USB cable. Improperly disconnecting your device from a Computer may corrupt the storage system of your device or the SD card.
To unmount your device:
On Mac, right click on the "Disk Drive" icon, then select "Eject".
On PC, right click on the "Removable Drive" icon, then select "Eject".
Android devices should automatically reconnect the SD card or USB storage as soon as you "Eject" the storage. If not, the you will need to perform these steps manually:
Open the notification menu and touch the "USB storage / SD card" notification like before. You will be prompted to with one or more options / buttons.
This time, you need to choose the option to disconnect the device. This option is usually called:
"Turn off USB Storage, or
"Charge Phone only over USB"
Disconnect the USB cable from your device after you have successfully unmounted your device and reconnected the storage,
To mount these storage devices:
Insert storage media into your device (for SD card and Micro SD card only). See this article for details.
Ensure that you have disconnected your device from the Computer (see above).
Your should see a notification icon or message indicating that the storage media is mounted.