Solve this month's UPDATE challenge, and you might win a prize!
The October 2009 Challenge:
Some of the readers who write to me aren't IT pros; they're users who are studying IT with the hope of creating a new career path, or they're users with a high level of curiosity about computers. Many of their questions are interesting, especially when they tell me, "Our IT director couldn't explain this."
I've received a number of messages from users who wanted to know why they see two new drive letters on the computer when they insert a USB flash drive. Would you be one of the IT pros who could explain this?
Question #1: Some USB flash drives have two drive letters because:
A. The manufacturer partitions the drive so you can separate the files you preload from the files you copy from a client/user computer.
B. The manufacturer creates a read-only partition that is preloaded with software you can launch from the flash drive.
C. The manufacturer creates a read-only partition to hold the drivers you need to use the flash drive on various versions of Windows.
Question #2: Windows sees the partitions as:
A. One CD and one removable drive.
B. Two CD drives.
C. Two removable drives.
How to Play
Email your solution (don't use an attachment) to challenge@windowsitpro.com by October 27, 2009. You MUST include your full name, street mailing address (no P.O. Boxes), and a telephone number. Without that information, we can't send you a prize if you win, so your answer is eliminated, even if it’s correct.
I choose winners at random from the pool of correct entries. I’m a sucker for humor and originality, and a cleverly written correct answer gets an extra chance. Because I receive so many entries each month, I can't reply to respondents, and I never respond to a request for an email receipt. Look for the solutions to this month's problem at http://www.windowsitpro.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=102990 on November 17.
September 2009 Reader Challenge Winner
Congratulations to Chad Dean of Iowa, the winner of our September 2009 Reader Challenge. He wins a copy of Head First Networking from O'Reilly Media.
Answers:
#1: B These flash drives are U3 flash drives.
#2: A (the fact that Windows sees a CD is what launches the autorun feature when you insert the flash drive into a USB port).
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