Question:

How can I transfer home videos from the cloud to USB drives without encryption or file size issues?

I have some home videos that I want to copy from the cloud to USB drives for my family members. They should be able to play the videos on their computers or TVs. However, when I insert a blank USB drive into my work computer, it asks me to encrypt it with Bitlocker. If I do that, the TV cannot read the files on the drive. How can I disable or bypass the encryption? I do not have admin rights on my computer.

Also, one of the videos is very large (5.2GB) and I cannot copy it to the USB drive. It says the file is too big for the destination. I searched online and it suggested changing the drive format, but I am worried that this will affect the compatibility with the TV. I tried splitting the video into smaller parts using the default video editor, but the file sizes increased. How can I reduce the file size without losing quality?

Answer:

How to Transfer Home Videos from the Cloud to USB Drives without Encryption or File Size Issues

If you have some home videos that you want to share with your family members, you might want to copy them from the cloud to USB drives. This way, they can easily play the videos on their computers or TVs. However, you might encounter some challenges when transferring the files, such as encryption or file size issues. In this article, we will explain how to overcome these problems and successfully transfer your home videos.

One of the common issues that you might face is encryption. Encryption is a process that protects your data from unauthorized access by making it unreadable to anyone who does not have the correct key. Encryption can be useful for securing your sensitive or personal data, but it can also cause compatibility issues with some devices.

For example, if you use a work computer to transfer your home videos, you might be required to encrypt your USB drive with Bitlocker. Bitlocker is a feature that encrypts your entire drive and prevents anyone from accessing it without a password or a recovery key. However, if you encrypt your USB drive with Bitlocker, your TV might not be able to read the files on the drive. This is because your TV does not have the Bitlocker software or the encryption key to decrypt the drive.

To avoid this issue, you need to disable or bypass the encryption on your USB drive. There are a few ways to do this, depending on your situation:

• If you have admin rights on your work computer, you can turn off Bitlocker for your USB drive. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Plug in your USB drive and enter the password or the recovery key to unlock it. 2. Open File Explorer and right-click on your USB drive. Select Manage Bitlocker. 3. Click on Turn off Bitlocker and wait for the decryption process to finish. 4. Eject your USB drive and unplug it from your computer.

• If you do not have admin rights on your work computer, you can use another computer that does not have Bitlocker enabled to transfer your home videos. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Download your home videos from the cloud to your work computer. 2. Transfer your home videos from your work computer to another computer that does not have Bitlocker enabled. You can use a network connection, a cloud service, or another USB drive that is not encrypted. 3. Plug in your USB drive to the other computer and copy your home videos to the drive. 4. Eject your USB drive and unplug it from the other computer.

• If you do not have access to another computer that does not have Bitlocker enabled, you can use a third-party software to create a virtual drive on your USB drive that is not encrypted. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Download and install a third-party software that can create a virtual drive on your USB drive, such as VeraCrypt or Rohos Mini Drive. 2. Plug in your USB drive and launch the software. Follow the instructions to create a virtual drive on your USB drive. You will need to choose a password and a size for the virtual drive. Make sure the size is enough to fit your home videos. 3. Open the virtual drive and copy your home videos to the drive. 4. Close the virtual drive and eject your USB drive from your computer.

File Size Issues

Another issue that you might face is file size. File size is the amount of space that a file occupies on your storage device. File size can affect the speed and quality of your file transfer, as well as the compatibility with some devices.

For example, one of your home videos might be very large (5.2GB) and you might not be able to copy it to your USB drive. This might be because your USB drive has a limited capacity or a specific file system. A file system is a way of organizing and storing files on a storage device. Different file systems have different features and limitations, such as the maximum file size that they can support.

The most common file systems for USB drives are FAT32 and NTFS. FAT32 is an older file system that is compatible with most devices, but it has a maximum file size of 4GB. NTFS is a newer file system that supports larger file sizes, but it is not compatible with some devices, such as some TVs. To check the file system of your USB drive, follow these steps:

1. Plug in your USB drive to your computer and open File Explorer. 2. Right-click on your USB drive and select Properties. 3. Look for the File system section and see what it says.

To avoid this issue, you need to reduce the file size of your home video or change the file system of your USB drive. There are a few ways to do this, depending on your situation:

• If you want to reduce the file size of your home video, you can use a video editing software to compress or trim your video. Compressing your video means reducing the quality or resolution of your video, which will make it smaller. Trimming your video means cutting out some parts of your video, which will make it shorter. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Download and install a video editing software that can compress or trim your video, such as HandBrake or VLC Media Player. 2. Launch the software and open your home video. 3. Choose the option to compress or trim your video. You will need to adjust some settings, such as the output format, the bitrate, the frame rate, the resolution, and the start and end points. You can preview the result before saving it. 4. Save your home video with a new name and a smaller size.

• If you want to change the file system of your USB drive, you can use a formatting tool to format your USB drive with a different file system. Formatting your USB drive means erasing all the data on your drive and creating a new file system. However, this will also affect the compatibility with some devices, so you need to choose the file system that suits your needs. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Plug in your USB drive to your computer and open File Explorer. 2. Right-click on your USB drive and select Format. 3. Choose the file system that you want to use, such as NTFS or exFAT. NTFS supports larger file sizes, but it is not compatible with some TVs. exFAT supports larger file sizes and it is compatible with most TVs, but it is not supported by some older devices. You can also choose the allocation unit size, which is the smallest amount of space that a file can occupy on your drive. A smaller allocation unit size means less wasted space, but a larger allocation unit size means faster performance. 4. Click on Start and wait for the formatting process to finish. This will erase all the data on your USB drive, so make sure you have a backup of your important files.

Conclusion

Transferring home videos from the cloud to USB drives can be a simple and convenient way to share your memories with your family members. However, you might encounter some issues, such as encryption or file size issues, that can prevent you from transferring your files successfully. In this article, we explained how to overcome these issues and transfer your home videos without any problems. We hope this article was helpful and informative. If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below.

— : [Turn off BitLocker](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/turn-off-bitlocker-0f7c9c25-2a80-48fe-9e8f-99e4cebc9c9a) : [VeraCrypt – Free Open source disk encryption with strong security for the Paranoid](https://www.veracrypt.fr/en/Home.html) : [Rohos Mini Drive – Free Portable Encryption Tool](https://www.rohos.com/products/rohos-mini-drive/) : [How to Check a Drive’s File System](https://www.howtogeek.com/450110/how-to-check-a-drives-file-system/) : [How to Reduce Video File Size Without Losing Quality](https://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-reduce-video-file-size-without-losing-quality/) : [HandBrake: Open Source Video Transcoder](https://handbrake.fr/) : [VLC media player – Official site – Free multimedia solutions for all OS!](https://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html) :

[How to Format a USB Drive (And Why You Would Need To)](https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/format-usb-drive/)