trapper1 Loc: Southside Virginia

I stored a lot of images on a flash drive and from time to time since I have activated that flash drive with no problems. Each time the images appeared as originally recorded. Tonight I opened the flash drive as usual but instead of images appearing, all that came up was a list of the images on the flash drive. Apparently I have done something wrong, hit the wrong button etc., for the program to switch from images to a list. I now have to click on each individual item to bring up the image whereas previously they all appeared at once when I clicked on the program. Can anyone suggest how to go back to having the images appear automatically? I am using Windows 10/Pictures and have never had any problems with Pictures. I searched the several W10 manuals I have but could find no reference to this problem, much less how to correct it. Any advice on how to correct my error will be greatly appreciated.

therwol Loc: USA

I'm not in front of a computer but from memory, click on View at the top of the window and look for the icon options, small, large or extra large. Pick one that suits you.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

If you are using File Explorer in Windows, on the top right of Explorer is an icon with a drop-down menu that you can click on to select: list; large icons; small icons; tiles; ... from the drop-down menu.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Don’t use the Pictures app, use Windows File Explorer and select View-Larger Icons.

limeybiker

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

therwol gave you good advice. But I want to suggest that you do not store your images on flash drives - at least not those you camera about. Flash drives are temporary media, and far more prone to failure than permanent media - like a hard drive or SSD.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Curious - How different are SSDs from thumb drives? Aren't they both Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs)?

therwol Loc: USA

I just did an internet research on the reliability of both, and the information is conflicting. My personal experience is that I've had more than one flash drive fail and one micro sd card fail, but none of my external hard drives (spinning) and none of my in-computer hard drives (all SSDs) have failed. The last time I had an internal hard drive fail was years ago on a work machine, and it was a spinning drive. Flash drives seem to fail during the plugging and unplugging process. It isn't just a matter of data corruption. They just die.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

SSDs are designed for long-term storage and the cases protect the circuitry from damage. USB sticks were never intended for anything more than sneaker net short-term storage and sharing and can be easily damaged. The key to all removable drives is to perform a USB shutdown before the device is disconnected. While I have never damaged an SSD with a quick disconnect, I've seen numerous USB sticks "die" and become unusable if yanked out of the port without shutdown.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

So there may be a difference in technology fabrication between a thumb drive and flash drive.
Problem is, most people use the thumb drive/flash drive interchangeably when referencing a USB Stick.
How does one know which technology is in the "USB Stick"?
And how do we know which the user is referencing?
I use the term USB Stick 98% of the time. I don't care what technology is in it.
I've had files on a USB Stick for over five years so far.

therwol Loc: USA

USB Stick, flash drive, thumb drive? They're all the same to me. I have pictures on some that have been there for more than 5 years, but they got there on vacations as a backup to my camera and computer in case of theft. The pictures ended up somewhere else, but I never erased them from those drives. I have little use for them except for occasionally transferring a file from one computer to another rather than going through a cloud option. I once put music on one to listen in a rented car with a USB option. Others may have other uses for them, like running a whole operating system off of one.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Ditto on the sneakernet!
We have one laptop running Win 10 that will not talk to the other two computers;
one laptop (Win 7) that can talk to the desktop (Win 7);
but the desktop cannot talk to either laptop.
Sometimes when I reset the router the desktop will see the Win 7 laptop. Go figure.
Very annoying.....

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

It might be helpful if you could post a screen capture.

trapper1 Loc: Southside Virginia

Thanks to all who took the time to post advice. I followed your guidelines and now can call up the images with no problem. Now, since you have solved that problem for me, let me throw another at you along the same lines. I am planning on using some of the images I can now see on the flash drive to create personalized Christmas cards. In order to do so, I planned to download some of the images in one flash drive to a second flash drive so I could take it to a CVS to print the pictures. When I tried to load the images on to a second flash drive I got the error message when I clicked on "Paste" that no image had been saved. I had already copied two images from "Pictures" in my computer to the second flash drive with no problems, it was only when I tried to copy images from one flash drive to the second that the error message appeared. If it is germain, the two images I was able to transfer were made with a Canon camera, the third made after I got my Nikon D5600 is stored in Nikon Transfer2. Does anyone have a solution for this or is copying from one flash drive to another simply one of those things that can't be done?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

??
Were both flash drives in the computer at the same time?
If not, did you 'dismount' the first USB drive before inserting the second?

We kinda need the steps you used, not that you "copied".