Can I tranfser what is on my old flash drives onto my general files on my desktop computer?

[usonian]

11. Here is what I do.

Here's my simplified disk strategy.

If you can get a computer friend to help, this might work for you:

I got a 4 terabyte disk. One terabyte backs up the computer.
The other three terabytes collect all the loose files. In my case, going back to the beginning of time (8 inch floppies that are long gone)

(since this might involve partitioning, that's where the helper comes in)
They can recommend backup software or whatever MS or Apple provide (the latter is time machine)

If you can time things, do a backup when the computer is working well, in case it is hacked or breaks, so you can recover.

Have two copies of critical files like your essays (or my digital photos). (i.e. don't erase the thumb drives)