8.5 Tiny Bytes: On the Root of a Drive

We tackle a common technical prescription writing question in this Tiny Byte: what does it mean to place a prescription on the root of a drive and why does it matter. Understanding this simple concept can solve many frustrating issues when loading prescriptions onto different monitors.

• The "root" of a drive is the main directory—the blank space you see when first opening the drive
• Different farm equipment requires prescription files in specific locations
•  Page 203 of the 2025 ADMS User Manual lists out where prescriptions need to be saved on different monitors
• Some monitors require files directly on the root (no folders)
• The slash (/) in file paths just indicates folder structure
• Never use special characters in file or folder names—stick to letters, numbers, and dashes
• Proper file placement ensures controllers can find and use your prescription files

https://gktechinc.com/

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Drive Root Question
• 1:08 Explaining What a Drive Root Means
• 2:22 Controller Requirements for Prescriptions
• 3:35 Folder Naming and Structure Guidelines
• 5:10 Conclusion and Key Takeaways

Transcript

Sarah: 0:00

And now it's time for a Tiny Byte of knowledge.

Jodi: 0:13

You know, Sarah, I've been trying to buy one of those USBs that has roots on it.

Sarah: 0:17

Roots on your memory sticks what? I only root my memory sticks in the USB port on the computer. What do you mean? The root? One of the most popular questions that we get from people that we are sending prescriptions to is what is the root of the USB? You need to explain why this is a big issue.

Jodi: 0:36

Yeah, it's a super common question and it's a really important question because the root of a USB is oftentimes what a monitor is looking for when they're looking for prescriptions. And so if you have a monitor that you're trying to get prescriptions onto and it's looking at the root of a USB for those prescriptions and they're not there, that's a problem.

Sarah: 1:00

So in order to get around this problem, we have to talk about and we have to know we need to get to the root of the problem. Is we need to get to the root of the problem? Is we need to get to the root?

Jodi: 1:09

of the problem. So, sarah, what exactly is the root of a USB drive, or the root of any?

Sarah: 1:15

drive. When you open up a drive on your screen, on your window, there should be like no folders, no files, nothing there. It's just like a blank white screen, that's it.

Jodi: 1:31

Perfect. So like, for example, when I plug in USB drives into my computer and I go to like my computer, I often see like my C drive, which is like my Windows drive, or if I plug in a USB drive, it oftentimes is my F or a G or an H drive. And so what? The root of that is, when I click onto that USB drive F, that first folder, that just blank space of me opening the top of that drive, is the root of the.

Sarah: 2:05

USB drive. That's correct. Now with GK technology, when, when we are exporting out prescriptions, we've got a manual and in the manual we've got this chart and it, it helps us understand how to export to different monitors. One of the things that we talk about is where those prescriptions need to be located on that USB so the controller can find them. That controller is going to look at a specific file structure to find them. Sometimes those prescriptions need to be within a folder named specifically.

Sarah: 2:50

For example, with John Deere, if you're going out with a USB, it needs to be in a folder labeled RX. If it's not labeled in that, it doesn't work. If it's on a case monitor and it's a shapefile, it needs to be in a folder called shapefile with no capitals. That's how this works. It needs to be in a folder called shapefile with no capitals. That's how this works. Then those controllers can search through those folders and find them. But there are a number of monitors out there that say the prescription files should be placed directly on the root of the USB. That means no folder, no, nothing, just put them straight on the USB.

Jodi: 3:25

That means no folder, no, nothing, just put them straight on the USB, just like Sarah mentioned, sometimes a specific controller might start looking for prescriptions in a folder, and so you might need to title that folder, like Sarah said, shapefile if it's on a Case IH Pro 700 or Pro 1200. So, thinking back to the ADMS manual that Sarah mentioned before too, you might find that it's telling you to write a prescription to a specific folder or something that says like VRC slash. So what does that slash mean? What that slash mean is just that title of the folder is VRC, and then inside of that folder is where you should be placing the prescription. So, using the specific example of like writing a prescription to a John Deere monitor, oftentimes what you'll do is you'll create a folder that says RX and then you'll open the folder and put the prescription in there. So what the slash means in that is just that that's a folder. You don't need to put slash in the title, you just need to place the file inside of that.

Sarah: 4:26

As a matter of fact, most of the time, when you're naming anything in computers, using slash marks gets really dangerous, because that's what you do is you create files and folders, so don't put a slash in. You should never use special characters for naming anything. You can use numbers, you can use letters and you can use dashes, but that's about it. So did we get to the root of the issue? I think so.

Jodi: 4:54

I think we talked about the most important root, the root of our USB drives.

Sarah: 5:01

Hopefully, once our prescriptions are placed there, all of our controllers will be able to find them, just like roots in fertile soil. Tune in next time for a tiny bite of knowledge from gk technology where we have a map and an app for that. That