How to Download Movies and Transfer Them to a USB Flash Drive

Co-authored by Chiara Corsaro and Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: September 21, 2022 Tested

Now that streaming services like Netflix and Hulu are so popular, it's hard to find movies available for download. Although some services let you save movies for offline viewing, you can't actually store their files on your USB drive. This wikiHow teaches you how to download movies (legally) from the internet and save them to your removable flash drive.

Steps

1
Find a movie to download. Unless you find a movie that's freely available in the public domain, it's illegal to download commercial movies from the internet.^{[1]
X
Research source} This means that downloading that free Avengers movie you found on a torrent site could actually result in a fine of $750 to $30,000.^{[2]
X
Research source} That's one expensive movie! Instead, try any of these resources to download movies that won't get you in trouble with the law:
- Internet Archive's Feature Films
- Vuze StudioHD Network (requires a Bittorrent client)
- Public Domain Torrents (requires a Bittorrent client).
- You can also check out How to Download YouTube Videos to learn how to download videos from YouTube—just make sure you have permission first.
- There are tons of movie torrent websites out there. Just remember that downloading copyrighted movies is illegal and people definitely do get caught (especially when they aren't using safe VPNs).
2
Download the video file to your computer. The steps to do this depend on the type of site you're using. If you're using the Internet Archive or another non-torrent site, just click the name of the movie and select the Download link. It may look like an upside-down arrow or might contain the video's size and/or resolution. If you're using a torrent site like Vuze or Public Domain Torrents, follow these steps:
- Install a Bittorrent client if you haven't already. Some popular options are uTorrent and the original BitTorrent.
- Click the video's title and select the Download link, which may look like a downward-pointing arrow or even a link with the video's size and/or resolution. This will download a file that ends with ".torrent" to your computer.
- Double-click the downloaded .torrent file in your default downloads folder. This should open your BitTorrent client.
- If you haven't set up your BitTorrent client yet, you'll usually be asked to select a download location. Your download should begin immediately.
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3
Plug your flash drive into the computer. It should fit into a USB port in your computer's housing.

Tip: If your computer doesn't have standard USB-A ports, you'll need either a Thunderbolt 3-to-USB adapter or a USB-C flash drive.
4
Copy your movie file. Click the downloaded movie file, then press Ctrl+C (PC) or ⌘ Command+C to copy it. If you're using a Mac, you can also copy the file by clicking the Edit menu and selecting Copy (movie name).
5
Open This PC (PC) or Finder (Mac)
. If you're using a PC, click the search bar, type this pc, and press the Enter key. If you're on a Mac, click the two-toned smiley face icon on the Dock, which is usually at the bottom of the screen.
6
Open your flash drive. If you're using Windows, double-click its icon in the center panel. If you're using a Mac, click it in the left panel.
- If you're using Windows and don't see anything below the "Devices and drives" heading, double-click the heading.
7
Right-click a blank area of the flash drive and select Paste. This copies the movie to your flash drive. This could take several minutes if the movie is a large file.
- If you're using a Mac, you could also click the Edit menu and select Paste.
8
Eject your flash drive
. Once the movie file has successfully transferred onto your flash drive, you can safely eject the flash drive. If you're using a Mac, click the upward-facing arrow to the right of the flash drive's name in the left panel. If you're using Windows, click the flash drive-shaped icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen and select Eject.
9
Remove your flash drive. When prompted, you can pull your flash drive out of your computer's port.

Expert Q&A

Question

Can I use any USB flash drive to store my movies?

Chiara Corsaro
Computer Specialist
Chiara Corsaro is the General Manager and Apple Certified Mac & iOS Technician for macVolks, Inc., an Apple Authorized Service Provider located in the San Francisco Bay Area. macVolks, Inc. was founded in 1990, is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) with an A+ rating, and is part of the Apple Consultants Network (ACN).

Chiara Corsaro

Computer Specialist

Expert Answer

It depends on how much space is on your flash drive and how big your movies are. If you only have a 500 MB flash drive and a movie takes up 1 GB, it won't fit on the flash drive. You may need to get an external hard drive (which is basically a big flash drive) to store your movies.
Question

Why is it that when I download the movie on the flash drive and I put it on my smart TV it keeps saying "no files" when I look for the movie?

Community Answer

Perhaps the video format is not compatible with your TV. For example, .mkv files don't work on mine.
Question

Do you know of a suitable website to download movies from?

Community Answer

ExtraTorrent.cc (not dot com). This website is similar to KickassTorrents. Make sure you have a good adblocker like Ublock Origin, and remember to use a VPN to keep your downloading anonymous!

Warnings

If your computer alerts you that the file you've downloaded is a virus, delete the file and immediately run your computer's antivirus program.

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