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/

Episode Transcript

Sarah (00:00):
And now it's time for a Tiny Byte of knowledge.

Jodi (00:13):
You know, Sarah, I've been trying to buy one of those USBs
that has roots on it.

Sarah (00:17):
Roots on your memory sticks what?
I only root my memory sticks inthe USB port on the computer.
What do you mean?
The root?
One of the most popularquestions that we get from
people that we are sendingprescriptions to is what is the
root of the USB?
You need to explain why this isa big issue.

Jodi (00:36):
Yeah, it's a super common question and it's a really
important question because theroot of a USB is oftentimes what
a monitor is looking for whenthey're looking for
prescriptions.
And so if you have a monitorthat you're trying to get
prescriptions onto and it'slooking at the root of a USB for

(00:57):
those prescriptions and they'renot there, that's a problem.

Sarah (01:00):
So in order to get around this problem, we have to talk
about and we have to know weneed to get to the root of the
problem.
Is we need to get to the rootof the problem?
Is we need to get to the root?

Jodi (01:09):
of the problem.
So, sarah, what exactly is theroot of a USB drive, or the root
of any?

Sarah (01:15):
drive.
When you open up a drive onyour screen, on your window,
there should be like no folders,no files, nothing there.
It's just like a blank whitescreen, that's it.

Jodi (01:31):
Perfect.
So like, for example, when Iplug in USB drives into my
computer and I go to like mycomputer, I often see like my C
drive, which is like my Windowsdrive, or if I plug in a USB
drive, it oftentimes is my F ora G or an H drive.
And so what?
The root of that is, when Iclick onto that USB drive F,

(01:55):
that first folder, that justblank space of me opening the
top of that drive, is the rootof the.

Sarah (02:05):
USB drive.
That's correct.
Now with GK technology, when,when we are exporting out
prescriptions, we've got amanual and in the manual we've
got this chart and it, it helpsus understand how to export to
different monitors.
One of the things that we talkabout is where those

(02:28):
prescriptions need to be locatedon that USB so the controller
can find them.
That controller is going tolook at a specific file
structure to find them.
Sometimes those prescriptionsneed to be within a folder named
specifically.

(02:50):
For example, with John Deere, ifyou're going out with a USB, it
needs to be in a folder labeledRX.
If it's not labeled in that, itdoesn't work.
If it's on a case monitor andit's a shapefile, it needs to be
in a folder called shapefilewith no capitals.
That's how this works.
It needs to be in a foldercalled shapefile with no
capitals.
That's how this works.
Then those controllers cansearch through those folders and

(03:13):
find them.
But there are a number ofmonitors out there that say the
prescription files should beplaced directly on the root of
the USB.
That means no folder, no,nothing, just put them straight
on the USB.

Jodi (03:25):
That means no folder, no, nothing, just put them straight
on the USB, just like Sarahmentioned, sometimes a specific
controller might start lookingfor prescriptions in a folder,
and so you might need to titlethat folder, like Sarah said,
shapefile if it's on a Case IHPro 700 or Pro 1200.
So, thinking back to the ADMSmanual that Sarah mentioned
before too, you might find thatit's telling you to write a

(03:50):
prescription to a specificfolder or something that says
like VRC slash.
So what does that slash mean?
What that slash mean is justthat title of the folder is VRC,
and then inside of that folderis where you should be placing
the prescription.
So, using the specific exampleof like writing a prescription
to a John Deere monitor,oftentimes what you'll do is

(04:14):
you'll create a folder that saysRX and then you'll open the
folder and put the prescriptionin there.
So what the slash means in thatis just that that's a folder.
You don't need to put slash inthe title, you just need to
place the file inside of that.

Sarah (04:26):
As a matter of fact, most of the time, when you're naming
anything in computers, usingslash marks gets really
dangerous, because that's whatyou do is you create files and
folders, so don't put a slash in.
You should never use specialcharacters for naming anything.
You can use numbers, you canuse letters and you can use

(04:47):
dashes, but that's about it.
So did we get to the root ofthe issue?
I think so.

Jodi (04:54):
I think we talked about the most important root, the
root of our USB drives.

Sarah (05:01):
Hopefully, once our prescriptions are placed there,
all of our controllers will beable to find them, just like
roots in fertile soil.
Tune in next time for a tinybite of knowledge from gk
technology where we have a mapand an app for that.
That