Deleting data from USB key device

[firman]

Hi,

I have two USB keys (1 gig each). I primarily use them to transfer data between machines (Windows XP & Mac OSX).

The problem I have is that when I remove files from the USB key using the "Move to Trash" option on the Mac (or simple dragging to the trash can), the space is not reclaimed by the OS. Windows XP does this automatically.

The USB keys showed a file system of FAT12. I have used the OSX disk utility to ERASE them and reformat to the MS-DOS File System (I believe this is FAT32).

This does release the device freespace, but it is a very long winded method of achieving this.

I have seen some other threads suggesting this may not be limited to USB keys.

Cheers
eric

[ora]

Once you've moved the files to the trash you just need to empty the trash to recover the space.

enjoy