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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Thumb Drive/usb Hiden File Problem??

faz1979 - May 2, 2005 - 8:56 am

Hello Ive got a APACER 256 MB thumbdrive, its been working well until recently when i put it into my other windows machine and started transferig files from that machine to my thumbdrive/usb to my powerbook (G4: 12 inch: 10.3.9,
1.33 Mhz), at the moment the drive has 247MB when it should have 256MB, and has a FAT32 system. In addition when i delete anything, my mac wont give new figures for the space it deleted- mac wont recognise that it has deleted any files on the disk.

Is this the problem??? I suspect there are hidden files, and that i will need to change the fat32 system, but my win computer only has either fat32 and fat file compressions.

DeltaMac - May 2, 2005 - 4:23 pm

If you put your USB flash drive in the PC, you can probably tell if there are any 'hidden' files, as you can set Windows to view hidden files very easily.

Also, you can run Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder), and try to 'Repair Disk'. This will tell you if there are any problems in the file/directory structure of the drive.

Your 256MB normally will not have exactly 256 MB available to use, the figure will usually be less, and on a blank drive, 247 MB is probably normal.

-Dale

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faz1979 - May 2, 2005 - 8:33 pm

Thank for the reply Dale, ive tried as you suggested, but when i bought the drive im very sure it contained exactly 256MB, and when i used disk utility, i found as below:
Name : USB FLASH DRIVE Media
Type : Disk

Disk Identifier : disk1
Media Name : USB FLASH DRIVE Media
Media Type : Generic
Connection Bus : USB
IO Content : FDisk_partition_scheme
Writable : Yes
Ejectable : Yes
Mac OS 9 Drivers Installed : No
Location : External
Total Capacity : 248.0 MB (260,046,848 Bytes)
Disk Number : 1
Partition Number : 0


There is an option in disk utility called partition, should i increase the free space size to 256MB again? What effect will that be?

DeltaMac - May 2, 2005 - 9:07 pm

If you use a calculator, you will see that 260,046,848 Bytes is exactly 248 MB
260,046,848 / 1024 (Bytes/KB) / 1024 (KB/MB) = 248 MBytes

Have fun with partitions, but you can't increase the free space on the drive. It's all in the math.

And, you have a 256 MB that actually has 260,046,848 Bytes, so yours has more space than advertised. That doesn't always happen!

- Dale
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faz1979 - May 3, 2005 - 7:32 am

Again, thanks for making me see that dale! I hae another question (so sorry)....
When i tried to copy some files in, and then take thf iles out of the thumbdrive, the amound of free space doesnt increase.
So i put a 2MB file in, but when i put it in trash, it the free space remaining, instead of having 2MB more, it still has the amount as before i deleted it.

DeltaMac - May 3, 2005 - 7:49 am

If you don't empty the trash, the file is still there taking up space - It's still in the trash!
Don't be too concerned about some small adjustment to free space. Your system actually knows how much space there really is. You will usually see the 'real' number when you eject, then re-insert the thumb drive.

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faz1979 - May 3, 2005 - 8:30 am

oh, ill make a mental note of it next time. But what i wonder is it use to be instantanious, like only 2 weeks ago. Id delete something then the free space would just shift, i wouldnt have to eject and insert again etc. Its really annoying when its not supposed to do this.

DeltaMac - May 3, 2005 - 7:27 pm

There's little need to be concerned unless your drive is nearly filled.
The Finder does not always update file data instantly, there can sometimes be a lag. Logging out then back in will always update. simply closing and reopening the drive window will also update it.
You will sometimes see better performance from flash drives if you format it as a Mac drive, using Disk Utility. This will also allow some odd characters for file names that FAT will not allow. And, you would have the additional advantage of never being able to use it in a PC (as it then won't function for storage in a PC, only a Mac)

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faz1979 - May 14, 2005 - 5:02 pm

Does anyone any chance know can burn more data on a 700MB CD-r?? I dont have any burning programs but just the normal disk burning utility that came with my notebook

12 inch, 1.33mhz, 10.3.9, Mac OSX

DeltaMac - May 14, 2005 - 5:09 pm

You may want to post this on the main MacOSX.com forum for other possible answers.
My answer is: no, you can't do overburns on CD-Rs. I am not aware of any software available for a Mac that will do this.

- Dale

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