Memory stick question

corcaigh · Sep 16, 2006, 06:43 AM

In school i have to get a memory stick to back up stuff we do on schools macs. I was just wondering if theres anyway i can use it on my windows pc too without continuosly formatting.

Kardashian · Sep 16, 2006, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corcaigh

In school i have to get a memory stick to back up stuff we do on schools macs. I was just wondering if theres anyway i can use it on my windows pc too without continuosly formatting.

USB Pen Drives are a USB device and show up as an external storage device under Windows or Mac OS.

No need to format.

pulsewidth947 · Sep 16, 2006, 07:13 AM

Yes no need to format each time, providing you start off with a stick formatted as FAT32. In Disk Utility, click on your memory stick, and click the Erase 'tab' at the top. Now where it says Volume Format: choose MS-DOS file system, and finally click the Erase button.

As the button suggests, click Erase with delete anything that is on that drive, so best save all your stuff off there first.

This tip doesn't just work with memory sticks - any external drive will do it! One thing I've discovered though is if you have a FAT32 drive, you cannot use spotlight comments.

tyr2 · Sep 16, 2006, 07:14 AM

USB drives need formatting just like anything else. Normally they come preformatted as FAT16 or FAT32 depending on the size of the drive so you don't usually need to format them at all.

If you reformat the drive as FAT16 (or FAT32 if it's over 2 gig) then it should work in PCs and Macs withtout a problem.

FAT shows up as MS-DOS filesystem in Disk Utility.

corcaigh · Sep 16, 2006, 07:17 AM

Thanks for the quick response. Thought it might be like the problems with the ipod.

Sep 16, 2006, 06:43 AM	#1
corcaigh macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2006	Memory stick question In school i have to get a memory stick to back up stuff we do on schools macs. I was just wondering if theres anyway i can use it on my windows pc too without continuosly formatting.
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Sep 16, 2006, 07:13 AM	#3
pulsewidth947 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: squarefrog.co.uk	Yes no need to format each time, providing you start off with a stick formatted as FAT32. In Disk Utility, click on your memory stick, and click the Erase 'tab' at the top. Now where it says Volume Format: choose MS-DOS file system, and finally click the Erase button. As the button suggests, click Erase with delete anything that is on that drive, so best save all your stuff off there first. This tip doesn't just work with memory sticks - any external drive will do it! One thing I've discovered though is if you have a FAT32 drive, you cannot use spotlight comments. __________________ Refurb 15" Glossy MBP: 2.4GHz SR, 120GB OCZ Vertex 2, 320GB HD, 4GB RAM. Mac Mini: 1.83GHz Core Duo, 2GB RAM.
	0

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Sep 16, 2006, 07:14 AM	#4
tyr2 macrumors 6502a Join Date: May 2006 Location: Leeds, UK	USB drives need formatting just like anything else. Normally they come preformatted as FAT16 or FAT32 depending on the size of the drive so you don't usually need to format them at all. If you reformat the drive as FAT16 (or FAT32 if it's over 2 gig) then it should work in PCs and Macs withtout a problem. FAT shows up as MS-DOS filesystem in Disk Utility.
	0

Sep 16, 2006, 07:17 AM	#5
corcaigh Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2006	Thanks for the quick response. Thought it might be like the problems with the ipod.
	0


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