Odd file copy issue?

[user1690]

Hey guys!

So i got an old MacBook from a friend (Actually, same one i had.), re-installed Snow Leopard, and set it up how i wanted.

But an odd issue has arisen that i cant seem to get rid of.

If i copy files from my iMac to my USB (Fat32 formatted), the files copy great with no extra stuff.

However if i copy files from the MacBook to the USB, i get the file, and a ._ file? To my understanding this is a resource fork thats created when copying files. Is there any way to stop this?
I don't recall doing anything special on my iMac, but as i said when i copy files from my iMac to my USB, those ._ aren't copied/created.

 

[Detrius]

Whether it's created depends on whether the resource fork exists. If there's no resource fork, the file won't be created. It has absolutely nothing at all to do with it being your MacBook or your iMac. It has to do with the files being copied.

 

[user1690]

Whether it's created depends on whether the resource fork exists. If there's no resource fork, the file won't be created. It has absolutely nothing at all to do with it being your MacBook or your iMac. It has to do with the files being copied.

I dont think i understand, can you please explain some more?

-Thank you.

 

[Detrius]

Resource forks come from the days of OS 9 and before. Every file has the possibility of having both a data fork and a resource fork. It was used for storing icons, window definitions, menu bars, etc... HFS+ therefore supports resource forks, but Mac OS X largely does not use them. FAT32 does not support them, so when you copy a file to FAT32 or a Windows share, invisible files are created with the contents of the resource fork--if there is one.

For more info, google it and read whatever Wikipedia page comes up.