Thumb Drive Problem - transferring between Mac and PC

[msw123307]

I've searched and can't find the answer to my question. I have a 4 gb Cruzer that will be used to transfer files from a Macbook to a PC on occasion. My problem is (and I've had this problem on other drives), when I delete a file on the thumb drive, it doesn't clear the avaliable space.

The files itself are instead moved to the "Recycle" folder, that I can see when i plug it into my PC. Since the Macbook is the primary computer, I need a way to clear this recycle folder, or preferably, a way to delete it entirely. This way when I delete a file, it is gone for good.

I have tried formatting the drive on my Mac and on my PC as a FAT32. I don't have problems putting files on the drive, but when they are deleted, they still go to the "recycle" folder. I was hoping a restore would wipe any internal software off the drive, but no luck there.

I would prefer to find a way to do this without having to use third party software, so I can describe to someone else how to do this easily (if possible.) Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[kastenbrust]

Just cut the files off the memory stick, and paste them where you want them, then they wont be on the memory stick anymore (deleted off), but where you want them.

 

[msw123307]

^That's a good idea - it would be nicer if i could just delete. But that is an easy workaround - thanks.

 

[cdcastillo]

Just cut the files off the memory stick...

And how is he/she supposed to cut them if he/she can not see them on the mac?

...when I delete a file on the thumb drive, it doesn't clear the avaliable space... Thanks for any suggestions.

You need to empty the trash while the thumb drive is still attached to the mac (and obviously, after you deleted whatever you wanted to delete). This will do the trick.

 

[rtpub]

If you do not want the deleted files to go to the Trash can, you can simply press and hold the "Shift" key (Windows) then press "delete"

 

[kastenbrust]

And how is he/she supposed to cut them if he/she can not see them on the mac?

he/she can see them on their mac, thats not the issue here.

 

[cdcastillo]

he/she can see them on their mac, thats not the issue here.

No he/she can't, try reading the original post again.

Ok, I don't intend to start a battle here, because it will not help the OP to solve it's problem -- BTW, msw, did you solve your problem? --, and since I don't want to be involved in a futile "I said/You said" war, this is the last unrelated post I'll made to this thread, but I'll try to explain myself.

The problem the OP had is that whenever he/she sent a file from the thumb drive to the trash, the file would remain HIDDEN from view but still in the thumb drive, therefore not freeing the space it was occupying. This "erased" files would reveal themselves later, when in a WinPC, he/she navigated to .Trash or .Recycle folders, where he/she CAN see them and erase them (once again, NOT on the mac, BUT on the Windows machine).

The OP still elaborates more telling us that this solution (going to the windows machine and erasing them) is not useful because his/her primary computer is the Mac, and she need a way to free the thumb drive space IN the mac, where the files are HIDDEN in the thumb drive, only visible on the trash (this last thing he/she had not realized yet).

So, again,the only thing he/she needs is to empty the trash before ejecting the thumb drive.

 

[msw123307]

No he/she can't, try reading the original post again.

Ok, I don't intend to start a battle here, because it will not help the OP to solve it's problem -- BTW, msw, did you solve your problem? --, and since I don't want to be involved in a futile "I said/You said" war, this is the last unrelated post I'll made to this thread, but I'll try to explain myself.

The problem the OP had is that whenever he/she sent a file from the thumb drive to the trash, the file would remain HIDDEN from view but still in the thumb drive, therefore not freeing the space it was occupying. This "erased" files would reveal themselves later, when in a WinPC, he/she navigated to .Trash or .Recycle folders, where he/she CAN see them and erase them (once again, NOT on the mac, BUT on the Windows machine).

The OP still elaborates more telling us that this solution (going to the windows machine and erasing them) is not useful because his/her primary computer is the Mac, and she need a way to free the thumb drive space IN the mac, where the files are HIDDEN in the thumb drive, only visible on the trash (this last thing he/she had not realized yet).

So, again,the only thing he/she needs is to empty the trash before ejecting the thumb drive.

This is all correct, and yes, that is my problem. Sorry, I hadn't checked the post in a couple days. But, as for the solution, I don't have a way to empty the trash like you say, unless I am on a windows machine.

So to delete any file off of my thumb drive, I've had to previously delete it on my Mac, and then the next time I use a PC, I can see the hidden .recycle folder and clear it out. I would rather not have to do this.

And btw, I think what kastenbrust was saying was that I could, in the future, just start cutting files to my desktop from the thumb drive, and then deleting them. This would work I suppose, but I would rather not have to do this.

Does this normally happen with thumb drives, I know the one I'm using is rather old, maybe I need to get a newer one..

 

[wrldwzrd89]

This is all correct, and yes, that is my problem. Sorry, I hadn't checked the post in a couple days. But, as for the solution, I don't have a way to empty the trash like you say, unless I am on a windows machine.

So to delete any file off of my thumb drive, I've had to previously delete it on my Mac, and then the next time I use a PC, I can see the hidden .recycle folder and clear it out. I would rather not have to do this.

And btw, I think what kastenbrust was saying was that I could, in the future, just start cutting files to my desktop from the thumb drive, and then deleting them. This would work I suppose, but I would rather not have to do this.

Does this normally happen with thumb drives, I know the one I'm using is rather old, maybe I need to get a newer one..

This is most odd, but I've seen similar issues before with my own thumb drives. The solution? Either empty the Trash on the Mac, or delete the files on Windows then empty the Recycle Bin. Either works.

However, there's nothing you can do about the .Trashes folder and .Spotlight-V100 folders - if you delete them on Windows, the Mac OS will recreate them the next time you connect to your Mac.

 

[msw123307]

This is most odd, but I've seen similar issues before with my own thumb drives. The solution? Either empty the Trash on the Mac, or delete the files on Windows then empty the Recycle Bin. Either works.

However, there's nothing you can do about the .Trashes folder and .Spotlight-V100 folders - if you delete them on Windows, the Mac OS will recreate them the next time you connect to your Mac.

i can't empty the trash on the Mac, that's my primary problem. they are on the drive but only seen when i look at the drive on a PC.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

i can't empty the trash on the Mac, that's my primary problem. they are on the drive but only seen when i look at the drive on a PC.

I've had this happen too... the solution is to force-nuke the contents of the Trash on that drive only. A little Terminal magic works beautifully here - shame you can't make it always do this.

Anyway: (be VERY CAREFUL with this command, if you delete the wrong thing there is no undo!)

cd /Volumes/Name\ Of\ Drive
rm -rf .Trashes

Those backslashes are important, since the Terminal doesn't like spaces too much, and needs them escaped with backslashes. If your drive is called "4GBDRIVE" like mine is, then you need not worry about escaping spaces

 

[cdcastillo]

i can't empty the trash on the Mac, that's my primary problem. they are on the drive but only seen when i look at the drive on a PC.

You don't need to see the files on the thumbdrive, sorry if I wasn't clear enough. From now on, whenever you need to erase something from your thumbdrive, after sending the files to the trash, press at the same time Command-Shift-Delete, or select empty trash from the Finder's File menu.

This was what I was refering to when I say that you only needed to empty the trash.

 

[msw123307]

Hmm..ok I'll try just emptying the trash like normal then.

I did notice that I can't cut a file from the drive..why is that?

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Hmm..ok I'll try just emptying the trash like normal then.

I did notice that I can't cut a file from the drive..why is that?

This is a limitation of Mac OS X - more specifically of the Finder. It doesn't allow you to cut files - only copy them.

 

[cdcastillo]

...I did notice that I can't cut a file from the drive...

... Mac OS X... doesn't allow you to cut files - only copy them.

wrldwzrd, that's actually inaccurate. You certainly CAN NOT use Command-X and Command-V to cut and paste files like you are used to in Windows, however, you CAN cut-move or copy files in the finder, using the mouse and the keyboard.

If you want to "cut" (move) a file from one place (folder) to other in the same drive you just drag the file and drop it on the new location.

If you want to "cut" a file from one place to other in different drives (e.g., from the thumb drive to your computer) you drag the file while holding down the command key. Voilá.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

wrldwzrd, that's actually inaccurate. You certainly CAN NOT use Command-X and Command-V to cut and paste files like you are used to in Windows, however, you CAN cut-move or copy files in the finder, using the mouse and the keyboard.

If you want to "cut" (move) a file from one place (folder) to other in the same drive you just drag the file and drop it on the new location.

If you want to "cut" a file from one place to other in different drives (e.g., from the thumb drive to your computer) you drag the file while holding down the command key. Voilá.

This works, UNLESS you're doing disk-to-disk moves, in which case you need to hold down the Option key (not Command).