usb flash memory dongles on OSX

[duncandeath]

Morning

Im not sure of the make of the memory dongles but it has happends with two separate models.

When deleting folders from the dongle the folder diapears but the space does not free up. the only way to free the space is to erase the device from disk utillity. this is not ideal as it delete's everything.

Anyone have any experience with this. Are there dongles that work better with osx than others?

 

[joshysquashy]

empty your trash! until you do that, it is not really erased, only marked as deleted, so when you empty your trash, the space is recovered.

 

[duncandeath]

i will do this cheers

 

[johnnyjibbs]

And remember to empty the trash while the dongle is still attached!

 

[InfiniteLoop1]

when i transfer word docs from my mac to a PC on my USB drive, i get two copies, one which is 1KB with nothing in it but it has the right name and then the normal one, this only happens from mac to PC, not PC to mac, PC to PC or Mac to Mac. Is this a MS, OS X or my USB drive's fault. Does this happen to any one else?

 

[MacDawg]

when i transfer word docs from my mac to a PC on my USB drive, i get two copies, one which is 1KB with nothing in it but it has the right name and then the normal one, this only happens from mac to PC, not PC to mac, PC to PC or Mac to Mac. Is this a MS, OS X or my USB drive's fault. Does this happen to any one else?

I think this is just going from OSX to PC, not the drive.

I've been very impressed and pleased with the performance of my Memorex 2Gig flash. Awesome. Its just that my old iMac's USB is s-l-o-w. I transfer files from work (XP) to my Mac flawlessly now, and it is so cool.

Woof, Woof – Dawg

 

[Sic]

when i transfer word docs from my mac to a PC on my USB drive, i get two copies, one which is 1KB with nothing in it but it has the right name and then the normal one, this only happens from mac to PC, not PC to mac, PC to PC or Mac to Mac. Is this a MS, OS X or my USB drive's fault. Does this happen to any one else?

it's not a fault, and it should happen to everyone who is in the same position as you (im assuming that you can't see these 1kb files on your mac)

the 1kb copies are DS_store files and they dont do anything. if you switch "show hidden files/folders" off in windows, you wont see them. you'll probably also notice a .trashes folder, which contains any files that you sent to the trash on your mac.

hth

 

[alangyssler]

Anyone think a firewire thumb drive would be better than USB? I know, USB 2.0 is faster in bursts... but I want sustained speed for my transfers... any thoughts?

 

[grapes911]

Anyone think a firewire thumb drive would be better than USB? I know, USB 2.0 is faster in bursts... but I want sustained speed for my transfers... any thoughts?

IMO, it is a bad idea at this time. Maybe in the future it will be more plausible. Here are my reasons against it:

1. The price increase would be great.
2. Firewire controllers are much bigger than USB controllers so the physical size of the drive would double (maybe even triple)
3. It wouldn't be much faster. Most people have 256 or 512. You won't see much difference if any at when transferring files this small. I know they have up to 4GB or something, but that is not the norm right now.
4. You'll lose the portability and compatibility this things are known for since many computers still don't have 1394.

 

[gman71882]

Firewire Flash Drive

this looks Promising: Flash Drives with firewire in most sizes.

http://www.kanguru.com/fireflash.html

They came out Last fall(04) so their pretty new.

 

[grapes911]

this looks Promising: Flash Drives with firewire in most sizes.

http://www.kanguru.com/fireflash.html

They came out Last fall(04) so their pretty new.

I was about to say ignore my entire post. Instead ignore some of it.
1. I thought they would be more expensive. They are somewhat more money than USB, but not as much as I expected.
2. They seem bigger, but no where near the size I expected.
3. I still stand behind this.
4. I still stand behind this.

 

[rjphoto]

I was about to say ignore my entire post. Instead ignore some of it.
1. I thought they would be more expensive. They are somewhat more money than USB, but not as much as I expected.
2. They seem bigger, but no where near the size I expected.
3. I still stand behind this.
4. I still stand behind this.

as for No. 4...looks like there is a USB converter cable (or is it?).

as for No. 3...My PowerBooks and G4 Tower and G3 iMacs don't have USB2. I'm game.

 

[grapes911]

as for No. 4...looks like there is a USB converter cable.

as for No. 3...My PowerBooks and G4 Tower and G3 iMacs don't have USB2. I'm game.

I saw "USB Power Cable for Converter". Because of protocol differences, it not really possible to convert firewire to USB in this manner. I'm not sure what they are taking about, unless they have some new technology.

But at least you can use a USB stick on any computer. Almost every computer has USB 1.1 or 2.0. Most computers out there do not have Firewire, although it is starting to come with many new computers.

 

[grapes911]

It doesn't convert to USB. It uses the USB port to draw power when using the 6-pin to 4-pin adapter. The difference between 4-pin and 6-pin is that there is now power in 4-pin devices.

From the manual:

 

[MatthewCobb]

You don't have to empty your trash

empty your trash! until you do that, it is not really erased, only marked as deleted, so when you empty your trash, the space is recovered.

The other alternative (if you're anal and like to keep stuff in your trash) is to put the files you don't want into a new untitled folder on your data key (or Stick of Knowledge as my students call it), then make a new untitled (empty) folder on your hard disk and copy it across. It replaces the unwanted folder + files.

 

[rjphoto]

It doesn't convert to USB. It uses the USB port to draw power when using the 6-pin to 4-pin adapter. The difference between 4-pin and 6-pin is that there is now power in 4-pin devices.

Cool. That's why I come here. learn something new every day.

Nuther question...can you boot OSX from these things (like the 4gig ver.)?

 

[alangyssler]

IMO, it is a bad idea at this time. Maybe in the future it will be more plausible. Here are my reasons against it:

1. The price increase would be great.
2. Firewire controllers are much bigger than USB controllers so the physical size of the drive would double (maybe even triple)
3. It wouldn't be much faster. Most people have 256 or 512. You won't see much difference if any at when transferring files this small. I know they have up to 4GB or something, but that is not the norm right now.
4. You'll lose the portability and compatibility this things are known for since many computers still don't have 1394.

Touche. Hadn't thought through it that far. Those drives on the link look pretty interesting... something to keep my eye on for the future.

I don't know much about protocols, and converters, and that jazz. I was posing the question as I've thought that would be the next logical jump... perhaps for larger flash drives (2 gig or more). But now I certainly see the limitations to them, and I think I understand why they're not more popular.

A side note: I've noticed some people getting pretty fired up lately on the forums, and am glad that my question was responded to with tact and respect. Thank you. (strange aside, I know...)

 

[grapes911]

Nuther question...can you boot OSX from these things (like the 4gig ver.)?

OS X allows booting from firewire. I see no reason why you couldn't. You may have to do a customizable installation to get OS X to fit. And you probably couldn't do too much with it because you couldn't install too many programs. Plus it would run out of Virtual Memory very quick and become very slow.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Anyone think a firewire thumb drive would be better than USB? I know, USB 2.0 is faster in bursts... but I want sustained speed for my transfers... any thoughts?

The real limiter isn't the interface, it's the flash memory chips themselves. They just aren't fast enough to make a difference between USB 2.0 and FireWire. If you only have USB 1.1, though, a FireWire memory drive will definitely outrun a USB.

 

[rjphoto]

OS X allows booting from firewire. I see no reason why you couldn't. You may have to do a customizable installation to get OS X to fit. And you probably couldn't do too much with it because you couldn't install too many programs. Plus it would run out of Virtual Memory very quick and become very slow.

It would be for older machines to test the Hard Drives. Wouldn't take much. Sometimes the CD-ROM and HD won't boot but the machine it self or parts are salvageable.

 

[grapes911]

The real limiter isn't the interface, it's the flash memory chips themselves. They just aren't fast enough to make a difference between USB 2.0 and FireWire. If you only have USB 1.1, though, a FireWire memory drive will definitely outrun a USB.

Are you sure about that? I always though flash memory was faster than traditional hard drives. I don't really know though.

 

[grapes911]

It would be for older machines to test the Hard Drives. Wouldn't take much. Sometimes the CD-ROM and HD won't boot but the machine it self or parts are salvageable.

That is one instance. Personally, I'd take out my firewire hard drive containing my complete bootable backup and boot from that. I guess everyone doesn't have one of those though?

 

[duncandeath]

my ipod is an older one so i got a firewire cable with it, if i was to attempt to boot from it would i need to completly wipe the ipod?

How fast is an ipod harddrive?

 

[Nermal]

Are you sure about that? I always though flash memory was faster than traditional hard drives. I don't really know though.

Hard drives are significantly faster than flash, but "normal" memory (not flash) is faster than a hard drive.

 

[InfiniteLoop1]

it's not a fault, and it should happen to everyone who is in the same position as you (im assuming that you can't see these 1kb files on your mac)

the 1kb copies are DS_store files and they dont do anything. if you switch "show hidden files/folders" off in windows, you wont see them. you'll probably also notice a .trashes folder, which contains any files that you sent to the trash on your mac.

hth

thanks for your help that makes sense!