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DigitalEl · Jun 23, 2006, 10:23 PM

So I just bought a 1GB Memorex Mini TravelDrive USB thumb drive. I was excited to find a gig for $34. The Memorex website still has suggested retail at $99. Sweet!

Problem is, I got overly excited when moving what I thought were "must have" files onto it. As soon as I ripped the thing from that frustrating plastic wrapping everybody uses these days, I moved over a bunch of files and maxed the thing out. Of course, I went back and rethought a lot of what I had put on there. I deleted a ton of files and am thinking there's only about 600 MB of "stuff" on the drive now. However, the drive still reads "11.8 MB Free" in both my Mac's Finder and in Windows explorer on my beige box at work.

Is there a way to get that space back without reformatting? That's what the Memorex support site suggests, by the way. With the super-slow transfer speed of this "bargain" drive, I sure don't want to have to reformat it and start all over again.

Any ideas, gang?

DigitalEl · Jun 23, 2006, 10:27 PM

By the way, deleting a file -- or even multiple files -- has no effect on the usable remaining space on the thumb drive. If I add a file, it takes the space away, but upon deletion, it doesn't give those MB back.

I should also note, I didn't format the drive upon first use. I'm using it on both a Mac and a PC and in its stock setup.

wataru · Jun 24, 2006, 01:20 AM

Did you actually delete the files, or just put them in the trash?

DigitalEl · Jun 24, 2006, 08:05 AM

With removable media there is no trash, is there? I thought when you deleted a file from a thumb drive, it was gone?

wataru · Jun 24, 2006, 10:49 AM

No. As with all writable local drives, when you put something in the trash, it is moved to the .Trashes folder on that drive. Notice how the trash can in the Dock becomes "full"?

You're right, "when you delete a file from a thumb drive, it's gone." But you didn't delete the file. Dragging a file to the trash is never equivalent to delete unless you're dealing with a network share, and then the Finder will warn you that it will permanently delete the file.

DigitalEl · Jun 24, 2006, 11:36 AM

Got it. I reformatted the drive on my Mac in FAT32 and it now works, as it should, on both the Mac and the PC. I delete a file and the space is recovered... Without touching or dealing with a .Trashes folder.

Not sure why, but I'm happy it works now.

Bugs me that this drive has some Windows-only software crap on it that's protected. Wish I'd known that before buying. When I insert the drive, I get the actual "TravelDrive" folder, in addition to a CD icon for the Windows-only "U3" software.

wataru · Jun 24, 2006, 12:33 PM

You don't "deal" with the .Trashes folder. The OS handles it transparently.

It's really this simple:
1. Put file in trash
2. Empty trash

Without step 2, no space is recovered. End of story.

StarCross · Jun 24, 2006, 03:43 PM

You can remove the U3 software and the extra "drive" by going here: http://www.u3.com/uninstall/ . That is what I did with my Memorex 1GB Mini TravelDrive. Then I loaded it up with apps from PortableApps.com, which I prefer over U3.

However, you need a Windows 2000 or XP machine to remove U3. Not sure if it'll work on Virtual PC.

wataru · Jun 24, 2006, 05:07 PM

How is it that simply reformatting on a Mac wouldn't achieve the same result?

StarCross · Jun 24, 2006, 06:20 PM

Essentially, you'd have to "flash" a USB flash drive to remove the U3 component and drive, and that involves the formatting of the entire drive. Granted, you'd only get a measly 6MB back, and the process is irreversible. For me it sure beats having to unmount two drives every time I want to unplug my USB flash drive.

I like the idea of U3, but it doesn't work out for me since it's not cross-platform.

DigitalEl · Jun 24, 2006, 07:02 PM

Originally Posted by StarCross

For me it sure beats having to unmount two drives every time I want to unplug my USB flash drive.

TOTALLY worth it and I'll be doing it next time I'm in front of an XP machine. I'd be more annoyed with the whole thing if I didn't get a 1GB USB 2.0 device for $34.

wataru · Jun 25, 2006, 01:52 AM

Originally Posted by StarCross

Essentially, you'd have to "flash" a USB flash drive

What does that mean? How is that different from formatting the drive?

pheonixash · Jun 26, 2006, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by wataru

You don't "deal" with the .Trashes folder. The OS handles it transparently.

It's really this simple:
1. Put file in trash
2. Empty trash

Without step 2, no space is recovered. End of story.

BS. Never seen any sort of trash folder on any of my flash drives. Everytime I delete (by pressing the delete key) something or even drag it to Trash (dragging to the Trash Can) (in Windows or Mac OS) the file gets deleted AND I get my space back.

wataru · Jun 29, 2006, 01:59 AM

I've got a SanDisk Cruzer Mini 128MB flash drive right here, and guess what? Hitting the delete key (or the backspace key) alone does nothing. Nada. Hitting command+backspace puts a file in the Trash, which means it goes to the invisible .Trashes folder on the disk until you empty the trash.

The only drives with which I've ever seen the behavior you describe in OS X are mounted network shares.

pheonixash · Jun 29, 2006, 04:20 AM

Hehe then we have something wierd going on! I also have a 128MB drive.

DigitalEl · Jun 29, 2006, 09:37 AM

FWIW, after using the U3 uninstaller, my drive works as expected. I delete a file, the space is immediately recovered. There's no .trashes folder or no emptying of the Trash. For my purposes, at least, case closed!

wataru · Jun 29, 2006, 12:15 PM

That is not "as expected" for anything but network drives.

DigitalEl · Jun 29, 2006, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by wateru

That is not "as expected" for anything but network drives.

Maybe my expectations were different than yours?

Seriously, I'm admittedly no expert, but I'm also no computing novice. I've never had to delete Trash on a thumb drive. Never. I can't even find mention of "Trash" or "Recycle Bin" on the Memorex website. Also looked on the PNY website, as they make a boatload of these little devices.

Maybe you're smarter than the rest of us. Maybe you're not getting your point across clearly. Definitely it's coming across as condescending.

Thanks for your help with my original issue.

ghporter · Jun 29, 2006, 09:14 PM

I use my USB drive on all sorts of systems, both at home and at school. the .Trashes and .DS folders are both plainly visible on a PC, but they don't hurt anything. If you empty the trash, at worst you'll have a few kilobytes of empty index to carry around. And if you delete these items, when you insert the thing in your Mac again, it will just regenerate them. Leave them alone and you'll be fine-and so will your USB drive.

wataru · Jun 29, 2006, 09:20 PM

Yes, exactly. But this guy's claiming that .Trashes doesn't exist, and that it is impossible to put something in the trash without deleting it on a USB flash drive.

Apfhex · Jun 30, 2006, 04:49 PM

My experiences have always, with any flash drive on any Mac, been like Wataru described. I myself have a SanDisk Cruzer Micro 256MB, formatted as it came (I think FAT32).

DigitalEl's experience may be consistent with using the drive on a Windows machine, but it is not consistent with OS X's expected or normal behavior; it's the exception.

ghporter · Jun 30, 2006, 09:10 PM

Nope, my flash drives are used on both Windows and OS X machines, and they have always acted as wataru stated. But I have never messed with the .trashes folder, either.

wataru · Jul 1, 2006, 11:07 AM

Like I said earlier, you don't "mess" with the .Trashes folder. It's just the mechanism for how the Trash works in OS X--when you put something in the trash, it is moved to a folder called .Trashes at the root of that drive. It remains there until you remove it from the Trash or empty the Trash. Since the folder name begins with a period, it is invisible on OS X but can be seen when appropriate steps are taken (Terminal, Finder settings, etc.) or on a PC.

ghporter · Jul 1, 2006, 07:22 PM

Originally Posted by wataru

Like I said earlier, you don't "mess" with the .Trashes folder. It's just the mechanism for how the Trash works in OS X--when you put something in the trash, it is moved to a folder called .Trashes at the root of that drive. It remains there until you remove it from the Trash or empty the Trash. Since the folder name begins with a period, it is invisible on OS X but can be seen when appropriate steps are taken (Terminal, Finder settings, etc.) or on a PC.

Right. I'm agreeing with you. I leave things like this alone and they "just work." That's my point, though it doesn't seem that I made it too well.