Please help urgent

Omniscently · Omniscently #1 (**permalink**)

12-15-2011, 09:58 PM

So I had to do paper for my English class, and I also had this massive project in another class so my thumb drive had my English paper and my other project, I had to compile the data for my project with my group and used some cheap-*** school Gateway computer, and now my Mac wont read it and my HP wont read it, I need help, I need the USB drive NOW and dont have time to re-write my 5 page paper. How do I reformat it so it will work on either computer, but not erase the data on it?
PLEASE HELP!!

Omniscently · Omniscently #2 (**permalink**)

12-15-2011, 10:18 PM

I just got some stuff on it, it is formatted to FAT, and heard a while back that you can convert FAT/FAT32 to NFTS WITHOUT erasing data, does anyone know how? please help me!

MightyGem · MightyGem #3 (**permalink**)

12-15-2011, 10:58 PM

If you reformat, you will lose all that is on there. What format did you save your project in?

Omniscently · Omniscently #4 (**permalink**)

12-15-2011, 11:08 PM

it is in .doc but that isnt the issue, my flashdrive is in FAT and I need it to be NFTS and I just want to know the way to convert from FAT to NFTS without erasing all my data, thanks for replying

chas_m · chas_m #5 (**permalink**)

12-15-2011, 11:22 PM

Changing the format of the thumb drive won't help you at all. Almost all thumb drives out there under 16GB are, in fact, in FAT32 format. On top of that, you are misinformed that you can change the format of the drive without erasing it. Na ga ha pen.

What's ACTUALLY happened is that the directory of the thumb drive has been damaged. This is almost ALWAYS due to user error (not properly ejecting the drive from Mac or Windows before physically removing the drive). I have also seen occasions where the PC or the thumb drive itself was at fault and not the user, but these are extremely rare. 99.99% of the time, the user forgot to properly dismount/eject the thumb drive before removing it.

Here's some instructions that may help you:

How to Repair a USB Flash Drive That Is Corrupt | eHow.com

I hope this helps. Not that it's helpful at the moment, but for future reference vital documents that only exist on a thumb drive is pretty risky, so I always like to back up the thumb drive's contents either on a hard drive or a "cloud" drive if possible. If you are a current (Lion) Mac user, iCloud works great for this. For older OS X systems, Dropbox or Box or S3 or some other cloud system is available too.

Omniscently · Omniscently #6 (**permalink**)

12-15-2011, 11:33 PM

wow ok, my group member lied to me then, thank you very much though

Omniscently · Omniscently #7 (**permalink**)

12-15-2011, 11:37 PM

will repairing it erase the data?

chas_m · chas_m #8 (**permalink**)

12-16-2011, 02:02 AM

No, it won't. Good luck!

JimboMac · JimboMac #9 (**permalink**)

12-16-2011, 03:20 PM

If you are able to, start storing documents "in the cloud." USB thumbdrives are not exactly known for reliability.

chas_m #5 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 22, 2010 Location: Victoria, BC Posts: 13,705 Mac Specs: 2009 MacBook Pro, Black speakers, Black Benq second monitor, black iPhone 4, Black 2012 iPad, etc.	12-15-2011, 11:22 PM Changing the format of the thumb drive won't help you at all. Almost all thumb drives out there under 16GB are, in fact, in FAT32 format. On top of that, you are misinformed that you can change the format of the drive without erasing it. Na ga ha pen. What's ACTUALLY happened is that the directory of the thumb drive has been damaged. This is almost ALWAYS due to user error (not properly ejecting the drive from Mac or Windows before physically removing the drive). I have also seen occasions where the PC or the thumb drive itself was at fault and not the user, but these are extremely rare. 99.99% of the time, the user forgot to properly dismount/eject the thumb drive before removing it. Here's some instructions that may help you: How to Repair a USB Flash Drive That Is Corrupt \| eHow.com I hope this helps. Not that it's helpful at the moment, but for future reference vital documents that only exist on a thumb drive is pretty risky, so I always like to back up the thumb drive's contents either on a hard drive or a "cloud" drive if possible. If you are a current (Lion) Mac user, iCloud works great for this. For older OS X systems, Dropbox or Box or S3 or some other cloud system is available too. Cheers, chas_m -- My essay for switchers and newbies
	QUOTE Thanks

chas_m #8 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 22, 2010 Location: Victoria, BC Posts: 13,705 Mac Specs: 2009 MacBook Pro, Black speakers, Black Benq second monitor, black iPhone 4, Black 2012 iPad, etc.	12-16-2011, 02:02 AM No, it won't. Good luck! Cheers, chas_m -- My essay for switchers and newbies
	QUOTE Thanks

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Omniscently #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Dec 15, 2011 Location: Bothell, WA Posts: 5	12-15-2011, 09:58 PM So I had to do paper for my English class, and I also had this massive project in another class so my thumb drive had my English paper and my other project, I had to compile the data for my project with my group and used some cheap-*** school Gateway computer, and now my Mac wont read it and my HP wont read it, I need help, I need the USB drive NOW and dont have time to re-write my 5 page paper. How do I reformat it so it will work on either computer, but not erase the data on it? PLEASE HELP!!
	QUOTE Thanks

Omniscently #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Dec 15, 2011 Location: Bothell, WA Posts: 5	12-15-2011, 10:18 PM I just got some stuff on it, it is formatted to FAT, and heard a while back that you can convert FAT/FAT32 to NFTS WITHOUT erasing data, does anyone know how? please help me!
	QUOTE Thanks

Omniscently #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Dec 15, 2011 Location: Bothell, WA Posts: 5	12-15-2011, 11:08 PM it is in .doc but that isnt the issue, my flashdrive is in FAT and I need it to be NFTS and I just want to know the way to convert from FAT to NFTS without erasing all my data, thanks for replying
	QUOTE Thanks

Omniscently #6 (permalink)
Member Since: Dec 15, 2011 Location: Bothell, WA Posts: 5	12-15-2011, 11:33 PM wow ok, my group member lied to me then, thank you very much though
	QUOTE Thanks

Omniscently #7 (permalink)
Member Since: Dec 15, 2011 Location: Bothell, WA Posts: 5	12-15-2011, 11:37 PM will repairing it erase the data?
	QUOTE Thanks

JimboMac #9 (permalink)
Member Since: Dec 16, 2011 Location: Lakeland, Florida Posts: 53 Mac Specs: Which one?	12-16-2011, 03:20 PM If you are able to, start storing documents "in the cloud." USB thumbdrives are not exactly known for reliability.
	QUOTE Thanks

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