Move files to USB memory stick

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How can one move a file from the download folder to a USB memory stick.
Dragging the file in the "Finder" app does not seem to work.
John
 
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John, What format is the USB memory stick formatted in .... FAT32 or NTFS ?
If it is FAT32, then the file size is limited to 4GB for each file.
If it is NTFS, then OS X can not write to the USB drive without the installation of a proper NTFS driver like Paragon.

Any error messages you can share ?

Cheers ... McBie
 
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John, What format is the USB memory stick formatted in .... FAT32 or NTFS ?
If it is FAT32, then the file size is limited to 4GB for each file.
If it is NTFS, then OS X can not write to the USB drive without the installation of a proper NTFS driver like Paragon.

Any error messages you can share ?

Cheers ... McBie
Thanks for your reply.
There was no error message, other than draging the file to the USB folder showed the inhibit (stop?) sign.
I downloaded the ntfs-3g-2010.10.2-macosx.dmg driver and installed it. However, it bogged down because dylib could not be found. This image is referenced in /usr.local/bin/ntfs-3g.
I have no idea how to proceed.
Where can I find this Paragon driver? Would it also need this mysterious "dylib" dingy ?
John
 
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John,
Can you read from the USB stick ?
Does it have a manual lock to make it write protect ?
Is the file you are trying to drag larger than 4 GB ?
What format is the USB stick formatted in ? If it isn't NTFS, then no need to download/install an NTFS driver.
Is there anything important on that memory stick or can you format it ?

Cheers ... McBie
 
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If there's nothing on the drive, you can reformat it to something that your Mac will be able to write to. You can open up Disk Utility from your Utilities folder. Select the drive in the left pane then choose a format on the right. I've never formatted a thumb drive, and I don't know if you'll need it to be Windows-compatible, so maybe someone else can take it from there.
 
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Move Files to USB memory stick

There are a few issues that need to be clarified.
I have enough USB memory sticks of which I could easily use one to reformat to a FAT32.
However, I am still heavily committed to my Windows 7 computer due to the many apps I use. The iMac OSx Lion is new to me and I would like to get to know it well. As all my memory sticks are formatted with NTFS I have a vested interest to have this working such that I can read/write to my memory sticks. A work around by reformatting them is not a very attractive alternative.
The memory stick that is plugged in to my iMAC is a 16 GB stick and I can read OK from it. I used it to transfer all my photos to the iMac.
There is also a strange phenomenon that is somewhat puzzling. When I installed the ntfs-3g driver (with unsuccessful result due to the missing dylib) the USB stick was then no longer shown in the "Finder". Unplugging and connecting it again brought it back to be shown in the Device list of the Finder. This is not a good practice, because memory sticks should be properly ejected before removing it.
I tried to read up on the dylib (whatever it might be), but this is such a confusing mess to make me wonder if it is worthwhile to dig into it.
How did you gues ever do it, or have you just taken the easy way to use only FAT32 formatted sticks?
John
 

vansmith

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I think most of us, if we can, use FAT formatted disks. It prevents a lot of headaches and any potential trouble down the road. As you've come to learn, NTFS drives don't play well without any extra help and this adds unnecessary layers of complexity. This isn't to say that it won't work but rather to suggest that there are much easier methods available.

The only time you'd want to use NTFS over FAT is if you're working with files that have a size in excess of 4GB. If that's not the case, you might as well use FAT.

Also note (in case you don't already know this and end up going this route) that formatting a drive wipes it clean so back it up first.
 
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I think most of us, if we can, use FAT formatted disks.
From all my reading on this subject I am now convinced that FAT is the way to go, even when it causes some inconveniences !
I still would like to know what conditions would cause the disappearance of the USB recognition in the Finder device list.
John
 

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I'm going to guess (although I don't know for sure) that the disk was unmounted during the botched install of ntfs-3g which is why it didn't show up.
 
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I'm going to guess (although I don't know for sure) that the disk was unmounted during the botched install of ntfs-3g which is why it didn't show up.

Do you think that it would be a fair assumption that when an USB drive disappears from the Finder device list (for whatever reason), that this would be equivalent of having the device ejected?
If this would be indeed the case, then I would not have to worry about loss of data.
John
 
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I would say it's safe enough, but if you really want to make sure something's been unmounted, open up Disk Utility, select the appropriate mount point from the list on the left, then click the Unmount button up on top (if it's available). If the mount point doesn't show a device connected, or if the Unmount button is not available, then you can definitely unplug your drive.

Honestly, though, it sounds like it was ejected during your dabblings.

Reformatting drives is quick and easy if you need to do it. Otherwise, be sure to buy drives that are pre-formatted in the future.
 

vansmith

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Do you think that it would be a fair assumption that when an USB drive disappears from the Finder device list (for whatever reason), that this would be equivalent of having the device ejected?
Not necessarily but it's likely the case.

The icon on your desktop/sidebar is simply a representation or a shortcut to a mount point. Having used Linux extensively, I know how it's very much possible to have something mounted but not easily seen in the file manager (in this case Finder). OS X however is pretty good at keeping things in sync with respect to mounted status and representation in Finder. In other words, if it's mounted, it's likely represented as such in Finder and vice versa. However, it is possible that this isn't the case but it's unlikely.
 

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