USB storage query

I have a 4gb Kingston usb drive that I have been using on my windows laptop.
It has no data on it and is showing as 3.87gb of space.when I look using Finder on my iMac.
When I try to put some files on it I get the message that I only have room for 1.29mg?Why is there a discrepancy ?

Welcome.

How is your USB formatted? This is crucial.

If your intention is to use the USB for Mac only and there is "nothing" on the USB (or nothing you need to keep) -

Mount the USB (connect it directly to one of your Mac's ports).

Use Disk Utility (DU) to identify the USB. Then Erase and reformat as OS X Extended (Journaled).

That should sort things out.

Please come back to us with how this went. If you need the USB for both Mac & Windows, then we can give you the options.

Ian

I only need it for the Mac Ian.I will give it a go when i get home.

To add to what Ian said..... The drive can be 4GB, look empty when you access it but, have only a fraction of available space. The reason is probably due to a hidden recycle bin on the drive. When you delete a file it is moved to the recycle folder on the USB drive. If you do not empty the recycle bin on the computer with the USB attached, the files are still on the drive. I usually format a drive after I empty it. That cleans it off and fixes any potential issues.

As Ian said, you can use disk utility to format the USB with OS X extended journal or, if you plan to use it on a Windows computer, format it using extFAT. extFat can be read by both OS X and Windows.

Lisa

I have a similar question to cslogg.

I will be using MS Office on my iMac with Crossover when I eventually dump my Windows laptop.

I need to keep the MS Office work on an encrypted drive.

I will only use THAT drive for the MS Office docs. Currently I keep my MS Office docs on a Kanguru Defender 2000.

When I plug the Kanguru drive into the Mac port the mac will not run the encryption manager.

Should I run disk utility as you have described above or is there more to do?

I was thinking of buying a new thumb drive that is already Mac compatible BUT will that accept my MS Office docs?