Need help with flashdrive problem

[detective392]

Ok so I have a 1GB flash drive and I know it's not really 1GB but I am missing 226MB of space is that normal or to high? If not how do I get more space I can't find anything to delete?

[PrivatePixel]

I know Sandisk flash drives come with software pre-installed, but even they don't occupy 200MB+ of storage space. Have you formatted it since you purchased the drive?

[detective392]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

I know Sandisk flash drives come with software pre-installed, but even they don't occupy 200MB+ of storage space. Have you formatted it since you purchased the drive?

Not sure how to format it. But I did put it in my PC once and it said would you like to fix this error and I clicked yes and I think that's when I lost my 226MB space. How would I format it?

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by detective392

Not sure how to format it. But I did put it in my PC once and it said would you like to fix this error and I clicked yes and I think that's when I lost my 226MB space. How would I format it?

Open Windows Explorer (with the thumb drive inserted into any USB port); a drive letter should be assigned to it (e.g. E:\ or F:\). Highlight the drive, then do a right click to bring up a list of options (see below):



Click on Format, then proceed. (The screenshot was taken in XP, but it should be the same on Vista and 7, I would think)

If you run into issues, let me know.

[NJ_RAMS_FAN]

keep in mind you erase everything when you format..

one reason why hard drive/flash drives show less than what is advertised is because:

Manufacturers sell the drive based on 1GB=1000MB, 1MB=1000kb 1KB=1000bytes, etc.

Hard drives are formatted like this: 1GB=1024MB, 1MB=1024kb, 1KB=1024bytes, etc.

so 1gb is more like .98gb.. lol

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by melsbluespecv

keep in mind you erase everything when you format..

Silly me, I forgot to mention this caveat.

detective392: you may want to copy/back up any files you wish to keep onto a separate storage source (e.g. hard drive) before proceeding with a format (which, as melsbluespecv stated, will wipe out all of the flash drive's contents. You can use data recovery software in the event of an accidental erasure, but the results aren't guaranteed and can be expensive).

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by melsbluespecv

keep in mind you erase everything when you format..

one reason why hard drive/flash drives show less than what is advertised is because:

Manufacturers sell the drive based on 1GB=1000MB, 1MB=1000kb 1KB=1000bytes, etc.

Hard drives are formatted like this: 1GB=1024MB, 1MB=1024kb, 1KB=1024bytes, etc.

so 1gb is more like .98gb.. lol

Yup...that's pretty much how it goes lol.