Recycle Bin on USB Stick?

[T. Jenkins]

I have an 8GB USB memory stick, and it appears to have space tied up in
deleted files that I can't find. Windows only shows about half the space
available, even though it doesn't display any files. I ran a drive storage
analysis app (disk pie) on it, and it shows a large amount of space
associated with "recycle" files. I assume this means there's a recycle bin
on the drive holding previously deleted files.

I tried to reformat the drive, but got some errors. Also made sure hidden
files were displayed, which they are (at least the setting is turned on to do
so).

Any tips on resolving this issue?

Thanks.

 

[David B.]

"I tried to reformat the drive, but got some errors" And those errors would
be?

 

[Opinicus]

I have an 8GB USB memory stick, and it appears to have space tied up in
deleted files that I can't find. Windows only shows about half the space
available, even though it doesn't display any files. I ran a drive
storage
analysis app (disk pie) on it, and it shows a large amount of space
associated with "recycle" files. I assume this means there's a recycle
bin
on the drive holding previously deleted files.
I tried to reformat the drive, but got some errors. Also made sure hidden
files were displayed, which they are (at least the setting is turned on to
do
so).
Any tips on resolving this issue?

After attaching the memory stick have you tried right-clicking on the
Desktop Recycle Bin icon and looked at Properties? If the Recycle Bin is
turned on for the memory stick, turn it off.

Another possibility is that System Restore has been activated for that
device. That would eat up space too.

Having been burned by WinXP's schizoid handling of USB memory storage
devices several times, I make it a habit to check both the Recycle Bin and
System Restore to be sure neither has been turned on before I detach such a
device from the system.

 

[smlunatick]

I have an 8GB USB memory stick, and it appears to have space tied up in
deleted files that I can't find.  Windows only shows about half the space
available, even though it doesn't display any files.  I ran a drive storage
analysis app (disk pie) on it, and it shows a large amount of space
associated with "recycle" files.  I assume this means there's a recyclebin
on the drive holding previously deleted files.

I tried to reformat the drive, but got some errors.  Also made sure hidden
files were displayed, which they are (at least the setting is turned on to do
so).

Any tips on resolving this issue?

Thanks.

It would help to know the make, model and extra features this USB
flash drive has. Some flash drives come with security software to
hide portions of the drive. Other come with the U3 system which
behaves like a CD drive and let you have applications auto-start from
the flash drive itself. All of these "enhanced" feature can block the
re-format.

 

[Miske]

Additional question. Some USB sticks have RecycleBin and SystemRestore
"folder", and some don't. Why? Is it related to capacity, or type of
memory used (or controller in stick)?

 

[Uwe Sieber]

Additional question. Some USB sticks have RecycleBin and SystemRestore
"folder", and some don't. Why? Is it related to capacity, or type of
memory used (or controller in stick)?

Depends on the drive type. Most flash drives are 'removable'
drives because they have the 'Removable Media Bit' set in
their hardware device descriptor. Only a few don't have
it, these are seen as fixed drives and shown as 'local drive'
in the Windows Explorer.

http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbstick_e.html#removable


Uwe