Duplicate files on USB drive
Aliboron Martin Posted messages 3655 Registration date Status Contributeur Last intervention -
Hello everyone,
I hope you are doing well ????. I have a little computer question and I hope I'm asking it in the right place ????.
When I transfer files from my Mac to a USB drive, the file appears twice on my drive: a correct copy and one that is impossible to open and starts with an _ (underscore). Can anyone tell me if there is a way to prevent this from happening again?
Thank you in advance and have a great day
5 réponses
Hello, these are files created on a Mac. These files won't open.
However, these are files that should be hidden, especially on a Mac.
What format is the USB drive? Fat exfat?
Hello,
Sorry for the very late response. I would like to thank you for your interest in my request.
Indeed, these duplicates do not appear on Mac.
The key is in FAT32 format.
Thank you in advance
The "impossible to open duplicates" are resource files, specific to macOS and usually invisible. However, this type of file is not recognized by FAT32 or NTFS formats, which is why they appear when you copy to the USB drive. It seems to me that this shouldn't happen anymore (on Mac), unless you have a rather old version of macOS (which one?).
On the other hand, under Windows, these files will show up and be unusable. There are utilities that allow you to "clean" USB drives and external disks formatted for Windows.
Hello at your place!
Bernard
I am on Ventura 13.3.1 (I think I’m up to date), my Mac is not yet three years old.
These files do not appear on the Mac, but when I use my USB stick to teach on an interactive board, the duplicates are indeed present.
Thank you for your interest.
OK. So it's normal since they are present but not recognized as invisible files outside of macOS. If they bother you, you can clean them up with one of the many utilities available. For example, CleanUP smb mess (but I don’t know if it works under Ventura) or others (check on the App Store).
Hello at your place!
Bernard