First time using a Flash Drive to move files to new Mac..no go?

Hi,

I am just starting to try to move my files from one to the other machine. I tried using my USB flash drive, but I never used one before. I inserted it into what I believe is the USB port, where I usually plug in my camera, but nothing happened. No window popped up. I went to My Computer and it doesn't show there either. Just the CD drive and the floppy drive. I clicked on both to see if it registered any use there but nothing.

I am using a Scandisk USB 2.0 Flash Drive. The old computer is a Dell Inspiron 8200 moving files to an Apple MacBook Pro. Could it be my USB port is not a 2.0 and it won't work with it? The Dell is 5 yrs old. I am pretty sure I asked the salesperson if it would work with the older USB ports and he told me it did.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks
adam

 

It is very difficult to diagnose your issue here.

But it sounds like you are doing everything correctly. Given the limited information, I would day that your flash drive is defective.

Your best bet may be to find somebody local who can give you a hand.

 

make sure its formatted in fat not ntfs?

 

Macs can read NTFS drives fine. They just cannot write to them. In this case, the issue is not the Mac that cannot write to the drive, but the old Dell that cannot even recognise the drive.

Are you running Windows XP on your Dell? Are you plugging your pen drive into a port that looks like this:


Try plugging the drive into your Mac to see if that can recognise it. If the Mac also can't, then it's probably your drive that's damaged.

 

As far as I know, all USB 2.0 drives work in old type USB 1.1 ports. They don't work at USB 2.0 speed, but they do work. I have 3 different USB 2.0 flash drives, and they all work in my old computer that only has USB 1.1.

I wonder if the problem has something to do with the U3 software they put on Sandisk drives. When you plug a Sandisk drive into a PC, it tries to install its U3 operating system on your computer. An antivirus might block it.

I'd try the Sandisk drive in the Mac (like Budding suggested) and if it shows up, I'd use the Mac to format (format in FAT32 file system) the Sandisk and get rid of that U3 junk.

 

Thanks for all the thoughts. I think my slots look like the photo in Buddings post. Good idea to try it in the mac and tomorrow I will take a photo of my slots. I wouldn't be surprised if it is the Dell that is the problem. It is five yrs old and now that I think about it, when I upload photos using that same slot, I always get a pop up window that I don't have a high speed 'something' and the camera software has to do something to work around it.? Plus, the CD player only plays now and I can't burn with it. Can't wait to be done with it!

One good thing, necessity is the mother of invention. Dealing with the frustration of not being able to get my photos off the Dell, I suddenly realized that I still have all my family photos on memory cards from the camera! PLUS, I have a card reader in the drawer that I hadn't used in a couple of years. I plugged it in to the mac and voila! 294 photos imported, just like that! lol I was SO pleased! So tomorrow I am going to do the rest. I also ripped most of my music files from my own CDs and I am going to put that nice shiny CD/DVD player to work tomorrow adding mp3 files.

I hope I can work out the flash drive. It is a titanium 2GB that I was planning on using to put some important files on for the safety deposit box after I finished using it for transfer.

I'll be back tomorrow with an update...
adam

 

Hi I called the store and they thought there was something wrong with the flash drive and said I could return it. It's okay, there is more than one way to skin a cat and I am getting my files moved this way and that...lol. Thanks for the help. BTW, that photo with the port with what looks like a cactus symbol in front of it, is just like mine.

adam

 

I had a sandisk drive that didnt work with macs...a U3 drive, perhaps?

 

On windows, sometimes you hear the chime when you plug in a usb drive and sometimes you don't. Sometimes you get a popup and sometimes you don't. If you have disabled "autoinsert" which a lot of people do if they are sick of popups every time they put in a cd or plug in a usb stick, then nothing happens and you have to go to my computer and look for a new drive that showed up there.

On the mac side, a drive icon shows up on your desktop. The usb stick is also listed in finder. The stick is most likely formatted fat32 from the factory and a pc, mac or linux can read and write the stick just fine. One very good way to get your files over is the network. It can be slow if it's not gigabit ethernet or 802.11n, but you only have to do it once.