Olivetti Bear

Q: Flash drive /unable to erase contents

On my Maverick 10.9 laptop I have tried unsuccessfully to erase the contents from a Verbatim flash drive, 32GB.  When I arrive at checking the erase box, it remains grey.  When trying to view the contents, Apple said  "unrecognised format".  I would like to use it again but how can I?  I would appreciate help in plain terms as I am not a very technically minded person.   Thank you.  Barbara.

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012)

Posted on Mar 31, 2016 3:40 AM

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Q: Flash drive /unable to erase contents

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  • by BobHarris,Solvedanswer

    BobHarris BobHarris Mar 31, 2016 5:24 AM in response to Olivetti Bear
    Level 6 (19,272 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 31, 2016 5:24 AM in response to Olivetti Bear

    Try the "Partition" tab

  • by Olivetti Bear,

    Olivetti Bear Olivetti Bear Mar 31, 2016 7:07 AM in response to BobHarris
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 31, 2016 7:07 AM in response to BobHarris

    Hello Bob in N. England.  Thank you for your suggestion but having tried the Partition button, I received the following response:  This disc cannot be modified.  This disc is not writable and cannot be partitioned.  Initially I had used the flash drive to record some items from my TV.  Then was unable to view them on TV but could see one item on my Apple.  Someone told me the disc was corrupted but I thought if I erased it, I could use it again.  Possibly not s

  • by WZZZ,

    WZZZ WZZZ Apr 1, 2016 5:45 AM in response to Olivetti Bear
    Level 6 (13,087 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 1, 2016 5:45 AM in response to Olivetti Bear

    Open Terminal in /Applications/Utilities and copy/paste, or type in paying attention to case and any spaces.

     

    diskutil eraseVolume JHFS+ New  /Volumes/SomeVolume

     

    Hit return.

     

    You must replace "SomeVolume" with the current name for that flash drive. If the name has spaces, then for now just change the name of the drive to something with one word, like "untitled" no quotes.

  • by WZZZ,

    WZZZ WZZZ Apr 1, 2016 6:08 AM in response to WZZZ
    Level 6 (13,087 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 1, 2016 6:08 AM in response to WZZZ

    Not certain that what I suggested above will work for a flash drive that is not a volume (bootable disk), but worth trying.

  • by kartiksach,

    kartiksach kartiksach Jul 3, 2016 9:50 AM in response to WZZZ
    Level 1 (13 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 3, 2016 9:50 AM in response to WZZZ

    Really helpful, Thanks