Problem with USB Flash Memory (FAT32)

It's not just formatting. You also must partition the device correctly. Try the following:

1. Open Disk Utility.
2. Select the device from the list (the entry with the mfgr.'s ID) then click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Select One partition from the Partition drop down menu.
4. Click on the Options button and select MBR then click on the OK button.
5. Set the Format type to MSDOS and change the name to BLUE.
6. Click on the Partition button.

Test the device on each platform.

You may actually have a corrupted file in the folder or a file/folder with a name containing characters that are illegal on a FAT32 filesystem or a file/folder name that's too long, or a file that's larger than 2 GBs. All of these can generate the -36 error.

I can only suggest trying a Google search on error 36 to see if you can find additional information. The error often occurs because of one or more of the reasons i mentioned previously. And, it does not seem uncommon that the files can be copied individually but not a folder of files. I don't know why this happens unless it's a problem with the way in which the drive has been prepared.

I usually prep my USB flash drives initially for OS X as follows:

Extended Hard Drive Preparation

1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.

2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.

3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID, then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.

4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.

5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.

6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.

Then in the Erase panel of DU select MSDOS from the Format drop down menu and click on the Erase button. The device should work on both platforms if the Windows machine is running Vista or Win7. Not sure about XP. if it's running XP you may need to partition the device using MBR instead of GUID.

I'm sorry, but I don't have a fix for you. It's possible that the problem is a defective OS X system, but to test that would require erasing the drive and reinstalling from scratch.

I would suggest you search the forums for "error 36" since this issue has been raised many times. You may find a solution in another thread.

Message was edited by: Kappy

Have you got a U3 partition on the pen drive? See http://u3.com/support/default.aspx#CQ3 for information on how to delete the partition. Once deleted you should be able to format it FAT 32 without any problems.

In my opinion the problem you describe is a bug with Snow Leopard. I have been through exactly the same problems with two different USB pendrives (A 2Gb TDK and a 4Gb Kingston), both brand new.

The problem vanished when I plugged them into another mac that had Leopard 10.5.8 as operating system. I can format it as DOS(FAT) I can copy all folders inside withouth a glitch and they are recognized by PCs.

Conclusion, either someone can come with a walkaround or we'll have to wait for 10.6.3

Regards

I'm having the exact same problems too. It started with an OCZ Rally2 4GB flash drive giving 2 errors: "The operation can't be completed because an item with the name "Thunderbird" already exists" (even though it wasn't already on the drive). Also error code -36.

Reformatted in FAT32, same problem, tried another identical drive, same problem again. It has also started happening with my Western Digital 250GB USB hard drive formatted in FAT32. In fact, it's happening with every FAT32 drive I try now. So I've had to temporarily format the flash drive with 2 partitions in Mac Journaled and FAT32. No problems at all using the Mac formatted partition.