Memory stick creating extra files while transfering data from iMac to PC

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Memory stick creating extra files while transfering data from iMac to PC

Just got new iMac and while I move files to USB memory stick everything looks okay. When I remove the stick and insert it to PC it shows double files keeping the originals and adding ._ in the beginning of each file. For example if the original file name is "Cover.png", the double file is "._Cover.png". Never happened before. I tried multiple memory sticks. Always the same. This means if I transfer for example 100 files in a folder from iMac, the result is having 200 files in the same folder on the PC. Means I have to erase all the extra stuff manually. Any ideas how to fix this problem?

Posted on Jan 11, 2023 6:22 AM

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Answer 1

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VikingOSX

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112,235 points

Jan 11, 2023 8:45 AM in response to santtu160

Run the following before ejecting the USB Stick from the Mac. It will remove the dot_underbar files on it. I am using USBStickName here as an alias to your mounted stick name:

/usr/sbin/dot_clean -m /Volumes/USBStickName

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Answer 2

Jan 11, 2023 11:58 AM in response to santtu160

Every time that you copy something to that external FAT32/exFAT drive, a dot underscore file is written because it contains old Apple Resource fork data. There is no prevention and you will need to run the dot_clean coimmand as the last thing you do before ejecting that mounted drive.

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Answer 3

santtu160 Author

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4 points

Jan 11, 2023 9:25 AM in response to VikingOSX

Thank you - seems to work! Only problem is that I need to transfer tens of times stuff between the computers, so is there any way to "lock" this set up, so I don't need to write the code again and again?

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Answer 4

santtu160 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 13, 2023 2:11 AM in response to VikingOSX

Okay, thank you very much!

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Memory stick creating extra files while transfering data from iMac to PC

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