How do I initialize/format a Lexar usb drive

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Level 1

64 points

How do I initialize/format a Lexar usb drive

The topic pretty much says it all. I put in a lexar usb drive and wanted to initialize in in OS 9.2.2 as HFS+ and can't figure out how to do it. I wanted to use it to back up some files without losing the resource fork, if there is one. Thanks for any info.

iMac G3 450, Mac OS 9.2.x

Posted on Jul 21, 2006 11:53 AM

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Answer 1

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Jul 26, 2006 5:32 AM in response to grey bird

GB: If you find that the Erase command doesn't offer you Mac formats because your flash drive is currently in DOS format, another no-cost option is to find a Mac that's running OS X and format the flash drive on that, using OS X's included Disk Utility. If you don't know anyone with such a Mac, a store that sells Macs might even be willing to do it for you, or let you do it yourself, on a floor demo model. It takes only a minute or two.

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Answer 2

Jul 21, 2006 12:35 PM in response to grey bird

Hi, you don't have any drive formatting software around? I've bought drives from OWC and so I have Charismac's disk utility. FWC toolkit is another one that folks recommend. I say this assuming that you've tried Apple's Drive Setup and it didn't see the drive.

HTH,
~FifthWheel

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Answer 3

Jul 23, 2006 12:59 PM in response to Simon Teale

Hi, Simon -

OS 9's Drive Setup will not work on a drive connected via USB or firewire, nor can Disk First Aid do much for such a drive other than run a Verify function. It may be that PCMCIA uses a different bus.

I wonder if a Finder Erase command would work on the USB drive? That's the Erase command in the Special menu. It is an active command in OS 9 when I select a firewire drive (I have no USB drives to check it with).

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Answer 4

grey bird Author

Level 1

64 points

Jul 24, 2006 8:55 AM in response to Don Archibald

Drive Setup does see the drive, but labels it as not compatible. I'll look and see if the Erase command is available and if it works when I get a chance. I guess it also wouldn't hurt to look for third party software as well. Thanks.

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Answer 5

grey bird Author

Level 1

64 points

Jul 25, 2006 5:56 AM in response to FifthWheelAt80MPH

Looking back at my post I see that maybe I wasn't clear that the "usb drive" is a 1 GB key fob type device and not an actual spinning hard drive. Do you know if Charismac or the FWB Toolkit will work with that?

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Answer 6

Jul 25, 2006 6:26 AM in response to grey bird

Ok, that does change things a bit. 🙂 I have a 256 Mb jump drive and I can move it around from a 9.2.2 machine to a 10.3.9 machine, and both of them see the drive right away, no worries. They saw it from day one, as I recall. So, this makes me think that the drive is not being mounted for some reason. Do you use other USB devices with this machine? Are you using a hub? Have you had problems with other USB devices? Another thing to check is to make sure that you have the latest, greatest USB drivers for OS 9.

HTH,
~FifthWheel

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Answer 7

grey bird Author

Level 1

64 points

Jul 25, 2006 9:55 AM in response to FifthWheelAt80MPH

I'm new to Macs, so maybe this isn't really a problem. I've found before that I sometimes needlessly over-complicate things with Macs. Anyway, OS 9 "sees" the drive, but I wanted to format it in HFS+ so when I back up files (such as the OS 9 updates) on it I don't lose the resource fork. I used Macs years ago and remembered that the file system used 2 forks for each file and am concerned that I will lose important information if I back up files onto a disk formatted as FAT instead of HFS+. If this isn't a problem then I will just back up onto the drive in its current filesystem. (Btw, thanks much for your help!)

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Answer 8

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Jul 25, 2006 10:36 AM in response to grey bird

Grey Bird: Your question prompted me to boot my Powerbook into OS 9.2.2 for the first time in a long while. The Finder's "Erase Disk" command (in the Special menu) is happy to erase my Lexar JumpDrive Secure in either Mac OS Standard (HFS) or Mac OS Extended (HFS+) format. It does not offer the option of DOS format, and I suspect that's because the drive is currently in a Mac format. If it were currently in DOS format, I'm not sure the Mac formats would be offered as options.

If using the Finder command works for you, I heartily recommend avoiding the use of third-party disk formatters, not only because they cost $, but also because they may well give you headaches down the road that you can do without.

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Answer 9

Jul 25, 2006 10:37 AM in response to grey bird

Ok, that's good. I think the drive should be OK as is. One way to find out is to copy some OS 9.2.2 files on there, take the jump drive out, then put it back in and copy the files back to your main drive. If the files are still typed correctly (i.e. double-click opens them in the right application), then the resource forks are being preserved.

HTH,
~FifthWheel

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Answer 10

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Jul 25, 2006 6:32 PM in response to Expressive Indigo

Expressive: Grey Bird's flash drive is detected by his software and he can copy files to and from it, so whatever USB port he's using, it's obviously working fine. His question has to do with erasing his JumpDrive, not mounting it, reading from it, writing to it, or what to connect it to. Whatever problem you had (and conquered), it was entirely different from his, and is not relevant here.

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Answer 11

Ron JACKLE

Level 7

33,451 points

Jul 27, 2006 10:30 AM in response to eww

eww...

"GB: If you find that the Erase command doesn't offer you Mac formats because your flash drive is currently in DOS format..."

I have had decent luck in disabling Foreign File Access - Extension & File Exchange - Control Panal so that the FlashDrive shows up as unreadable by Mac OS. Finders options then has changed to the Mac OS sets. (Standard or Extended)

Sometimes those options open up in Finder once a floppy disk has been attached to the computer for some odd reason.

...Ron

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Answer 12

grey bird Author

Level 1

64 points

Jul 28, 2006 4:52 AM in response to eww

Thanks for the info. I tried Erase last night and it only offered DOS format as you said. After that I finally got around to installing OS X on the machine. I had been waiting to do that until I got network cable routed to the iMac so it could have internet access without moving my dsl modem and router every time. The OS X install is pretty slick. I did it as an update and hope to still be able to boot into OS 9, if necessary. All I've got to do now is let the updates install and I'll be up to date. Now that the iMac has OS X installed I should be able to format the flash memory drive from there. Thanks again for your help!

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Answer 13

Jul 23, 2006 9:00 AM in response to FifthWheelAt80MPH

I really would have expected Apple's Drive Setup to see it, it can even see and format my Compact Flash via PCMCIA.

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Answer 14

Jul 24, 2006 1:16 PM in response to grey bird

Ok, if Drive Setup says it's not compatible, then there's no native support for the drive. You will need Charismac or FWB Toolkit or some other software.

HTH,
~FifthWheel

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Answer 15

Jul 25, 2006 5:50 PM in response to grey bird

i HAVE RUN INTO THIS AND CONQUERED IT. YOU MUST CONNECT VIA A KEYBOARD WITH USB PORTS, OR A USB Extension cord. this is the only way i have found.

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