New Flash Drives

Just bought 2 flashdrives on the net 250G for $15USA & 60 G for $ 8, problem is when I format them to NFTS the are not recognized, when I format to Fat32 they are, which obviously I will never get the 250G & 60G. The old story you get what you paid for.

 

It depends what you want to store on them. As long as no individual file is larger than 4GB you can save up to 2TB with Fat32. So you wont lose any usable space on either of them.

 

Thanks fot the reply Max, helps a bit as I thought it was a total of 4G, if it is just not usable for individual files over 4G might be useful, but still kinda disappointing.

 

As a matter of interest...
After formatting the flash drives using FAT32, what capacities are shown?

 

https://www.raymond.cc/blog/test-an...b-flash-drives-bought-from-ebay-with-h2testw/
http://macrorit.com/partition-magic-manager/2tb-hard-drive-fat32-formatter.html

 

Thanks for the reply, same, 250 G

 

Try deleting the flash drive volume in Disk Management and then reformatting to NTFS.

 

If it shows 250 GB, what is the problem?

 

OP has already said the 250gb shows as that. The usable space will of course be less - that's the same with any drive.
The only problem the OP might face with Fat32 is trying to save any individual file bigger than 4gb. If not, there is not a problem.

 

I think we should wait to see if the OP comes back. They can just look at the packaging to see what they say.
There are 250GB USB Flash drives for sale on Amazon so they must exist!
The issue for the OP is clear - can they use all of the drive space with Fat32 - answer: yes along as no individual file is more than 4gb.

 

They have 250 GB flash drives at Staples and Alibaba as well.

 

I think you know how to search yourself - just type in 'USB Flash Drives 250GB US Prices'

Here is one though:
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Bipra-250GB-...57497011,p_n_feature_two_browse-bin:610553011

 

I've just posted a link to one. I haven't checked Staples or Alibaba but Mdonah wouldn't say they had found them if they didn't. The link I gave is a FAT33 250GB flash drive.
But apart from anything else the OP's issue was whether - with Fat32 - they could use all the space on the ones they have purchased, and we have established clearly that (a) they can if they save data up to 4gb per individual file, or (b) they can see if the links provided by foogoo will alow them to format to NTFS.
Everything else is academic and irrelevant.

 

It seems Max and I are incorrect. Google Search produces results for "250 GB flash drive" but when you click on one of the links, no such animal appears, They're all 256 GB. And that 250 GB Max links to is a hard drive not a flash drive.

 

Speak for yourself mdonah - not my Amazon USA link - that's a 250GB FAT32 FLASH DRIVE, not a SSD. I'm not blind.
Anyway, it's totally irrelevant. The OP has the flash drives and the size is irrelevant to their issue.

 

Despite it's irrelevance, please check your link again. It shows up as a Bipra portable hard drive.

 

Flash Drive is a generic term for a device that stores data EXTERNAL to another device. 'Portable Drive' is a Flash Drive.
But either way it is nothing to do with the issue raised by the OP. Not waiting for the OP to come back and then going on about an irrelevancy is just that. Irrelevant. Do we want to help them or confuse them?
None of us know the name/model of the 250gb drive the OP has so quibbling over 'names' is pointless as the OP could be using the term 'Flash Drive' in the same way we all do..

 

Looking at the prices, they are flash drives as in... thumb drives, pen drives, memory sticks, etc.

 

The thing is, the OP needs to run H2TestW as suggested more than once.

My flash drives are thumb/pen drives. My portable hard drives are just that — spinners in enclosures.

 

"We" don't use the term "flash drive" for HDDs, period.

Flash in this context is derived from the memory type, similar to that used in the BIOS (yes, the thing that might need 'flashing'), CompactFlash, SmartMedia, SD Cards, PCMCIA memory cards (add-in solid-state drives for older notebooks), USB stick/thumb and SSD drives, etc.

Yes, Flash drive capacity can be forged, best to test them before wasting any more time on it, return time is limited.

 

No file over 4G is recognized by a Fat32 drive.

 

You can't save a file greater than 4gb with FAT32.
If you do need to save files greater than that size, then see Foogoo's post #5

 

The links in foogoo's post are for testing flash (pen/thumb) drives for fake capacities and formatting hard drives (spinners) up to 2 TB in size to Fat32. Nowhere do they mention storing files greater than 4 GB in size on Fat32.

 

Then 4gb max file size it is. As it was a week ago. But it still stays the same that the entire free space on those USB drives is available. Always was and always will be.

 

And these guides suggest it is possible to format a USB stick with NTFS:
http://www.ntfs.com/quest22.htm
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/format-usb-ntfs/

Never done it myself but those guides seem sure it is possible. But to go back to the original subject of the thread, it is unimportant if the OP doesn't want to save files greater than 4gb in individual file size.

 

FWIW
I formatted a 16 GB USB stick with NTFS in Windows 7 - no third-party tools needed.

The question remains... why are durkinjt's flash drives not recognised when he formats them with NTFS? The prices suggest they are inferior products.

 

I've formatted them NTFS in Windows 7, 8 and 10. 4GB and up. Perhaps he could provide links to the drives he purchased. It is odd.

 

Sadly the OP has never said what the brand/model numbers of the drives are, or even said whether they actually need to save individual files larger than 4gb. So this whole thread has become a side-issue discussion.

 

Exactly.

I paid $6.35 each for 8 GB Kingston flash (pen/thumb) drives which are working fine for the purpose I intended them.

$8 for a 60 GB drive? I would have been suspicious and avoided it.