[Bug 59631] vfat usb memory stick drive doesn't free up space after delete

[Ryan O'Connor]

Public bug reported:

I have a standard 256mb memory stick - "my flash". The memory stick has
been formatted for FAT with Windows XP. If I add files on it with linux
or windows, the space remaining is updated in both operating systems (to
tend towards 0mb).

That's all fine, until I delete some files to free space up on the
drive. The files dissapear instantly as they should, except the space is
still reported as the same before and after I delete the files. Trying
to copy a new file on which should now fit still gives the error that
the disk does not have enough space. This happens on both windows and
linux, but windows deletes the files properly. It happens in Ubuntu 6.06
even after unmounting the drive and allowing any cached operations to
flush to the disk. The only way I can overcome this currently is to use
windows to delete files or format the flash memory. Is there another
solution? This definitely seems like a bug to me. I've verified it on 2
computers: one running breezy; the other dapper.

Can other people verify this? There must be thousands out there with
common memory sticks. What do you do in linux when they fill up? I need
mine to be compatible with windows, linux, and mac, so it is important
to keep it's file system in a consistent state. Ubuntu just chews it up
slowly...

** Affects: nautilus (Ubuntu)
     Importance: Untriaged
     Assignee: Ubuntu Desktop Bugs
         Status: Rejected

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vfat usb memory stick drive doesn't free up space after delete
https://launchpad.net/bugs/59631