hot-swap query

September 5, 2005 2:43 AM

Hot-swap question, PCs to Macs and vice-versa...

I use a Smartdisk Firelite USB 2.0 drive on both Macs and PCs, working mostly on .txt and .doc files. After I've opened a file on a Mac (OSX) and then look at the drive on a PC (XP), there's a new 1k file created, starting with '._' and then replicating the filename of the documents I'd been working on. My question is... what do they do and can I safely delete these files?

posted by jonathanbell to computers & internet (3 comments total)

Yes you can delete them, at least for those file types. They're used to store various data that there isn't a place for on PC formatted disks, including resource forks, type and creator codes, extended dates, etc.

Side effects of deleting a file's dot-underscore file include it not being associated with the application you created it with, losing custom icons and labels, and that kind of thing. You're only going to do damage if the dot-underscore file you delete contains a resource fork. Most data file types do not, so the file can be safely deleted.
posted by cillit bang at 3:20 AM on September 5, 2005

That's great - my folders are now clutter-free. Thanks!
posted by jonathanbell at 4:49 AM on September 5, 2005

I've been doing this for awhile...

Just before I eject a cross platform item I use either ds store cleaner or DS wipe.

This is particularly valuable before I go to eject an SD Card or burn a cross platform CD.
posted by filmgeek at 7:49 AM on September 5, 2005