My USB is Empty but Says Not Enough Space. Why?

Sometimes, when you try to move/copy new files (larger in size) onto USB flash drive, the error message appears like “there is not enough space on removable disk. you need an additional space”. And, if you look at the USB, you will see empty space. Even though there is plenty of free space available on the USB drive you will be not allowed to save new data onto it.

The prime cause for this USB says not enough space issue is by default your USB flash drive is preformatted with the FAT32 file system, wherein the maximum limit of a single file is 4GB. So, no matter how many GBs of free space you have on your USB drive, it won’t allow you to save the new file. And, you will get not enough memory error when you attempt to transfer a file larger than 4GB to the USB drive.

Then how to copy/move your large files to USB flash drive? The solution is to convert the File System of your USB drive from FAT to NTFS (has no size limit on files). If you haven’t saved any important data on your USB drive, then you directly format it to NTFS via traditional formatting practice.

In case, the USB flash drive holds your important data, which you don’t want to lose then follow below technique.

Steps to Convert USB File System from FAT to NTFS Without Losing Data:

• Hit Windows and R keys at a time
• You will reach Run window
• Type CMD in the search tab and click Enter
• Next, type convert x: /fs:ntfs (x -> drive letter of your USB)
• Press Enter key

You will see a confirmation message, once after the conversion process gets completed. Now, try to copy/move your files to the USB drive.

Note: This process is irreversible. Once the USB flash got converted to NTFS file system, you cannot convert it back to FAT file system using the same method.

In rare cases, your USB says not enough space when you try to move files to it. And, if you check, it doesn’t show any files even if it’s used space indicates that the USB has data. This happens when your USB flash drive is severely corrupted or logically damaged. So, in order to recover files from USB that shows empty even when data exists, you need to make use of YupTools File Recovery Software.

YupTools USB File Recovery Tool:

This is one of the most recommended file recovery tool available online. It has millions of satisfied customers across the globe. The tool is designed with a simple interface and potent algorithm so that even users with zero technical knowledge can easily use it for recovering deleted USB files as well lost files with the greatest ease. The software offers a trial version using, which you can view recovered files and if you are satisfied with the outcome then you can proceed to activate it. The tool supports various storage devices like external hard disks, HDD, memory cards, digital cameras, fire wire drives etc. along with USB. Efficiently restores any type data like photos, audio, videos, movies, and other documents. The application is 100% safe and it doesn’t affect the original content or quality of recovered files. The utility runs flawlessly on all versions of Windows OS like Server 2008, Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, Win 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003. The YupTools team offers an excellent tech guidance and a Mac compatible edition is also available.

Steps to Recover Files When USB Says Not Enough Space but Shows No Data:

• Click on Download button, get YupTools File Recovery software and install it on your Windows system
• Connect the USB drive that says not enough space but shows no data
• Launch the tool and choose Recover Files
• Next, select Recover Lost Files option
• Select the attached USB drive from the list and go Next
• You will get a list of recovered files in two views
• Preview your USB files
• Save retrieved USB data on new location on another storage device

Points to Pay Heed:

• Never eject your USB drive from computer, before you see Safe to Remove Hardware message
• Avoid using your USB flash drive on several systems
• Never interrupt data transfer process of USB

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