USB useless on 1st Mac?

[modit]

I plugged in my Kingston 4GB USB drive and got a message on my MacBook Pro that "the disk you inserted was not readable by this computer".

Any idea that don't involve reformatting/wipe the drive clean? Do USBs thumb drives act different on OSX? I need to know before school starts.

Thanks!

 

[spinnerlys]

Open Disk Utility and see what it says under Format at the bottom of the window. Or right click on the USB volume in Finder and select GET INFO and see what it says there under Format. Is that stick working with other Windows or Linux computers?

"How to maximise your MacRumors troubleshooting experience" created by mad jew in 2006​

 

[AcesHigh87]

I have no way to guarantee what the problem is because I've never seen it but to confirm the obvious, I have the same flash drive and it does work on the mac. So, either your mac is reading it wrong or the thumbstick has gotten corrupted.

 

[maccompaq]

New thumb drives are formatted as FAT 32 that both Mac and Windows can read and write. Did you get yours new or from a Windows user? If you answer YES to the question, the drive is formatted for Windows. Check it out using Disk Utility.

 

[modit]

Open Disk Utility and see what it says under Format at the bottom of the window. Or right click on the USB volume in Finder and select GET INFO and see what it says there under Format. Is that stick working with other Windows or Linux computers?

The format is MS-DOS (FAT) and I'm pretty sure it still works with windows (I'll double check tonight).

New thumb drives are formatted as FAT 32 that both Mac and Windows can read and write. Did you get yours new or from a Windows user? If you answer YES to the question, the drive is formatted for Windows. Check it out using Disk Utility.

I bought it about 12 months ago from future shop and if I recalled, the USB works with Mac like you're saying.

So what should I do?

 

[maccompaq]

The format is MS-DOS (FAT) and I'm pretty sure it still works with windows (I'll double check tonight).



I bought it about 12 months ago from future shop and if I recalled, the USB works with Mac like you're saying.

So what should I do?

Open Disk Utility, single click on the portion of the thumb drive that shows- EXAMPLE: 3.7 GB USB Flash Memory. At the bottom of the window, the Partition Map Scheme should show: Master Boot Record. Next, click on the name you gave the thumb drive EXAMPLE: Thumb. The Format will show as MS-DOS (FAT32).
If this is your case, it will work with both Mac & PC.
If the Partition Map Scheme is Guide Partition Table, it will only work with Mac.

 

[modit]

Open Disk Utility, single click on the portion of the thumb drive that shows- EXAMPLE: 3.7 GB USB Flash Memory. At the bottom of the window, the Partition Map Scheme should show: Master Boot Record. Next, click on the name you gave the thumb drive EXAMPLE: Thumb. The Format will show as MS-DOS (FAT32).
If this is your case, it will work with both Mac & PC.
If the Partition Map Scheme is Guide Partition Table, it will only work with Mac.

I didn't name my usb if recall. I can't even find the "Partition Map Scheme which shows the Master Boot Record"

I have no way to guarantee what the problem is because I've never seen it but to confirm the obvious, I have the same flash drive and it does work on the mac. So, either your mac is reading it wrong or the thumbstick has gotten corrupted.

Yeah...just checked it out on windows XP and I got a message the "this USB is not formatted"

So should I "initialize" my USB with disk utility on Mac? Can't I also format it for windows use later?

Appreciate your help guys.

 

[Alfihar]

You can format/initialise it on either machine, I prefer to do that on a Windows machine as I've had issues with Windows not wanting to read it once I initialised it with OSX, even though it should work fine.

Just make sure you choose FAT32 (and use use Master Boot Record if you do it under OSX) and it will work fine in both Windows, OSX and other OS's.

 

[modit]

You can format/initialise it on either machine, I prefer to do that on a Windows machine as I've had issues with Windows not wanting to read it once I initialised it with OSX, even though it should work fine.

Just make sure you choose FAT32 (and use use Master Boot Record if you do it under OSX) and it will work fine in both Windows, OSX and other OS's.

My USB is still not showing up! I chose FAT32 format on windows and it opened up but when I plug my USB on my MacBook Pro, the drive doesn't even show up!

I really need some help guys Should I go format it on my mac and if so, what's the step by step plan?

 

[modit]

I going to buy a new USB key. I don't think any help posted in this thread will get my kingston USB key to work on my mac.

Kinda feel ill that I'm going to be out of luck due to OSX

 

[Consultant]

Do USBs thumb drives act different on OSX

NO.

I going to buy a new USB key. I don't think any help posted in this thread will get my kingston USB key to work on my mac.

Kinda feel ill that I'm going to be out of luck due to OSX

Having a possibly defective device doesn't mean that you are "out of luck due to OSX."

FAT thumbdrives work fine on Mac OS X. If you believe it's a Mac problem, make appointment with Apple Genius Bar.

 

[modit]

All is well

NO.




Having a possibly defective device doesn't mean that you are "out of luck due to OSX."

FAT thumbdrives work fine on Mac OS X. If you believe it's a Mac problem, make appointment with Apple Genius Bar.

Walked into an Apple store and since 2 people didn't show up for their appointment, the "Genius" took my usb and told me the obvious.

"USB isn't even mounting on the computer. It must be corrupted."

I'm still going to buying a new one so I'm relieved that my pricey laptop isn't the issue.

Thanks everyone!

 

[maccompaq]

My USB is still not showing up! I chose FAT32 format on windows and it opened up but when I plug my USB on my MacBook Pro, the drive doesn't even show up!

I really need some help guys Should I go format it on my mac and if so, what's the step by step plan?

If it shows up on a Windows computer, it is not broken. Some information is missing in this post.