I've got a USB key that won't show up on either of my Mac computers, but I noticed the light turns on when I plug it in. It seems like it's not dead, right? I really need it for school, and I've never used a MacBook before, so I'm wondering if maybe I'm just missing something here.
4 Answers
Double-check if the drive has ever been recognized by your Mac. If not, it might be formatted for Windows or another OS. Try checking the Disk Utility: press Command + Space, type 'Disk Utility', and see if your USB appears under 'External'. You might need to reformat it if it's visible.
If you see the drive but can’t access anything, run 'First Aid' in Disk Utility. If that doesn't work, and your data's backed up, you could format it as exFAT. And definitely think about your backups—ideally, you should have multiple copies of important data stored in different places.
Just because the light's on doesn't mean the drive is functioning properly. It could be powered but not recognized. Try hooking it up to a PC or another operating system to see if it shows up there.
Another thing to keep in mind: if you’ve only used this USB on other computers, it might be formatted in a way that macOS can’t read. Just because the light's on doesn’t mean everything’s okay with the internal components.
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