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User profile for user: HenryL
HenryL Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Ventura destroying flash drives

iMac 2017, Ventura 13.2 recently upgraded from Sierra.

I copied a large number of files to a USB flash drive. I didn't remove the flash drive immediately. iMac went to sleep. When I returned to the computer there was a message that the flash drive had been removed without proper ejection. It wasn't physically removed from the USB port. Ventura removed it. Now it no longer appears when plugged into a USB port either on the iMac or a Macbook Pro running BigSur. Disk Utility does not recognize the existence of this flash drive. Restarting, resetting SMC - no help. This is the second flash drive that Ventura has apparently scorched. Where's the fix?

iMac 21.5″ 4K, macOS 13.2

Posted on Jan 28, 2023 10:09 AM

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User profile for user: HenryL
HenryL Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Jan 29, 2023 6:17 AM in response to etresoft

  1. I appreciate your attempting to help.
  2. As stated above, "Disk Utility does not recognize the existence of this flash drive." How do I reformat when Disk Utility can't see the drive? Ventura has fried two flash drives with the same method.
  3. I did not remove the drives manually. The computer removed them. It ran a message that the drive was not properly ejected. But the computer ejected the drive, I didn't.
  4. The drives are no longer recognized by Disk Utility on a second Mac computer running Big Sur.
  5. Is there some other way to retrieve the drives?
  6. Is there some way to prevent Ventura from frying flash drives?
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User profile for user: etresoft
etresoft
User level: Level 9
51,022 points

Jan 28, 2023 10:36 AM in response to HenryL

Always manually eject external drives when you are finished using them. Resetting the SMC may help, but it will only help to reduce the frequency of the problem in the future. If you aren't actively transferring data, then most external drives are pretty resilient, depending on the format. They can be unexpectedly disconnected many times before they die.


In your case, you had a worst-case scenario. USB flash drives are usually in "FlakyFAT" format. And you were copying files to the drive. And then you let the Mac go to sleep. You should be able to reformat the drive using Disk Utility.



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User profile for user: HenryL
HenryL Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Feb 1, 2023 10:15 AM in response to dialabrain

Yes, that is what I'm thinking. But why did two flash drives die? They were working fine as I was backing up my files. It's possible of course that they were both defective. Both were new 32 GB drives. I can try another Flash drive on another machine with an earlier OS, copy files to it, then place it in the machine with Ventura and observe. Thanks for your help.

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User profile for user: dialabrain
dialabrain
User level: Level 10
125,387 points

Feb 1, 2023 10:30 AM in response to HenryL

You're welcome. I don't really have an answer as to why a flash drive might fail. I do know some get hotter than others when plugged in. I suppose heat could damage them. I've only had two flash drives fail. One was d.o.a when I received it. The other actually came apart physically. Still worked when I pressed it all back together.


Personally I've stuck with SanDisk and have had good luck. Well, except for the one that fell apart. :)

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Ventura destroying flash drives

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