Flash drive works on Mac but not PC

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Flash drive works on Mac but not PC

I got this new flash drive. It's a generic brand. The first thing I did was plugged it into my iMac, saved a few files, and renamed the drive. However, when I plug it into a PC, essentiallly any version of Windows, it won't show up. On Windows XP, it'll try to recognize it when I first put it into the port, then it'll say that it failed to recognize it. After that, it just won't bother with it anymore. On Windows 7 Ultimate, it does nothing. Haven't tried Vista.

I thought that it was a problem with the Windows OS, so I tried looking for the drive in Disk Management. It just doesn't show up at all, anywhere. Plugging it into a Windows is like doing nothing.

It works perfectly fine on Mac, it reads, writes, copies, everything. So I reformatted the drive with Disk Utility using FAT32, even partitioned it, all MS-DOS. I actually did this several times and tried plugging it into both the XP and 7, but still nothing happens. I just don't understand what could possibly be wrong with it.

I saw reviews on it and every single person says they have had no problem with it on their PC. One even said it works just fine between PC and Mac.

Is mine just defective or is there something I haven't done?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Apr 17, 2011 9:47 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 2, 2017 9:02 PM in response to themathbook

themathbook wrote:

I had the same problem, but I solved it by changing the scheme when I went to format the disk. The default is "GUID Partition Map" but I changed the scheme to "Master Boot Record" and the flash drive worked perfectly.

This simple solution brought up by themathbook worked for me.

I will just add the following observation:

Before re-formatting in the Mac as "Master Boot Record" whenever I plugged this drive on a Windows computer I got an error message and asked me to format it. If I went ahead and tried to format it, the Windows format dialog showed a wrong partition size (a tiny fraction of the flash drive capacity) and would crash every single time.

After re-formatting as Master Boot Record in the Mac I got the same error message in Windows asking me to format the flash drive but this time it showed the right partition size and allowed me to format it.

Flash drive has been working without any issues since then.

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Answer 2

Apr 17, 2011 9:55 PM in response to rawrgrrrawr

i had the same problem first make sure u back ur flash drive up on ur mac once u do that let me know

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Answer 3

rawrgrrrawr Author

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Apr 17, 2011 9:59 PM in response to slimjim5262

Yes, it's already backed up.

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Answer 4

Phouthon

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Apr 17, 2011 10:08 PM in response to rawrgrrrawr

Maybe your flash drive format as Journal.

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Answer 5

Apr 17, 2011 10:10 PM in response to rawrgrrrawr

ok now exit out of everything click on the screen make sure it sez finder at the top left of ur screen then click go on ur menu bar then go to utility then got to disc utility once u do that click on ur flashdrive on the left and click erase set it to the one the fat in (fat) then rename it if u want then click erase at the botom then put ur info back on it and it should work if not try another fat

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Answer 6

rawrgrrrawr Author

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Apr 17, 2011 10:17 PM in response to slimjim5262

Uhh, did you not read what I put? I said I've done that a bunch of times already. In fact, just for poops and giggles, I did it again just exactly the way you said. Tried plugging it into Windows 7 and still nothing.

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Answer 7

rawrgrrrawr Author

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Apr 17, 2011 10:18 PM in response to Phouthon

It's not. I've formatted it a bunch of times, every time using MS-DOS (FAT)

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Answer 8

Apr 17, 2011 10:23 PM in response to rawrgrrrawr

Your flash drive needs to be formatted to be in FAT32 format. That is the file structure that is compatible with both Windows PC's and Macs. (If you formatted it for a Mac and it's "Journaled" then it will ONLY work on Macs.)

But to be able to do this, you have to erase the entire Flash drive and start over. So you will need to back up your files somewhere else first.

Here is a link to eHow that takes you through the steps:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5929724_format-drive-work-mac-pc.html

I have had many issues with flash drives being incompatible in Windows 7. You might need to manually upgrade the flash drive's drivers or visit the manufacturer's website for troubleshooting issues with Windows 7. If you formatted the drive to FAT32 already, and it works on the Mac, then this is no long a "Mac issue". Your time would be better spent in the manufacturer's support forums. (or a Windows 7 support forum)

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Answer 9

rawrgrrrawr Author

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Apr 17, 2011 10:25 PM in response to Alexander Hazel

-_-

I'm not sure if you guys realize this, but you're all saying the same thing. And I keep telling you that I've done it millions and millions of times.

It doesn't matter how many times I reformat it with MS-DOS (FAT) IT JUST DOESN'T WORK!!!!

And there is no other FAT option.

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Answer 10

Apr 17, 2011 10:34 PM in response to rawrgrrrawr

Yes, but what you aren't realizing is that this isn't an issue for the Mac support forums. This is an issue with Windows 7 and your Flash drive.

Like I said before, go to the support forums for your flash drive or search for issues on Google to find a place that lists the problems your having with your drive not being recognized in Windows 7.

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Answer 11

rawrgrrrawr Author

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Apr 17, 2011 10:42 PM in response to Alexander Hazel

Thanks for editing your first post and making me look like I'm stupid.

Thanks for the help anyway.

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Answer 12

Apr 17, 2011 10:40 PM in response to rawrgrrrawr

hehe sorry bout that.....I just started using these forums....

But good luck and I hope you are able to solve the issue!

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Answer 13

Apr 18, 2011 12:08 PM in response to rawrgrrrawr

Have you tried formatting the drive on the PC & than seeing if the Mac recognizes it?

 Cheers, Tom 😉

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Answer 14

Jul 27, 2016 12:50 PM in response to rawrgrrrawr

I had the same problem, but I solved it by changing the scheme when I went to format the disk. The default is "GUID Partition Map" but I changed the scheme to "Master Boot Record" and the flash drive worked perfectly.

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Answer 15

Jan 10, 2017 6:50 PM in response to tovarpardo83

Format the drive as a compatible file system such as exFAT and use the Master Boot Record instead of GUID Partition Table.

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