Why won't my Mac Book Pro recognize my Flash Drive?

Oddly enough, I had the exact same problem with my NTFS-formatted USB drive. But after slowly sliding the USB drive in place, it recognized the USB drive. Weird.

I have had this problem in the past. I saw somewhere (sorry I don't still have the thread) that if the flash drive is too powerful, Mac will protect itself from letting it connect. I worked around the issue by using a USB hub as the middleman between the flash drive and Mac.

I tried the "slow" insert technique and it worked! Why I can't explain but thanks for the discovery!!!

The slow insertion technique for my USB 3.0 Corsair Survivor worked on my mid-2014 MBP running Yosemite 10.10.2!

EDIT: It was FAT-32 formatted not NTFS like most are having issue with so I can read/write.

wow -- this really is the solution for me as well, synepdx -- very weird! But I'm with some of the others -- seriously can not believe such an expensive computer has problems like this -- never had this on any other device unless the flash drive went bad. Thanks for contributing, synepdx!!

NTFS is a Windows format, lucky you got it to work at all, format drives that are to be used on a Mac, for a Mac, not for Windows.

HFS is the Mac format, you can also use FAT or exFat, but not NTFS.

martibohl wrote:

I have had this problem in the past. I saw somewhere (sorry I don't still have the thread) that if the flash drive is too powerful, Mac will protect itself from letting it connect. I worked around the issue by using a USB hub as the middleman between the flash drive and Mac.

There is no such thing as a flash drive that is "too powerful"

nytcrwlr70 wrote:

Oddly enough, I had the exact same problem with my NTFS-formatted USB drive

NTFS is a Windows format, they generally work best in Windows.

Apple Computers and Displays: Powering peripherals through USB - Apple Support

In a nutshell, this is a very current article from Apple regarding what I was referring to in an old article I read. So yes, if our USB requires too much power, your Mac will not recognize it.

Hi guys,

I had the same problem>> My mac would not recognize my usb. I did age old trick of trying to restart my computer and it worked. May not same problem as yours. Just wanted to share one thing that worked in my case.

Hope this helps.

I have a Mac Book Pro running 10.10.3 and was facing the same issue as the machine was not able to read any USB memory stick. The second laptop that I have, a Mac Book Air running same 10.10.3, is able to read all the same USB memory sticks.

I tried this solution that I found on pntbrother.com and it worked.The Mac Book Pro is now able to read any USB memory stick:

Resetting the SMC – A macbook with a battery you can’t remove by yourself.(Built-in battery)

Step 01. Shut down your MacBook.
Step 02. Connect the MagSafe power adapter into your MacBook. If it’s already connected, leave as is.
Step 03. Press Shift + Control + Option + Power keys at the same time.
Step 04. Release all the keys from the keyboard.
Step 05. Press the power button to start your MacBook.

I went to Best Buy (where i bought the MacBook from) and they pressed [control] [option] [P] and [R] all at the same time and shut it off and on while pressing it while it turned off, letting go, then pressed it again while turning back on and it worked. I have 2014 MacBook Newest software to date on it, hoped it helps anyone from a trip to the electronics store!

Disk utility Preference solution made the trick! Thank you..

Your slow insertion suggestion worked, but it is frustrating that a virtually new iMac should have this issue.

Go to Disc Utility > Preferences > Check Automaticaly open read-only images

Problem solved! 😮