I plugged in my USB flash drive, but my Mac can’t read it. I have important files on there that I need access to ASAP. Any guidance on fixing or recovering the drive would be greatly appreciated! Looking for methods specific to macOS.
First, try checking if the USB drive shows up in Disk Utility. Go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility, and see if the USB drive appears in the sidebar. If it’s there but grayed out, you might be able to repair it.
- Select your USB drive from the sidebar in Disk Utility.
- Click on the “First Aid” button at the top.
- Follow the prompts to run First Aid and repair the drive.
If First Aid can’t fix the issue, you might need to try a third-party recovery tool. Disk Drill for Mac is a popular choice and has helped many users recover data from unreadable drives. Download it here: Disk Drill for Mac users.
Here’s how you can use Disk Drill:
- Download and install Disk Drill from the provided link.
- Launch Disk Drill and select your USB drive from the list of available drives.
- Choose the recovery method you prefer. The software will guide you through scanning your drive for lost data.
- Once the scan is complete, review the recovered files and select the ones you need.
- Save the recovered files to a different location like your Mac’s internal drive.
If Disk Utility and Disk Drill don’t help, there might be a physical issue with the USB drive itself. In that case, professional data recovery services could be your best bet, especially if the data is crucial.
Lastly, make sure you backup your important files in multiple locations to avoid such issues in the future!
First off, don’t panic. This happens more often than you think. Start by opening Disk Utility (find it in Applications > Utilities) and see if the drive shows up there. If it does, try running the First Aid tool to see if it can fix the errors.
If Disk Utility doesn’t work, you might want to try some third-party recovery tools. I’d personally suggest Disk Drill. It’s been pretty reliable for me in situations like these. You can check this Independent Disk Drill Review if you’re curious about its features and user experiences.
Remember, avoid formatting the drive immediately; that’s a last-resort thing. Give these steps a try first. Good luck!
Oh man, I’ve been in your shoes before and it seriously sucks. First off, try using Disk Utility—open it, select your drive, and hit First Aid. Sometimes it does the trick. If that doesn’t work, you could try Disk Drill for Mac, but I’ll be real with you, it’s a hit or miss. I had mixed results with it: almost lost more data than I saved. Anyway, it’s worth a shot if you’re desperate. Backup your stuff regularly, btw. Fingers crossed for ya! 
You know, sometimes USB drives just fail. Honestly, you’re probably wasting your time trying to fix it yourself. Tried Disk Utility? Beyond that, there’s always third-party options.
Disk Drill for Mac is often recommended, but be ready to fork out some money. Annoying, I know. It might recover your files, though. Keep in mind, Disk Drill ain’t perfect. Data recovery isn’t guaranteed, and the free version is annoyingly limited.
You can check out this article for more options: Top 10 Best Data Recovery Software for Mac (Including FREE). Good luck sorting through all the pros and cons there.
Really, at this point, your best bet is preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Take backups more seriously next time.