And while users historically would pop a boot media disk into their DVD or CD drive, many computers no longer come with optical disk drives. As a result, booting from USB media is becoming the standard.
How you start that rescue media can vary depending on the operating system you are using, but there are a few general guidelines that can help get your machine started, regardless of the OS you prefer.
So if your system is unstable, you need to run a diagnostic tool on the hard drive, or you just want to load a Linux desktop just to see what it’s all about, let’s look at how you start your machine using rescue USB boot media.
How you start that rescue media can vary depending on the operating system you are using, but there are a few general guidelines that can help get your machine started, regardless of the OS you prefer.
So if your system is unstable, you need to run a diagnostic tool on the hard drive, or you just want to load a Linux desktop just to see what it’s all about, let’s look at how you start your machine using rescue USB boot media.
How to boot a Mac from USB media
CD/DVD drives are disappearing from computers, leaving USB storage as the only option when re-installing an operating system. The process is fairly painless and, if you have a bit of time and patience you can complete the task on a Mac. Having the exact same issue, Bootable usb created properly not showing up in macbook pro boot menu, only hard drive shows. Installation is corrupt. What worked for me and hopefully others is hold Command + R just after you press the on button. Overview of USB not showing up on Mac Flash drives are convenient devices that can be used to store data and the stored data can also be easily retrieved at any time. Unfortunately, situations may arise when you are in urgent need of your saved data, important document files, or even pictures but can’t seem to access them from your drive.
Getting your Mac to load from a USB drive is fairly straightforward.
- Insert the USB boot media into an open USB slot.
- Press the Power button to turn on your Mac (or Restart your Mac if it’s already on).
- When you hear the startup chime, press and hold the Option key. Holding that key gives you access to OS X’s Startup Manager. Once the Startup Manager screen appears, release the Option key. The utility will look for any available drives that include bootable content.
- Using either the pointer or arrow keys on the keyboard, select the USB drive you wish to boot from.
- Once selected, either hit the Return key or double-click your selection. The machine will start to boot from the USB drive.
NOTE: Have multiple USB devices connected to your Mac? Don’t worry. The Startup Manager only lists drives that include bootable content.
Boot from USB: Windows
Starting your PC using USB rescue media is not difficult, although it first requires an adjustment in the BIOS (Basic Input Output System). That’s because the BIOS settings include the boot sequence the machine follows when starting up. The boot order tells the machine which devices to search for the software needed to launch the computer and the priority each device in that search.
If you’re booting from USB media, you must change the BIOS boot order so the USB device is listed first. Otherwise the computer will load from the hard drive as normal.
Start by plugging the thumb drive into a USB port. Then to change the BIOS boot sequence:
If you’re booting from USB media, you must change the BIOS boot order so the USB device is listed first. Otherwise the computer will load from the hard drive as normal.
Start by plugging the thumb drive into a USB port. Then to change the BIOS boot sequence:
- Press the Power button for your computer.
- During the initial startup screen, press ESC, F1, F2, F8 or F10. (Depending on the company that created your version of BIOS, a menu may appear.)
- When you choose to enter BIOS Setup, the setup utility page will appear.
- Using the arrow keys on your keyboard, select the BOOT tab. All of the available system devices will be displayed in order of their boot priority. You can reorder the devices here.
- Move USB to be first in the boot sequence.
NOTE: If you cannot find USB or Removable Devices among the device options, your BIOS may list it under Hard Drive Devices. In that case, you’ll need to:- Move Hard Drive Devices to the top
- Expand to show all hard drive device options
- Move USB device to the top of that hard drive list
- Save the change and then exit the BIOS Setup.
- The computer will restart using the new settings, booting from your USB drive.
- Stay alert! Depending on your BIOS, you may be prompted with a message to Press any key to boot from external device and you will only have a few seconds to respond. If you do nothing, your computer will go to the next device in the boot sequence list, which will likely be your hard drive.
In the future, your computer will first check the USB port for boot media when starting up. That won’t be a problem, since the BIOS will move to the next device in the boot sequence .. unless you keep the boot media in the USB port. Then the system will launch from that device every time.
Linux USB Boot Process
To boot Ubuntu from USB media, the process is very similar to the Windows instructions above.
- Confirm the BIOS boot sequence lists the USB drive first, or make that change as needed.
- After the USB flash drive is inserted into the USB port, press the Power button for your machine (or Restart if the computer is running).
- The installer boot menu will load, where you will select Run Ubuntu from this USB.
- Ubuntu will launch and you can begin to working in the system – setting preferences, reconfiguring the system as needed, or running any diagnostic tools.
Creating USB boot media
Regardless of the operating system you are using, booting your machine from USB media does not need to be difficult. A general understanding how your system loads can provide the basics needed to understand what is going on when you use boot media.
Creating USB boot media doesn’t need to be difficult either, although there are several options to consider.
For Mac users, we recommend visiting Apple’s support page on USB boot media. It provides guidance that is specific to the iteration of OS X you are running (i.e. Sierra, High Sierra, Yosemite, etc.) to help you get the boot version you need.
Windows and Linux users might consider Acronis Disk Director 12, which includes an intuitive Boot Media Builder that streamlines the process and offers tremendous flexibility for the type and kind of boot media you can create, including WinPE media.
Creating USB boot media doesn’t need to be difficult either, although there are several options to consider.
For Mac users, we recommend visiting Apple’s support page on USB boot media. It provides guidance that is specific to the iteration of OS X you are running (i.e. Sierra, High Sierra, Yosemite, etc.) to help you get the boot version you need.
Windows and Linux users might consider Acronis Disk Director 12, which includes an intuitive Boot Media Builder that streamlines the process and offers tremendous flexibility for the type and kind of boot media you can create, including WinPE media.
Summary: Is your USB drive not showing up on Mac? Mac not recognizing USB device? USB flash drive not working on Mac? In this article, we will help fix flash drive not showing up on Mac and Mac not recognizing USB drive.
Normally when you plug a USB flash drive into your Mac, you can find the connected USB device on Mac desktop or in Finder. However, sometimes, the USB flash drive won't be mounted correctly. And then the hard drive won't be showing up on Mac desktop or in Finder. How to fix it?
Now, let's dive into the solution.
How to fix USB flash drive not showing up on Mac?
![Mac not reading usb Mac not reading usb](https://meisten-verliebt.com/images/aUi01FYefrmQWk7ysusrpwHaEb.jpg)
There are seven solutions to fix USB flash drive not showing up on Mac or Mac not recognizing USB device:
Fix 1: Check USB cable, USB connection and USB ports.
Jump drives are directly plugged into USB ports on Mac while SD cards and NM cards need card readers before you access them through USB ports. That in-between connections, actually, could be the first cause for USB drive not showing up on Mac.
Then, how to check if the USB flash drive is recognized by Mac?
It's easy to confirm that your Mac has already recognized the USB device when it is not showing up in the Finder or the desktop. Simply click the Apple logo at the upper left of your Mac > About this Mac > System report > USB, and then all your connected USB devices will show up with detailed information as the picture below.
If the USB flash drive not detected by Mac due to hardware problems, you won't see the connected USB device under the USB Device Tree.
In case it's the USB port, cable, or card reader that stops your USB drives working on the Mac, you'd better try these things before you proceed with other solutions.
- Try to re-plug the USB flash drive into your Mac and see if it shows up.
- Sometimes, the Mac just is zoning out and fails to recognize the USB flash drive, or you didn't plug the USB drive into USB port in a right way at the first time. So, hopefully, the USB flash drive would show up after a second try.
- Try another USB port to connect this USB flash drive.
- Most computers, including PC and Mac, have multiple USB ports. And some USB ports may be deformed, lack of power, or dusty. In this case, simply try another USB port to connect this USB flash drive to your Mac.
- Reset USB ports on Mac to detect USB drive
- Resetting USB ports on Mac is another way to solve Mac not recognizing USB flash drive problem.
- Step 1: Disable SIP.
- Step 2: Download, install and launch iBoysoft Drive Manager on your Mac and select 'Remount USB storages' to reset USB ports.
- Try to connect the USB flash drive directly to your computer, not via USB-C adapter or USB hub.
- Some models of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air has only one USB 3.0 port, which causes the requirement of an additional USB adapter for more hubs. Inevitably, such transition could be unstable for power supply and data transferring, especially when you bought some cheap and low-quality adapter. Thus, try to connect the USB flash drive directly to USB port on your Mac this time.
- Try another USB cable or a newer card reader.
- Occasionally, you have used the same USB cable or SD card reader for years, which means the cable might broken or the card reader is out of date and some new features are not supported by the old card reader. As a result, the USB flash drive or the SD card is not showing up on Mac. Under this circumstance, simply get a new one and replace it.
- • Learn how to fix SD card reader not working on your Mac?
- Check the type of your USB flash drive by color.
- Usually, the USB 1.0 features a white plastic color, while USB 2.0 is black, and the USB 3.0 is blue.USB 3.0 is usually a blue USB inserts. But all USB ports on Mac computers that support USB 3 don't have blue inserts. In this case, if you connect a USB 2.0 flash device to USB 3.0 slot on Mac, the speed will only reach that of the USB 2.0. As a result, the data transfer rate of the thumb drive would be lowered and the thumb drive won't work optimally.
Fix 2: Change Finder preferences to show up USB flash drive on Mac desktop
Occasionally, your Mac has already detected the USB flash drive but you cannot find the connected USB device on Mac desktop. Thus, you should go to Finder > Preferences > General and make sure the 'External disks' option is checked. Then you'll see the connected USB flash drive showing up on Mac desktop.
Fix 3: Change Finder preferences to show up USB flash drive in Finder
Go to Finder > Preferences, switch to Sidebar tab, and check 'External disks' option under Locations.
You will see the connected USB flash drive in Finder's sidebar.
Fix 4: Reinstall or update USB driver
When your USB device is not detected by Mac, you should check if any USB driver updates are available, please do the following steps:
Step 1: Click on the Apple in the upper left corner of the screen.
Step 2: Select 'Software Update..'
Step 3: Any updates available will be listed and able to be downloaded or you will be told your software is up to date.
![Showing Showing](https://support.apple.com/library/content/dam/edam/applecare/images/en_US/macos/Catalina/macos-startup-screen-prohibitory.jpg)
Mac Not Reading Usb
Fix 5: Repair USB flash drive with First Aid
If you can see USB flash drive but it is not mounting in Mac Disk Utility, in this case, you can try macOS built-in First Aid to repair the errors on USB flash drive.
Step 1: Launch Disk Utility from Utilities in Applications folder.
Step 2: Select the corrupted USB drive from the sidebar.
Step 3: Click First Aid at the top of the window, and then click Run, wait until the reparation process finishes.
Fix 6: Reformat USB flash drive
If USB flash drive not mounting on Mac is caused by disk corruption, the only solution under this circumstance is to reformat the USB drive. However, reformatting USB flash drive will erase all the files stored on it.
Usb isn t working on mac. In order to avoid unwanted data loss, it's necessary to recover data from the unrecognized USB flash drive in advance.
iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac is trustworthy and professional USB data recovery software that can recover data from unrecognized USB flash drives, unreadable USB flash drives, and unmountable USB flash drives.
4 steps to recover data from unrecognized USB flash drive:
Step 1: Download and install iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac.
You can't access your data when the USB flash drive is not showing up on Mac due to disk corruption. But with the assistance of iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac, you can easily access your files and get them off the drive. So simply download and launch this USB drive data recovery software on your Mac.
Step 2: Launch iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac.
After making sure the USB drive is properly connected to your Mac, hopefully, the USB drive will show up when you launch this software. You can click on the gears icon at the upper left for preference setup, and then check all 'Scan by' options. This will make it easier to find your lost photos, documents, Word files, videos, etc. on the USB drive.
Step 3: Scan for lost data from the unrecognized USB flash drive.
After setting how the software scans for lost files, you can go ahead to put it into practice by selecting the not showing up USB flash drive and clicking on the 'Scan' button.
Step 4: Check files' condition before you recover them from the unrecognized USB flash drive.
Once the scan process is finished, you can filter the scanning results and find files you want to get back. To ensure those files are in good condition in the corrupted USB stick, you can click to preview them before you finally click the 'Recover' button.
After you successfully recover data from the unrecognized USB flash drive, it is time to reformat USB drive.
4 steps to reformat the USB flash drive:
Step 1: Go to Utilities and open Disk Utility.
Step 2: Select the unrecognized USB flash drive from Disk Utility sidebar.
Step 3: Click Erase at the top toolbar.
Step 4: Finish the necessary information (name, format, and scheme) to format the USB flash drive.
After the process finished, the USB flash drive will show up on Mac correctly.
Fix 7: Ask for help from a local specialist
If the USB flash drive is not showing up in Mac Disk Utility and System Information, it might be physically failed. If you don' have any important data, you can simply replace the damaged USB drive with a new one. But if you have anything important, you'd better send it to a local specialist for data recovery help.
Bonus tips for using USB flash drive
The USB flash drive, pen drive, jump drive, or whatever you call it, is convenient but also fragile to store data based on its special memory units and shape. Then, how can we protect it from corruption and not showing up on Mac?
Mac Bootable Usb Not Showing
You may need these tips:
Windows 10 Usb Drive Not Showing
- Don't put USB flash drives in the pockets of your pants of T-shirt, especially, when it's naked. This could keep your drive away from moisture from your body and dust on your clothes. More importantly, it can avoid accident break off when you sit down or bump into something.
- Don't unsafely eject the USB flash drive. Even though it's inevitable for portable drives to be plugged and unplugged frequently, you can make sure you eject it safely and properly every single time.
- Create a backup of your data. Although you have been taking good care of your USB flash drive, you should know that it has a limited life span. Therefore, to avoid unexpected data loss, you'd better do a regular backup of your files.