The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer

[j555]

Hi there,

I have a USB key (32gb Kingston flash drive; Mac OS Extended) that I tried inserting into my Macbook Pro, put in my password, and received the message "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" with 3 clickable options: initialize, eject, or ignore. I kept removing/reinserting the USB key because it wouldn't appear in Finder, and I clicked all 3 options at different points (had no idea that initialize=format, oy vey). Nothing happened when I clicked either of the options.

It does seem to be a problem that others have run into but I can't seem to find a solution.

Upon checking Disk Utility, I noticed that the drive is there but the partition/volume is greyed out. I tried to run First Aid on the 'parent' disk - it was completed but didn't solve the problem. I then tried First Aid on the volume (which, by the way, displays 30.75 GB of free space ), but the First Aid reports "operation failed."

I also tried plugging the USB on a different Mac but it wasn't recognized there either.

I sure hope that the data is still intact and salvageable - I have a backup of the USB but the backup is pretty outdated so I'd really like to be able to recover the data.

Any tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I'll add that my computer savviness is somewhat limited.

Thank you SO much in advance!

 

[Fishrrman]

You could try a data recovery app, but I don't think even that will help much.

My -guess- is that you're not getting the data back from this drive (and the only real choice is to erase it and start over from your backup)...

 

[rpmurray]

My guess is that if Initialize didn't erase the drive then the drive is probably toast. It may just be a corrupted partition map, but in that case I would have thought that trying to Initialize the drive would still have erased it. If you REALLY want the data and want to take the gamble that it's still recoverable then DiskWarrior has saved many a person, but there are no guarantees, and it is a bit pricey. Does Disk Utility show it as HFS formatted?

 

[j555]

Thank you so much to both of you!

Unfortunately doesn't sound encouraging, huh? Could clicking initialize have erased it that quickly (I had about 30GB on it and it didn't prompt me with a warning/password and didn't show a progress bar or anything of that sort)? It was also working fine maybe 15min before.

Disk utility is showing the volume as HFS formatted but it's not mounting it for some reason.

Might there be a less expensive alternative to DiskWarrior or something with a free trial? So as to not fork out the cash and still not end up working...

Or any data recovery apps that you might be able recommend? I just did quite a bit of work on it since the last update and would much rather not have to redo it.

Thank you again!!

 

[rpmurray]

I believe that clicking the Initialize button brings up a dialog asking how you want to format the drive so if you didn't get anything like that then it probably didn't erase it. But since Initializing the disk just wipes everything you would think that if that didn't happen then the drive may not be working anymore. The fact that it shows as being formatted is encouraging. You could try Disk Drill. It has a free download so you can check if it can find anything. I believe you may have to pay if you need to do a recovery.

 

[j555]

That's great to know, I'll give Disk Drill a shot. THANK YOU and Happy New Year!

 

[backlineguy]

Just bought a refurb'ed late 2015 27" Retina iMac, migrated all my data from a Time Machine backup from my mid-2011 21.5" iMac, and I have a couple of questions...

First, the 2TB HDD inside the 27" iMac...it seems to respond even slower than my older 21'5" mid-2011 iMac. The 'new' machine appears to be using the APFS, which I've read was actually designed for SSD's...does this make it kind of sluggish?...

2nd, when I re-start, I'm seeing an error message " The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer"...which is fine, but I don't have any USB or other type of drive 'inserted'...



The 'old' iMac was running Sierra, and this 'new' iMac is running Catalina, and initially would not restore from the old backup, so I used Migration Assistant to transfer the data, and that worked...

The seller originally described this computer as having 16GB of RAM, but she showed up here with only 8GB...I've contacted the seller about providing the rest of the 'paid for' RAM...would the 8GB of RAM cause this iMac to run more slowly?...any thoughts about once I'm able to use a total of 16GB?...will it make THAT much of a difference?...



Thanks in advance for any help with this!

I appreciate your taking the time...



backlineguy

 

[fa8362]

8GB of RAM should be fine. I would just return it to the seller. Way less hassle. Seller is either incompetent or a crook. No one should sell a computer as having 16GB of RAM when it only has 8GB. That's fraud.

 

[wilberforce]

Just bought a refurb'ed late 2015 27" Retina iMac, migrated all my data from a Time Machine backup from my mid-2011 21.5" iMac, and I have a couple of questions...

First, the 2TB HDD inside the 27" iMac...it seems to respond even slower than my older 21'5" mid-2011 iMac. The 'new' machine appears to be using the APFS, which I've read was actually designed for SSD's...does this make it kind of sluggish?...

2nd, when I re-start, I'm seeing an error message " The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer"...which is fine, but I don't have any USB or other type of drive 'inserted'...



The 'old' iMac was running Sierra, and this 'new' iMac is running Catalina, and initially would not restore from the old backup, so I used Migration Assistant to transfer the data, and that worked...

The seller originally described this computer as having 16GB of RAM, but she showed up here with only 8GB...I've contacted the seller about providing the rest of the 'paid for' RAM...would the 8GB of RAM cause this iMac to run more slowly?...any thoughts about once I'm able to use a total of 16GB?...will it make THAT much of a difference?...



Thanks in advance for any help with this!

I appreciate your taking the time...



backlineguy

The Fusion drive may be starting to fail.

I recommend avoid older iMacs with Fusion drives, unless you get it for a very good price. An iMac with an SSD performs better and is more reliable.

If you have the option to return, I would.

If not, I would suggest consider getting an external SSD and boot from that.

16GB is is going to greatly improve performance over 8GB when you have multiple apps or tabs open, but should not make much difference when initially starting.

Sorry to not tell you what you want to hear, but just being frank

 

[backlineguy]

The Fusion drive may be starting to fail.

I recommend avoid older iMacs with Fusion drives, unless you get it for a very good price. An iMac with an SSD performs better and is more reliable.

If you have the option to return, I would.

If not, I would suggest consider getting an external SSD and boot from that.

16GB is is going to greatly improve performance over 8GB when you have multiple apps or tabs open, but should not make much difference when initially starting.

Sorry to not tell you what you want to hear, but just being frank

Thank you for your time here Wilbur...it was $699 with a 2-year warranty...still think it needs to go back? The display is beautiful, and if the additional RAM will improve performance...I posted this same question on an Apple forum, and they had me run a report on the computer...they say the Fusion drive is "split", and recommend a method to fix it...if this is the case and it can be fixed, what would YOU do?

thanks again!

 

[wilberforce]

Thank you for your time here Wilbur...it was $699 with a 2-year warranty...still think it needs to go back? The display is beautiful, and if the additional RAM will improve performance...I posted this same question on an Apple forum, and they had me run a report on the computer...they say the Fusion drive is "split", and recommend a method to fix it...if this is the case and it can be fixed, what would YOU do?

thanks again!

What I would personally do is stay away from it, but I can afford to spend more to get an iMac with less issues, and I realize different people are in different situations or have different priorities.
Others on this forum can advise better what best to do with a Fusion drive, having had more experience. I suggest search the forums. I also suggest this question be posted in the iMac forum, not this MacBook Pro forum - you will likely get more response. But be aware: not all advice given is good advice, as anyone is free to say anything, whether they know what they are talking about or not.
I had a 2014 27" iMac and now have a 2020 27" iMac, and agree the 5k screens are great. However they are not without some (mainly cosmetic) issues. The 2015 27" iMac is notorious for developing "pink edges" where there is a pinkish cast around the edge of the screen display. This bothers some people more than others, but suggest check yours to see if you have this more than you would find acceptable.
The 2014 iMac, and some of the following years, tend to get image persistence around the edges. This is not the same as burn-in, because it is not permanent, but manifests as temporary ghosting of high contrast content that has been near the edges of the screen for a long period. Again this bothers some people more than others.
Hope it all works out for you

 

[backlineguy]

What I would personally do is stay away from it, but I can afford to spend more to get an iMac with less issues, and I realize different people are in different situations or have different priorities.
Others on this forum can advise better what best to do with a Fusion drive, having had more experience. I suggest search the forums. I also suggest this question be posted in the iMac forum, not this MacBook Pro forum - you will likely get more response. But be aware: not all advice given is good advice, as anyone is free to say anything, whether they know what they are talking about or not.
I had a 2014 27" iMac and now have a 2020 27" iMac, and agree the 5k screens are great. However they are not without some (mainly cosmetic) issues. The 2015 27" iMac is notorious for developing "pink edges" where there is a pinkish cast around the edge of the screen display. This bothers some people more than others, but suggest check yours to see if you have this more than you would find acceptable.
The 2014 iMac, and some of the following years, tend to get image persistence around the edges. This is not the same as burn-in, because it is not permanent, but manifests as temporary ghosting of high contrast content that has been near the edges of the screen for a long period. Again this bothers some people more than others.
Hope it all works out for you

Thanks again Wilbur, you really seem to know your stuff...yes, my situation is different than yours, so this is where I'm at with this iMac...I ran an app suggested on another forum to check the health of the drives, and it appears to be in good shape. I ran the Apple fix for the split fusion drive and it seems to be a significant improvement, which is a relief. I contacted the seller about the RAM issue, so I'm now waiting to see their response.
sorry for the thread about an iMac on one for a MacBook Pro...I didn't look I guess, sp apologies to all on here.

Thanks again for your excellent help.