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USB flash drive disconnects from Mac after a few minutes

I have multiple huge mp4 movie files on a removable USB flash drive. The drive appears when I plug it into one of the ports. I can open and view files. After a few minutes, the drive vanishes from the iMac's screen, and the file typically ends up stopping QuickTime Player from playing. It happens sporadically. I was able to view a few minutes of video last night and fast forward, rewind, and stop it. This morning, when attempting to move data to the iCloud for storage, a notice stating that the "drive has disappeared" appeared on the screen and everything halted. Thank you, Captain Obvious! Well, gee!

Best Answered by

Amanda Wong

Answered on Monday, April 29, 2024

It is strange and annoying the USB flash drive suddenly disconnects from your Mac after you connect it a few minutes later. And it is very risky because the sudden disconnection could damage your drive data. 

USB devices disconnecting on Mac could be caused by a loose connection, defective USB port or cable, insufficient power supply, disk errors, disk overheating, third-party software intervention, etc. There are some possible solutions you can try to fix the USB flash drive disappearing from the Mac after a few minutes:

  • Restart your Mac and reconnect the USB drive. 
  • Check the USB port, USB cable, and USB hub.
  • Supply sufficient power.
  • Remove unnecessary peripherals.
  • Reset the SMC and NVRAM.
  • Update disk driver and macOS.
  • Boot into Safe Mode.
  • Repair the USB drive via Disk Utility First Aid.

If any data loss on the USB flash drive, try iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac to save your files!

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