My USB does not even show up on new iMAC

[snowdda]

hi, i just bought my new imac, and im trying to transfer all of my old music from a PC to my new imac, problem is, when i insert my USB into mac, i am not sure, either where to find it, or if it is being read at all. i have tried plugging it into both a USB port on the keyboard, and at the back of the mac, neither has been successful. any help would be greatly appreciated. thankyou.

Dane.

[hayne]

Is this "USB" a USB drive?
Is it a "bus-powered" drive (one that gets its electrical power from USB instead of needing to be plugged into an AC adaptor)?
If so, you might need to run it via a powered USB hub in order that it get enough electrical power.

[NaOH]

Step 1: Determine if you need to follow Hayne's advice.

Step 2: Understand that external drives (whether hard drives or those little memory sticks) attached to a Mac will appear on the Desktop. The icon is white and looks kind of like an external drive.

Step 3: Transfer your files from this external drive.

Step 4: Know how to properly unmount one of these from a Mac. Don't just remove it from the computer or there is a risk of the data getting corrupted (and if you fail to do this the system will tell you).

You can do this a number of ways: 1) Drag the icon of the drive to the Trash (which will then show an Eject icon). 2) Click once on the drive on the Desktop. You can now either press Command-E or use the File menu to select "Eject NameOfDrive." 4) Right-Click on the drive and select "Eject NameOfDrive."

[Cheech'i]

The problem might be power, if it is a smaller (notebook sized) external drive then it may not be getting enough power through the bus, especially from the keyboard.

Often they will have Y cables that are intended to plug into two USB ports on the host, so that they get enough power.

[JDV]

I agree with Cheech'i; it sounds like a power issue. USB ports are often barely able to provide the necessary power for an external drive and many times it requires the use of the "Y" cable mentioned by Cheech'i is needed. The USB on your keyboard almost certainly will not provide enough power. I think it is a good practice, though not always convenient, to use a drive with an independent power source with your Mac.

Joe VanZandt