How to resolve potential problems with USB recovery stick for Gen7 TZ platforms

Most of the times user will not have any problems with preparing recovery USB stick to perform recovery of the gen7 TZ appliance. Usual pre-formatted USB. Sticks (DOS-FS filesystem partitioned with Master Boot Record schema) will be recognized on gen7 TZ appliances. However, here we will discuss about possible error scenarios and solutions when gen7 TZ refuses to recognize recovery USB stick.

1) Scenario 1 

"Couldn't find recovery image" on console when booting from USB stick MacOS Windows 10.

2) Scenario 2

"No USB storage device" on console when booting from USB stick, even though USB stick is inserted in USB slot.

When you see these messages, it means that your USB device might not be properly formatted or partitioned properly, and you will need to format and re-partition. We support filesystem partitioned with schema. DOS-FS FAT32 Master Boot Record.

Here is how to format USB stick on various platforms to make sure it is compatible:

MAC OS:-

Format a disk for Windows computers in Disk Utility on Mac (Mojave 10.15), in Disk Utility on your Mac, you can format an external disk for a Windows computer.

WARNING: Formatting a disk or volume erases all the files on it. Save any files you need to another volume before formatting.

1. In the Disk Utility App on your Mac, choose View > Show All Devices.
2. In the sidebar, select the disk you want to format to use with Windows computers.
3. Click the Erase button .
4. Click the Scheme pop-up menu, then choose Master Boot Record.
5. Click the Format pop-up menu, then choose one of the following:
   • MS-DOS (FAT):Choose this format if the size of the disk is 32GB or less.
   • ExFAT:Choose this format if the size of the disk is over 32GB.
6. Enter a name for the volume.

The maximum length for the volume name is 11 characters.

            7. Click Erase, then click Done.

Windows 10: -

1. Connect USB stick to PC
2. Open Disk Management utility. From search bar start typing "Create and Format hard disk ..." and select Disk Management in autocomplete Disk Management.
3. Disk Management utility will list ALL drives detected on the system.
4. Right click on the "Disk" icon (on the left panel) to inserted USB drive, otherwise you will destroy data on different drive potentially corresponding corrupting your PC:
   
5. Select "Convert to MBR disk"
6. Right clink on the right panel (volume information) corresponding to the USB disk and select "New simple volume". If your drive had other volume allocated before, please delete that volume first.
7. Keep clicking "Next" on the wizard to choose default settings until section "Format Partition" Select "FAT32" from the File System selection box:

8. Click "Next" and then "Finish".

9. After creating volume File Explorer will pop-up Copy necessary files and click "Eject.

10. Your USB device should be ready to be used with TZ GEN7 Devices. 

If you are seeing "No USB storage device" error on console when booting from USB stick, even though USB stick is inserted in USB slot, it could be due to very rare compatibility problem with some class of USB2-based memory sticks(Although most of the USB memory sticks are supported).

To make sure that USB stick is recognized, we would recommend USB3-based brand devices from the following reputable vendors:

• SanDisk Cruzer and similar
• Samsung Kingston
• Data Traveler and similar
• PNY

Please reach out to our support if you have any questions.