I have a 3 mnth old Macbook, running OS X and Win XP (via Bootcamp). My problem is that in OS-X neither of my 2 usb compact flash card readers is recognised consistently.
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I have a couple of Kingston cards, a Sandisk Ultra II and a no-name. When I insert either of the Kingstons, both readers are usually, but not always, recognised.
With the Sandisk and no-name, neither is ever recognised. Both readers and all cards are detected with no problem in XP. It's something of a nuisance, because I'm going to be using the Macbook to back up photos on a holiday soon and had planned on deleting the XP partition to free up hard drive space. This is my first Mac and frankly I'm pretty surprised that plugging in a card reader, which I take for granted in Windows, is causing problems in OS-X. Suggestions for a remedy welcome. Ibm thinkpad a31 wireless driver for mac. Michael Kilpatrick.
First - does anything else plugged into the same port work? (I've missed the obvious before) Second - have you tried rerinserting the reader? Finally, open System Profiler (Applications - Utilities). On the left side - click on USB. The right window will display a tree outline of all USB devices.
You can click on any device to read info about the device in the bottom window. Plug in your readerin any port. If it does not show up, under the View menu select Refresh (or use command-r) to see if it shows up. I've had similar problems with my Sandisk reader & this usually resolves it. When ever I can't seem to find a disk that I know I have plugged in I always check the cable first to see if it is indeed plugged into the RIGHT port.
Then I use Disk Utility to verifiy the disk if is shows up. Sometimes I can't seem to see a hard drive USB or Firewire 400/800 that I KNOW is plugged in. The Disk Utility verify bump always seems to work to get it to show up on the desktop and finder. I too have had a few bad CF card readers as well as a LEXAR reader that did not like Macs and would not work.
Card Reader
Tedd Greenwald reptiles native orchids and yacht photography. Thanks for all these responses. I'll give them a shot and report back. Unfortunately, the option of buying 5 or 6 card readers, trying them until I find one that works and returning the others is generally not available here in Australia where I live. Retailers will usually only accept returns if the item doesn't work, not because the customer has changed his/her mind. Both USB ports on my Macbook are definitely working, by the way.
My USB mouse works in either and, of course, both card readers are instantly detected when I boot iinto XP so it isn't a hardware fault. Unfortunately none of the methods suggested helped OS-X to consistently detect either of my card readers.
I don't want to keep buying card readers in the hope that one of them works, so I'm thinking my best option is to delete the OS-X partition, reinstall XP and run the laptop as a Windows machine for the duration of the trip. I'm pretty sruprised that something as simple as plugging in a card reader is a 'known issue' with Macs when it works so easily in Windows. But thanks anyway for the responses.
Michael Kilpatrick. Michael Kilpatrick wrote: Unfortunately none of the methods suggested helped OS-X to consistently detect either of my card readers. Ok, just tried this myself with a cheap 'Gigatech' reader. I take it you are aware that the reader won't actually mount until the card is inserted? This happens in my case anyway and then it mounts as a drive titled, EOS (have a 350D) once the CF is in it.
I don't want to keep buying card readers in the hope that one of them works, so I'm thinking my best option is to delete the OS-X partition, reinstall XP and run the laptop as a Windows machine for the duration of the trip. That is a pretty drastic thing to do just for a card reader.
So you didn't buy the Mac for OSX then? I'm pretty sruprised that something as simple as plugging in a card reader is a 'known issue' with Macs when it works so easily in Windows. I have not read that many issues about it.
BTW, Go to Dick Smith or Officeworks and buy any amount of readers you like and return the rest. They usually operate on a 'no questions asked policy' and as long as you don't massacre the packaging and have the receipt, they will reimburse your money. Also, reformat the card in your camera first (this will also delete all pics) and give it a shot then.
But thanks anyway for the responses. Just to answer a couple of questions, yes, I do realise that none of the readers will be detected unless there is a card inserted. And, I always delete from my cards by re-formatting in the camera. Anyway, this thread has gone on long enough. I spent A$40 on another card reader that is stated on the packaging to be OS-X compatible. And.yes, it does seem to work consistently in OS-X, so the problem is solved. Normally this wouldn't be such an issue, but the main reason I'm taking the laptop on the trip is for photo viewing and backup (I expect to take 30GB plus of raw files) and without a functioning card reader that won't be possible.
Where I'm going (game viewing in rural South Africa) I won't be able to call into a booth and get my files burnt to a CD, so I need to be fully self contained. I actually wouldn't have seen it as any big deal to delete the OS-X partition to create more space, then re-install it after the holiday, but it looks like that won't be necessary now. Thanks to all for the tips.