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Level 1

4 points

SD Cards are not recognized on iMac 27in (they work only on a restart)

I just got a new 27 in iMac, and am attempting to use the SD Card slot. I was able to mount 2 or 3 SD cards, but then my computer stopped recognizing them. After this point, it seems that the only way I can mount SD cards is to restart my computer with a card in the slot... any following attempts to read SD cards fail until the next restart. Is this a known issue?

In the day or so that I've owned this computer, I've actually had similar problems mounting either a digital camera via USB, or an iPhone... but checking for and loading software updates for Snow Leopard or other apps seemed to fix this. Unfortunately, all my available software updates have been installed... any more suggestions for dealing with this SD card issue would be appreciated.

iMac 27 inch Intel, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Feb 28, 2010 3:32 AM

24 replies

meusli

Level 1

0 points

Jan 16, 2011 8:40 AM in response to Andi172

Thanks Andi172,

I actually just took a needle (yes metal is probably not a clever idea) and just pushed the little flat metal pieces in the top and bottom corner a few times and pulled it back gently. It worked! I didn't touch anything else in there.

My iMac 27inch 2.8 i5 is actually just a week old.

gpawood

Level 1

0 points

Feb 20, 2011 8:22 PM in response to meusli

Great tip, had the same problem on my wife's iMac, just stopped reading the SD cards after a year of use... used a toothpick to move/click the switch on the top a few times, gently and slowly, and now it works just fine. I did not see anything on the bottom of the SD card slot to move.
tommie c

b6hende

Level 1

0 points

Jun 21, 2011 3:51 PM in response to foggyclear

I had the same issue, after reading all the posts I took a flashlight and looked into the mount port and was surprised to see a piece of an SD card broke off and stuck in there! Turned of my computer and very carefully used an X-acto knife to remove the piece, Presto it works ! A can of electronics air duster goes along way also.

Micah D.

Level 1

79 points

Sep 23, 2011 8:56 AM in response to Andi172

Andi172 wrote:

At the beginning the SD cards were mounted without problems but suddenly they have only been recognised after reboot.

... most of the readers have a switch inside the slot which "tells" the OS that a card has been inserted. Seems that it failed to work due to dust or it simply got stuck.
In my iMac the switch is located in the upmost back corner of the slot. Carefully moving it slightly several times with a toothpick helped. Now the cards are mounted immediately again.

I have a mid-2011 27" iMac with this exact same issue, SD cards are only recognized when rebooting with SD card inserted.

I did the above fix, using a toothpick I just moved the tiny silver switch at the top/back of the card reader and voila, SD card is recognized immediately again.

I can't believe this problem is ongoing in the latest iMacs, Apple should address this minor yet massively annoying hardware issue.

Nov 18, 2011 8:12 AM in response to foggyclear

I put the card in as the Youtube post above and it works when it decides too, I personally cant send my mac in to be fixed of this issues, because I have to have it to work, pretty crazy issues.

Dec 14, 2011 3:36 AM in response to StuartFromSeeley

same problem. Just happened on my 27in iMac yesterday for the first time. As crazy as it may sound, I could give it a hard blow with my mouth, and it will work for a couple of times. And then stops working again.

Feb 2, 2012 1:57 PM in response to Micah D.

I have a late 2009 27" imac. same problem as others. SD card mounted fine since purchase. today didn't work. followed micah's steps, inserted plastic coated, straigntened paper clip and flicked the little silver switch at the top back of the sd slot. my imac now recognizes an sd card.

Thanks Micah

Mar 15, 2013 7:13 AM in response to Andi172

Thanks man, it worked for me, i used a needle and it's fine now.

Best regards,

Miguel

Sep 29, 2013 1:56 PM in response to foggyclear

Not quite the same for me.

I had a manufacturer formatted SD card that worked on my imac until I formatted it with my nikon now it doesn't even see that it had been inserted.

SD Cards are not recognized on iMac 27in (they work only on a restart)