macbook air can not see a folder on usb flash disk

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Level 2

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macbook air can not see a folder on usb flash disk

On a USB flash disk there are some folders, one of which is created by HP printer/scanner. The other files/folders are created on a Windows PC.

The folder created by HP printer/scanner is called DCIM. This HP printer/scanner can directly save scanned images on a USB flash disk. This folder is not hidden.

My daughter's Macbook Air ( early 2015 ) can't see the folder called DCIM. Macbook Air is on MacOS Mojave 10.14.3.

HP printer/scanner model is Envy 110 all-in-one.

This is the situation on Windows PC:

This is the situation on Macbook Air:

Can someone please tell me what I am mising here ?

Why can't Macbook Air see the DCIM folder ?

Posted on Jan 24, 2019 3:29 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 24, 2019 11:53 AM in response to suat.cini

It is possibly due to permissions set on the folder. I would check the permissions (in Windows) to make sure everyone can see/read/write to that folder, then try it again on the Mac.

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Answer 2

suat.cini Author

Level 2

201 points

Jan 25, 2019 7:00 PM in response to Buster_From_Oak_Park

Thank you very much for your comments.

There are no permissions set on the folders either created on Windows PC or on HP printer/scanner.

Today I made another test. I took a formated but blank USB flash disk and inserted it to my HP printer/scanner. I scanned a document to the USB flash disk and look into the flash disk on Macbook Air. This is what I see on the USB flash disk.

So it appears that Macbok Air can see the folder DCIM on the USB flash disk that is created by HP printer/scanner.

What this all boils down to is, if I want to see the folders on a USB flash disk created by my HP scanner, the USB flash disk must be blank and not used and populated on a Windows PC.

Conversely, Macbook Air can see the folders created on the Windows PC but not both on Windows PC and on HP scanner.

My guess is, Windows PC creates a layer for its folders and files. Once this layer is created, Macbook cannot see beyond that layer.

Next time, I will use Macbook and create folders on a USB flash disk. Then I will scan a document to the flash disk and take the disk to the Windows PC.

How Windows PC will react, I am curious to learn.

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Answer 3

dwb

Level 7

33,310 points

Jan 24, 2019 6:08 AM in response to suat.cini

gotcha - you know an easy (if not convenient) fix would be to create a new folder on the PC and drag the files inside it. As to the problem itself - I’ve never seen it and I use both PCs and Macs. But I always scan directly to the PC hard drive into a DropBox folder which automagically shares the scans with my Mac. Still back in the day when I used sneaker net I don’t recall DCIM folders being hidden on my Mac.

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Answer 4

Jan 25, 2019 2:09 PM in response to suat.cini

(sigh)

I never said what, how, where, when or why the folder was created, let alone that a PC created it. I searched the HP site, and I cannot find one word of compatibility between the folder format the printer/scanner creates and Mac. So, falling back on my decades of experience, I directed you to check the permissions of the folder using a PC. If you do not want to follow this direction, I can't force you.

Good luck finding a solution!

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Answer 5

suat.cini Author

Level 2

201 points

Jan 24, 2019 10:45 PM in response to Buster_From_Oak_Park

Thanks.

The folder is created by HP Envy 110 printer/scanner. It is a network printer. It is not connected to my Windows PC.

The DCIM folder has no permissions set for any particular OS. It has no hidden attributes, either.

I scan a document directly from the scanner to the USB flash disk and insert the USB flash disk to Macbook Air. That's it. No Windows PC involved.

It is just that Macbook Air can't see that folder.

I don't know why.

I wanted to convey this info to Apple but there is no feedback report app in MacOS Mojave through which I can send the problem along with System Diagnostics.

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Answer 6

dwb

Level 7

33,310 points

Jan 24, 2019 5:30 AM in response to suat.cini

Comparing both pictures I immediately noticed that both show the same number of items so I checked filenames. On the Mac there is a Windows.jpg file but that file doesn’t appear when the disk is in the Windows PC. Try right clicking on that file and see if the Mac sees it as a package. If so, open the package and see if the scans are inside.

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Answer 7

suat.cini Author

Level 2

201 points

Jan 24, 2019 5:57 AM in response to dwb

Thank you for your reply.

Windows.jpg is one of the files in my above post. The black image. I just took a snipscreen of the USB flash disk on Windows PC to show the files and folders on the USB flash disk and then put it on the USB flash disk. I then took it to Macbook Air. That's why Macbook Air sees it. When I inserted the USB flash disk into Windows PC, the Windows.jpg file wasn't in existence.

The problem is not the file or folder that is created on Windows PC. The problem is the folder that is created by my HP printer/scanner. The DCIM folder.

I am sorry for the confusion.

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macbook air can not see a folder on usb flash disk

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