You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

User profile for user: seagreen939
seagreen939 Author
User level: Level 1
17 points

The Finder on iMac Big Sur 11.1 no longer displays USB Photo card reader

The Finder on iMac Big Sur 11.1 no longer recognizes a USB Promaster Photo card reader . It will read a USB Thumb drive, but not the card reader. This is a MAJOR issue, since the iMac destroys the San Disk memory cards when put into the memory card slot (Lost approx $100 of memory cards to that fiasco - thought it was the Olympus camera, but it was the iMac...never solved). Adobe Lightroom knows the card is there, and can import the photos, but the iMac doesn't recognize the device so there is no way to eject it. The USB device is active, and must be pulled out manually: then I get an iMac warning that the device was not properly ejected. System up-to-date; not a new issue but just getting to the forums. Without Adobe Lightroom, I would have no way to import photos from the camera since the device is not recognized, thus can't read in the photos.

  • tried all 4 USB ports
  • hadn't made any changes to Finder Preferences

Posted on Jan 2, 2021 2:37 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: rkaufmann87
rkaufmann87
User level: Level 10
143,694 points

Posted on Jan 2, 2021 6:48 PM

Doing a NVRAM reset is basic Mac OS reset and is not harmful to Mac OS, your hardware or any third party peripherals. I would recommend doing the reset and if that does not do the trick, you can restart in Safe Mode. If neither work, try another card reader and VERIFY it is compatible with your current hardware and software. Also look in the Finder Preferences - Sidebar to see if they device type is checked.


If you don't want to follow the advice provided, there is not much we can do to help you.

View in context

Similar questions

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: rkaufmann87
rkaufmann87
User level: Level 10
143,694 points

Jan 2, 2021 6:48 PM in response to seagreen939

Doing a NVRAM reset is basic Mac OS reset and is not harmful to Mac OS, your hardware or any third party peripherals. I would recommend doing the reset and if that does not do the trick, you can restart in Safe Mode. If neither work, try another card reader and VERIFY it is compatible with your current hardware and software. Also look in the Finder Preferences - Sidebar to see if they device type is checked.


If you don't want to follow the advice provided, there is not much we can do to help you.

Reply
User profile for user: seagreen939
seagreen939 Author
User level: Level 1
17 points

Jan 2, 2021 4:39 PM in response to rkaufmann87

Since Adobe Lightroom can recognize and read the memory card, it is nota faulty memory card reader, it is clearly the Finder or some other related iMac system function.. Not sure what resetting the NVRAM will do - sounds like it could do a LOT more harm than good. From the site, the description (below) doesn't sound like it solves any problem even vaguely related to this issue.


Settings that can be stored in NVRAM include sound volume, display resolution, startup-disk selection, time zone, and recent kernel panic information. The settings stored in NVRAM depend on your Mac and the devices that you're using with your Mac.

If you experience issues related to these settings or others, resetting NVRAM might help. For example, if your Mac starts up from a disk other than the one selected in Startup Disk preferences, or a question mark icon briefly appears before your Mac starts up, you might need to reset NVRAM.


Reply
User profile for user: seagreen939
seagreen939 Author
User level: Level 1
17 points

Jan 3, 2021 7:15 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Thank you! Problem solved. I did both steps. The second step, starting in Safe mode then restarting, worked. No idea why it failed or when it failed. I also checked other devices and not a single device attached to a USB port worked - and since one of my backup drives attached via USB, that was a serious issue. (Thunderbolt connector to alternate backup was unaffected. )

Reply

The Finder on iMac Big Sur 11.1 no longer displays USB Photo card reader

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.
Learn more Sign up