Movie Thumbnails Don't Load in Big Sur

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Level 2

305 points

Movie Thumbnails Don't Load in Big Sur

Even though I have icon view checked Big Sur seems to just give up on loading icon thumbnails for media, especially if there is more than 200 media files in the folder. I have found that if I create a sub folder and move the files to that folder then the OS creates the thumbnails and then I can move the files back and they remain. However, restarting the computer frequently erases the thumbnail preview again.

I noticed that when I moved some mp4's to another monitor the thumbnails disappeared again, so I'm not sure if this issue is related to the video card? (I have 2 GPU's with 3GB of RAM each and 3 Thunderbolt displays connected to my Late-2013 Mac Pro).

Mac Pro, macOS 11.2

Posted on Mar 25, 2021 2:30 PM

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Answer 1

KMB_12

Community Specialist

Mar 26, 2021 5:35 PM in response to Gene Surber

Hi Gene Surber,

Thanks for posting your question using Apple Support Communities. We understand that thumbnails for media files aren't automatically loading on your Mac running macOS Big Sur.

To confirm, is your Mac updated to the latest version of macOS Big Sur? How to update the software on your Mac

If so, let's try accessing one of the files in a different user on your Mac to help isolate things a bit more.

Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac

If you're unable to reproduce the issue in a different user on your Mac. Let's test in the original user after removing start up items. See the "Add or remove automatic items" section of Open items automatically when you log in on Mac

We look forward to hearing the results.

Cheers!

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Answer 2

Joseph_S.

Community Specialist

Mar 31, 2021 6:59 AM in response to Gene Surber

Gene Surber,

If you're unable to see those thumbnails in a test user, let's see if those appear as expected in safe mode. How to use safe mode on your Mac

Also, have you installed all available updates for your Mac: How to update the software on your Mac

Let us know this helps.

Regards.

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Answer 3

Gene Surber Author

Level 2

305 points

Mar 30, 2021 11:14 PM in response to KMB_12

No, the thumbnails seem to stop loading at around 200 or so. If I put the movies into a different folder then they will begin to load and I can move them back and they are there only to disappear again shortly thereafter--such as with a computer restart.

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Movie Thumbnails Don't Load in Big Sur

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