Thank you for the reply; however, my situation was different. My iPhone connected to the laptop, reads the drive and capacity of the iPhone but didn't allow access to the DCIM (photos).
Here's what I found out and able to access the DCIM folder. I used the iTunes app to get my phone forced to be recognized by the laptop, then access the photo file. It is crazy but that's how I got it to work.
I believe it must be an error between two phones. Since I had used my other iPhone 11 to download pictures, it wouldn't allow me to connect the iPhone Pro-Max 12. So far so good, until another mess happens. It could also be a problem with McAfee. It is known for years with problems.