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Finder reads iPod as External Hard Drive

hen I connect my iPod nano to my Mac, Finder reads it as an external hard drive and shows folders instead of the usual interface. For some reason I am the only one with this issue and if I connect it to another Mac it works. I have attached a screenshot, which shows that Finder gives me the actual contents of the iPod rather than the settings. Any fix to this? Thanks!

iPod Nano

Posted on Nov 26, 2022 5:11 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 27, 2022 4:55 PM

Hello LucasChan2010,


Thank you for reaching out to Apple Support Communities, and we'll be happy to help in any way we can. We understand you're having issues with your Mac reading your iPod correctly. Next, what we would recommend, is testing this issue in another user account. What we need to do, is log out of your current user. Log back in under another Standard or Administrator account and see if the same issue occurs there. This way we can tell if it is an issue with your user account, or if it is system wide: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac - Apple Support


"Add a user

  1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Users & Groups .
  2. If the lock at the bottom left is locked , click it to unlock the preference pane.
  3. Click the Add button  below the list of users.
  4. Click the New Account pop-up menu, then choose a type of user.
    • Administrator: An administrator can add and manage other users, install apps, and change settings. The new user you create when you first set up your Mac is an administrator. Your Mac can have multiple administrators. You can create new ones, and convert standard users to administrators. Don’t set up automatic login for an administrator. If you do, someone could simply restart your Mac and gain access with administrator privileges. To keep your Mac secure, don’t share administrator names and passwords.
    • Standard: Standard users are set up by an administrator. Standard users can install apps and change their own settings, but can’t add other users or change other users’ settings.
    • Sharing Only: Sharing-only users can access shared files remotely, but can’t log in to or change settings on the computer. To give the user permission to access your shared files or screen, you may need to change settings in the File Sharing, Screen Sharing, or Remote Management pane of Sharing preferences. See Set up file sharing and Share the screen of another Mac.
  1. For more information about the options for each type of user, click the Help button in the lower-left corner of the dialog.
  2. Enter a full name for the new user. An account name is generated automatically. To use a different account name, enter it now—you can’t change it later.
  3. Enter a password for the user, then enter it again to verify. Enter a password hint to help the user remember their password.
  4. Click Create User.
  5. Depending on the type of user you create, you can also do any of the following:
    • For an administrator, select “Allow user to administer this computer.”
    • For an administrator, select “Allow user to reset a password using Apple ID.”
    • Use Sharing preferences to specify whether the user can share your files and share your screen.

For information about Apple’s privacy policy, see the Apple Privacy Policy website.

If your Mac or Magic Keyboard has Touch ID, a new user can add a fingerprint after logging in to the Mac."


We hope this helps.


Cheers!


3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 27, 2022 4:55 PM in response to LucasChan2010

Hello LucasChan2010,


Thank you for reaching out to Apple Support Communities, and we'll be happy to help in any way we can. We understand you're having issues with your Mac reading your iPod correctly. Next, what we would recommend, is testing this issue in another user account. What we need to do, is log out of your current user. Log back in under another Standard or Administrator account and see if the same issue occurs there. This way we can tell if it is an issue with your user account, or if it is system wide: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac - Apple Support


"Add a user

  1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Users & Groups .
  2. If the lock at the bottom left is locked , click it to unlock the preference pane.
  3. Click the Add button  below the list of users.
  4. Click the New Account pop-up menu, then choose a type of user.
    • Administrator: An administrator can add and manage other users, install apps, and change settings. The new user you create when you first set up your Mac is an administrator. Your Mac can have multiple administrators. You can create new ones, and convert standard users to administrators. Don’t set up automatic login for an administrator. If you do, someone could simply restart your Mac and gain access with administrator privileges. To keep your Mac secure, don’t share administrator names and passwords.
    • Standard: Standard users are set up by an administrator. Standard users can install apps and change their own settings, but can’t add other users or change other users’ settings.
    • Sharing Only: Sharing-only users can access shared files remotely, but can’t log in to or change settings on the computer. To give the user permission to access your shared files or screen, you may need to change settings in the File Sharing, Screen Sharing, or Remote Management pane of Sharing preferences. See Set up file sharing and Share the screen of another Mac.
  1. For more information about the options for each type of user, click the Help button in the lower-left corner of the dialog.
  2. Enter a full name for the new user. An account name is generated automatically. To use a different account name, enter it now—you can’t change it later.
  3. Enter a password for the user, then enter it again to verify. Enter a password hint to help the user remember their password.
  4. Click Create User.
  5. Depending on the type of user you create, you can also do any of the following:
    • For an administrator, select “Allow user to administer this computer.”
    • For an administrator, select “Allow user to reset a password using Apple ID.”
    • Use Sharing preferences to specify whether the user can share your files and share your screen.

For information about Apple’s privacy policy, see the Apple Privacy Policy website.

If your Mac or Magic Keyboard has Touch ID, a new user can add a fingerprint after logging in to the Mac."


We hope this helps.


Cheers!


Nov 28, 2022 2:35 AM in response to K_Faith

Hi-

Thanks for your response. I tried out what you said and on another user account Finder reads the iPod, except that there is another 'iPod' external item in the sidebar which shows the contents of the iPod (basically there is one 'iPod' that is read properly by Finder and shows in the sidebar, and another 'iPod' shown as an external item that is also in the sidebar - there are two 'iPod' items). I don't know if this is a bug that needs to be fixed, but it looks as if it is only an issue with my user account. Are there any suggestions about what to do next, or should I just use another user account to access my iPod?


Thanks!

By the way, I have attached screenshots of Finder below

Finder reads iPod as External Hard Drive

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