Finder doesn't show image thumbnails from a USB

By the way, updating helped. I couldn't do that through the System Settings for some reason I don't (yet) know about. So, I used the Terminal to download the update, and for System Settings to upgrade the system. Now, I can see the image thumbnails from USB sticks formatted with FAT, exFAT and APFS. I'll be slowly learning the Terminal commands the Apple way in the future. If anyone can point me to any links on Apple terminal commands, I'd appreciate that very much.

P. Phillips wrote:

Fo how long that the External Drive been attached to this computer ?

Just for a few minutes.

P. Phillips wrote:

How as the user ( you ) determined if Spotlight has finished Indexing that drive ?

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support (CA)

I just did this, thank you. Now it shows thumbnails of 2 images. Is this because the USB stick is formatted with FAT32? Do I have to remove the USB stick from the Siri & Spotlight indexing later?

I've left that USB stick connected for now, and it is getting hot, by the way.

P. Phillips wrote:

Then have a few suggestions ;

1 - Get Support Choose a product and we’ll find you the best solution.Start now and open an Apple Support Ticket as they are Apple Employees to deal will these types of issues . 

2 - Product Feedback - Apple and make it known to Apple regarding this ongoing issue 

I've already sent the feedback with details at the very beginning. Thanks anyway.

Well, it didn't help much. At the moment, the macOS is not showing any image thumbnails.

IO copied everything in that USB stick to a folder in the MBP and formatted it with exFat and copied everything back to it. (This USB stick has to be used also in Android and Windows devices, so can't format it to APFS. The contents need to be read there.)

All images copied into the folder in the internal SSD showed thumbnails, but once they were transferred back to the USB stick, now with exFat, didn't show thumbnails. I have tried few more USB sticks formatted with FAT and exFAT with the same result. I even formatted one USB stick to APFS to check, still it didn't show thumbnails of images.

P. Phillips wrote:

Moving files between an Android device and a MS Windows device and then an Apple computer all on the same external drive.

This is going to be a challenge at Best to find a single Drive Format that is going to work on all devices.

That solution is, sorry to say is not something I envy you to find

Well, it is not the matter of one USB stick. I have tried many, and I have even formatted one USB stick to the Apple standard. There are no thumbnails of images from that too. I also looked at most of the past questions on that matter in this forum, and tried practically every suggestion, except reinstalling the OS. I'd wait for that after October.

This matter of not showing thumbnails from a USB stick appears to be an on-going problem with macOS. Questions asked as far as 2009, and every year a few times.

P. Phillips wrote:

chdsl wrote:

P. Phillips wrote:

Then have a few suggestions ;

1 - Get Support Choose a product and we’ll find you the best solution.Start now and open an Apple Support Ticket as they are Apple Employees to deal will these types of issues . 

Have you opened a Service Ticket with Apple support ?

What do they have to say on this computer issue ?

All they say, is to upgrade to Ventura. And, that's an automatic answer. :)

This is not a computer issue, but an operating system issue. It appears that this had been happening with the Finder all the time. It is strange that Phiewer lite, which uses Finder to go to the folder in the USB stick sees the images, while the Finder doesn't see them as thumbnails. Preview, Quickview sees the images and they are using the Finder.

P. Phillips wrote:

So I am somewhat perplexed why the Apple Support Personal would suggest " All they say, is to upgrade to Ventura. And, that's an automatic answer. :) "

It is just an automatic answer/reply. There's no way to ask a question on Finder, but there's an option on MacOS. When I click on that, that's what I get. Apple knows the MBP and the OS on it. The reply/suggestion is automatic/AI/whatnot.

I am not the only one who had/has this problem. There are dozens of requests here in this Forum/Community. Some never even got an answer. It is not the end of the world, not seeing the image thumbnails on a USB stick, only just annoying. I have a lot of space in the internal SSD, so I'll just copy the whole folder (with images) in.

There is no use reinstalling the OS, when the next is round the corner. Thank you very much for the participation!