Thumbnail Views in Folders- Some Are Blank

I don't know how to extend my wonderment of Apple's operating system designs without the projection of a frustrated computer operator. At first, my Mac Studio worked beautifully- the speed and the interface were like a breath of fresh air! But as a Mac user for decades, I come to experience a trend for weird quirks that grows and infects the performance of each desktop computer. Each day, a new surprise. It's like a kid who pretends they are ill to gain attention from a doting mother. Today, it's the "Thumbnails!" Now, after launching Sequoia 15.1, some of the thumbnails are blank. I need to use the images to sort hundreds of thumbnail images, etc. I sometimes switch between Bridge, but Adobe interfaces are as strange in their own way. I often wonder if these quirks satisfy the software cartel's sense of practical joke humor- marketing experiments conjuring up our needs and frustrations- beckoning for their healing.

Further weirdness, I must click twice to open folders, apps, access tools, etc. I even bought a new "smart" mouse-? Also, why do the folder windows not hold default preferences on criteria, and somehow, the new window layout changes the way the order of files may be set? What about the folder window opening, covering the screen, and hiding the work folder- a real laugh! Anyway, I hope to get a solution for these blank thumbnails without spending the day re-installing the operating system and then researching and fixing functions. Below is an image example of a window with random blank thumbnails:



Mac Studio, macOS 15.1

Posted on Nov 18, 2024 6:03 AM

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Posted on Jan 28, 2025 5:41 AM

Well, it's January 28, 2025, and the thumbnail blanks are still showing up in the folder- Sequoia updates and all. It's such a drag. Have to use Bridge to see thumbnails.


What's funny is when hitting the space bar for a quick view, the image is shown.


Anybody with a solution here? Doesn't seem like Apple cares. I wonder if it has something to do with messing with file indexing to prep for Artificial Intelligence- AI.

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Jan 28, 2025 5:41 AM in response to rgbnite

Well, it's January 28, 2025, and the thumbnail blanks are still showing up in the folder- Sequoia updates and all. It's such a drag. Have to use Bridge to see thumbnails.


What's funny is when hitting the space bar for a quick view, the image is shown.


Anybody with a solution here? Doesn't seem like Apple cares. I wonder if it has something to do with messing with file indexing to prep for Artificial Intelligence- AI.

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Feb 23, 2025 8:34 AM in response to rgbnite

I have noticed that jpegs from my wife's iPhone 14 Pro have this blank thumbnail problem when I airdrop them to my MacBook Pro M4, but the jpegs from my iPhone 15 Pro do not have the problem. One "fix" I found was to airdrop the photos from her iPhone to mine, and then to the MacBook. Another "fix" is to do a "Process Multiple Files" from my photoshop.


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Nov 19, 2024 6:57 PM in response to BDAqua

Hello BD, Thank you for your reply. I tried your way and Command R several times, and there are still random blank thumbnails. With your method, I got to the point of "Shift Key> Continue," and there was no start-up in Safe Mode. Instead, there were four options- re-install OS, etc. I just upgraded and don't want to deal with the trouble issues I just went through with Sequoia again. I also used utility> First Aid on all volumes.


Do I really have to re-install Sequoia? Why is this happening? Mac Studio is: Apple M2 Max


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Nov 20, 2024 9:58 AM in response to BDAqua

BD- I did that. I Said I ran First Aid on all discs from Comm R. I also explored the Options thing. Now, I just came back in after 3 hours and found the screen and computer not sleeping after I set in preferences-? When I have some time, I will re-install Sequoia 15. whatever.


If it doesn't work, I'm going to call support, even though that's what started this mess.

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Nov 18, 2024 6:22 AM in response to rgbnite

Start with this if M1, M2, or M3 Mac...


On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > Shut Down.

Wait for your Mac to shut down completely. A Mac is completely shut down when the screen is black and any lights (including in the Touch Bar) are off.

Press and hold the power button on your Mac until “Loading startup options” appears.

Select a volume.

Press and hold the Shift key, then click Continue in Safe Mode.

The computer restarts automatically. When the login window appears, you should see “Safe Boot” in the menu bar.

Does the problem occur in Safe Mode? 


Restart normally.

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Nov 19, 2024 8:04 PM in response to rgbnite

Well, we didn't get to safe mode, so trythis at least...


Boot into Restore mode,CMD+r keys...


Look at top of screen for Utilities menu...

In Disk Utility>View, select Show all Devices, highlight the top left entry.


Run Disk First Aid on all items in the left panel, from top down.

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Dec 9, 2024 12:40 PM in response to BDAqua

Hello- I upgraded to 15.1.1 and started up in restore mode, and still, countless times, random thumbnails are blank- whether in Icon or List. I have to resort to Adobe Bridge. Please! What do I have to do? I will call Apple, but the last time, it started all these problems with the upgrading suggestions.

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Thumbnail Views in Folders- Some Are Blank

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