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MacBook Pro won't read Sandisk SDHC cards since Lion 10.7.1 update

Hi all, just wondering if anyone else has had this problem. I know there are dozens of posts about SD cards not working with MacBook pros, but mine seems to have started when I installed the latest Lion update.


I have a high-end 13" early 2011 MBP and the cards I'm having trouble with are all Sandisk 4GB SDHC. Two are 'Extreme III's" and one is an Extreme II. The card reader is showing up in System Profiler, and a really old 2GB Sandisk card gets read fine, so there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the MBP hardware.


Similarly, I can read the cards fine via a USB adapter, so it's not the cards that are causing the problem.


I had successfully imported photos from the cards before upgrading to Lion, and also before installing the 10.7.1 update. So, it looks like the problem may be linked with the update, but this is purely an educated guess.


I've tried resetting the SMC to no avail.


Has anyone else experienced something like this?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7), 13" 2011

Posted on Aug 20, 2011 4:46 AM

Reply
127 replies

Feb 25, 2013 6:22 AM in response to Tim 1

**** this totally worked!


Had problems reading SD cards after a Mountain Lion update. XQuartz no longer comes with new Macbooks only X11.


See this support page from Apple on where you can download XQuartz.


http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5293?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US


You can download Xquartz directly from here:


http://xquartz.macosforge.org/landing/


This should be the most up to date version.


Simply re-insert your SD card and voila!


Thank to the original poster!

Mar 15, 2013 8:03 AM in response to aledco

If anyone is having problems with an SD card reader, or any connector for that matter, a touch of WD40 on the connector first then inserted in an out of the mac a couple of time should revive any connections. Unless brutal force was used to chew out the connector typically it is just contact dirt that interferes with the voltages, similar to crackle on a dirty volume dial. Additionally on new unibody macbook it seems to me that the backplate helps to ground some of the connectors or at least pushes on a series of small buttons lined along the connectors. Its worth making sure its on tightly near to the connectors else one thing might start talking to another or simply become mute and not talk at all. Hope this helps 🙂 Its revived many connectors of mine countless times

Mar 15, 2013 7:21 PM in response to aledco

My MacBook was mounting my Sandisk 4GB fine until today. I installed Mac’s update 10.8.3, now it won’t mount the disk. I’ve done the obvious, confirming the finder preference to show the disk, and downloading and installing XQuartz-2.7.4. I’m not into applying WD-40 to the USB connector. The card reader was new last week. When I install the card reader the LED flashes once, briefly, an indication the MacBook knows it’s there I guess, but it remains dark and the disk never mounts. What should I do?

Mar 28, 2013 7:58 PM in response to aledco

Here's an interesting twist. We bought both a Macbook Pro and a Mac mini in December 2013. My mini reads the SDHC card just fine, but the Macbook Pro won't. Here's the difference: We upgraded the OS on the Macbook to 10.8.3. The mini is still at 10.8.2. Obviously, a problem in the update. Apple better fix this soon. You can bet I'm not upgrading the mini until this fixed.

MacBook Pro won't read Sandisk SDHC cards since Lion 10.7.1 update

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