SD card? MacBookAir

Question

SD card? MacBookAir

How do I use an SD card with this computer?

I am getting SO SICK of asking WHAT SOUNDS LIKE STUPID QUESTIONS all the time. Is there ANYTHING that works like someone woud expect on this laptop?

I stick SD cards into the slot - close Image Capture - in Finder it's listed - I can copy files off of it - but there is no way to put anythng on it. I always get a "no space available" mesage.

I put a brand new 2GB SD card into this slot and I cannot get ONE PICTURE onto it - no space available. ???

Why is EVERYTHING like this with these Apple Macs? I can't do ANYTHING without having to come to a support community and ask stupid questions.

I went to my Windows7 desktop - stuck it in - drag and dropped over 500 pictures on it. EASY. Took 15 seconds. Grandma could do that.

Now - my Apple - that costs 4 times as much - how do I achieve this on this machine - or can I ?

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Mar 24, 2012 6:40 AM

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Answer 1

Mar 24, 2012 6:45 AM in response to webDeveloperDave

FYI - after I put the SD cards into my Windows7 desktop and put at least one file on the card - I can then write to it from my MacBook Air - so if you're trying to figure out this same problem - use Windows when you first use the card.

FYI - these are Kodak 2GB pre-formatted cards

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Answer 2

AndyO

Level 6

17,064 points

Mar 24, 2012 9:42 AM in response to webDeveloperDave

I think perhaps the issue here could be that the SD cards are 'Kodal pre-formatted' because while most SD cards are fully Mac and PC compatible, it is possible to use a format, such as NTFS, which a Mac can read and not write to.

Try reformatting these cards to FAT32 (in Windows) or FAT (in MacOS). That should make them accessible to both systems.

I know that out of the box, all my Transcend branded SD cards work in both Mac and PC systems on my desk.

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Answer 3

Ferretbite

Level 4

1,586 points

Mar 24, 2012 12:55 PM in response to webDeveloperDave

There is nothing wrong with your computer. Your problem is called 'pre-formatted sd card'.

http://www.ehow.com/how_6758861_reformat-sd-card-mac.html

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Answer 4

AndyO

Level 6

17,064 points

Mar 24, 2012 1:03 PM in response to Ferretbite

The only issue with the instructions on that page is that it would result in an SD card that worked only on Macs, and would not be recognised on a Windows system or digital camera. Selecting FAT instead of MacOS Extended in step 4 of the instructions would resolve that.

Just so the OP, and other users of the community looking for similar solutions are left in no doubt!

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Answer 5

Ferretbite

Level 4

1,586 points

Mar 24, 2012 1:03 PM in response to AndyO

True, Nice catch!

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Answer 6

AndyO

Level 6

17,064 points

Mar 24, 2012 1:14 PM in response to Ferretbite

There's even a page on ehow.com that notes compatibility issues with pre-formated Kodak cards - they can be a problem for Windows users too!

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Answer 7

Mar 24, 2012 5:45 PM in response to AndyO

I have a theory about this - first I apologize for being rude i'm having a bad day - I think it's related to how I was trying to get the pictures onto the card. I went to my folder with 500+ pictures - about 300MB - did a cmnd-A to select all and then tried pasting that onto the flash card - that would put all of those pics into the root of the flash drive.

When I did my Windows thing I copied the folder itself - that created a folder on the flash drive containg all those pics.

If I drag and drop the folder onto the flash drive on my Mac it works just fine. But even now if I try to copy all of the pics into the root folder of the flash drive it does not work.

the problem it seems is the way these flash cards are formatted it does not allow much space for the root folder. The answer - my answer - is to create folders to contain all the content we wish to put on the flash cards.

Thanks for all the info.

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