Can't eject card reader!

Question

Can't eject card reader!

Greetings,

I have a compact flash card reader (USB 2) that i plugged into the USB slot on the front of my MacPro. I copied the wanted photos over to my hard drive, used the "eject" button from the Finder window to eject the card reader.... and it disappeared for a split-second only!

Then it reappeared and launched iPhoto to get me to drag the photos over again. So again i ejected the card reader (after closing iphoto) and almost instantly it reappears.... the never-ending cycle.

If i try to hurry up and remove the card reader after ejecting, i get an error message saying it must be ejected properly and i've probably damaged some files...

What am I doing wrong in this process?
Ideas??

Thanks,
Pedro

MacPro, Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Posted on Feb 7, 2007 5:02 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 12, 2007 7:46 AM in response to sheikyerbouti

Anyone seen anything fishy like this before?

Ideas most appreciated. Thanks!
Pedro

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Answer 2

Feb 12, 2007 10:05 AM in response to sheikyerbouti

Hi sheikyerbouti;

I have never seen anything quite like that before but as a possible suggestion you might try reformatting your card in the camera and trying it again. If the reformatted card can be ejected then use it to take some test photos and see what happens then. This is the best guess I can come with for right now.

Please keep us informed. I am pretty heavily into comfact flash myself so I am interested in your problem.

Allan

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Answer 3

Feb 15, 2007 3:41 PM in response to Allan Eckert

Hi Allan,

Yes, the same thing happens with a completely empty, formatted from the camera, CF card. And I tried several cards, all formatted, and it keeps happening. But with no images on the card, after I eject the card from Finder, the icon reappears on the desktop but it doesn't launch iPhoto since there are no photos present.

But I find it very strange, and more than a little disconcerting, that I have to hurriedly grab the card reader and remove it *right after* i've clicked the eject button and the icon disappears from my desktop. I only have a split-second or else I get the warning message that i may have corrupted the image files. No Bueno!

I'd love to hear any further suggestions on this matter! This machine is only about 3 months old, so how do i contact apple about this issue? (this is my first mac, so it's all new to me!)

Thanks,
Pedro

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Answer 4

Feb 15, 2007 5:06 PM in response to sheikyerbouti

Replace your card reader. My Belkin multi-card reader seems to work best with both PCs and Macs. If the reader does not adhere to the standards set for them, there usually are driver and card reader issues.

My card reader was all of 20 -40 dollars, don't remember. I have several others, firewire, USB..... that have caused problems on various systems. They sit on a shelf collecting dust. They are all name-brand readers, but that doesn't seem to matter, as far as how well they work with my systems. My brothers card reader kept us from adding a WD My Book 500 HD to his PC laptop because the driver for the reader wouldn't release the drive letters etc. ( lame explanation I know ), in order for the WD drivers to be installed correctly. Borrow one from a friend if you can and see if theirs works on your system. If I remember correctly, they sell Belkins at the Apple store.

Michael

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Answer 5

Jeyell

Level 2

260 points

Feb 15, 2007 5:08 PM in response to sheikyerbouti

I had a very similar issue with a suppossedly mac compatable portable card reader for my C/F cards. If i did not immediately remove the card after ejecting it, OSX would remount the card. This led to arms and fingers flailing about when i wanted to remove my card. I had to ditch the reader because it developed a bent pin from i guess sloppy design or manufacture. I later got a Sandisk extreme FW reader and have never had the problem since.

So it may be the reader you are using that somehow wont eject and stay ejected. Beg/borrow/steal a different make of reader and see how that works.

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Answer 6

Feb 15, 2007 5:36 PM in response to Jeyell

Okay, I'll borrow my friend's reader and see what happens. I know his works on both his MacBookPro and his PC....

Thanks for the suggestions!

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