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sd card not visible in finder

N

nixoblivion

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 20, 2008
25
0
Hi.

Recently i can't see my SD card in my cardslot of my macbook air anymore.

I can find it in the Disk Utility. I have also found it when i search for folders on my SD card. But when i go back in the finder i see that the SD card is "hidden", greyed out. How can i unhide it again?

It doesnt show on the sidebar of the finder either, even if i drag and drop the SD card onto it again (since it is hidden i guess)
 
I'm not sure there's enough information here, but in previous versions of Mac OS a visible but grayed out disk volume had been ejected improperly. A couple of suggestions:
- For device for which you use this SD card - can it still read and write to it?
- You said you can search for, and find folders on the card. Can the Mac read and right to these?
- Is the issue that the card is not showing in the left nave of a finder window, under Devices? Even when you click the (hidden) Show button?
- Is there data on the card?
- Is it possible for you to reformat the card?
- Is the card formatted such that Mac OS knows what to do with it (such as HTFS, or ExFAT, or FAT)?
 
Hi Kohlson,
Thanks for your answer. I tried to give all the info i have, but its not always easy to know what is important :)

I am using the Card reader built in my mac book air.
This card has always been in this slot, only recently, a few days ago, it did not show up in the finder anymore.

I can search for folders and then find the SD Card. I can read (i haven't tried writing but im sure its possible) from the card. I have my whole itunes library on it. If i open Itunes i can play the music like always...

But when i check the SD Card in the finder, it is greyed out (so it is somehow hidden). This is why it does not show up in the Side Bar under "Devices". The only thing i need to do is unhide the Card, but i don't know how :D
 
So, not a card that you use with a camera? Or an audio recorder? Do you have access to another device that can read it?
 
no i don't.
but how would that help? The sd card is not damaged, as i can access it with. I just cant "see" it. it seems to be hidden for some reason.
 
I suspect some underlying file structure are corrupted. This can happen if you remove the SD card before it's ready. Note that even though you can click the eject icon, it can take a few seconds for the disk to "clean up" before it can be removed. If you can copy the files to a local disk, then I recommend doing that and reformatting the SD card. Then, copy the files back.
 
ok thats an interesting thought.

well the problem is, im not at home and wont be for a few weeks, so i have no external drive to backup.
There must be some other way of fixing the sd card, so it is visible again... i mean i can find it, it is visible in disk utility.
 
In my experience, Mac SD card readers seem to be on the flaky side.
Sometimes, they'll read a card as expected.
Other times... no.

Spend $15 and get a USB card reader.
I predict things will go much better.
 
Hi.

Thanks for the info. But i use an SD card that fits perfectly into the macbook, with no edges outside. This is great as an external drive!

So i did reformat the SD card now and its visible like it should be. Weird that i had to do this, im sure there could have been another way.

But i guess this thread is now finished :)
 
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