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sundown1957

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 20, 2015
18
4
OK problem, I made a nice, 3d printed case to hold my mac mini. but have a real hard time putting the SD card in and out. So I bought an SD card reader extension. The problem is it only reads it when I plug the card into the extension, then plug the extension into the mac. If I leave the extension plugged in and just plug the card into the extension the mac doesn't read it. Do I have the wrong extension? or is there any way I can leave the extension plugged in and just the card without unplugging the extension each time? it makes the extension useless if I have to plug it into the mac each time. thanks
 
The "printed case" may look nice, but did you take adequate measures by which to maintain proper airflow through the Mini...?
 
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So I bought an SD card reader extension. The problem is it only reads it when I plug the card into the extension, then plug the extension into the mac. If I leave the extension plugged in and just plug the card into the extension the mac doesn't read it. Do I have the wrong extension?
Probably yes, I’m not sure what you mean by “extension”? you connect this to one of the UBC-ports I assume? Any SD-Card Reader I ever used will mount the card when inserted (if it is in a readable format of course), so this seems to be a particularity of your hardware.
 
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How much did you pay for the card reader, it sounds like when you eject the card it ejects the card reader, which is probably why you need to take it out and insert it again.

Was it a cheaper card reader?
 
Looks like it's not about whether the extension is cheap or not. There is a pin in SD card slots called "card detect" pin that detects the card when it's inserted. Not all SD card slots use the pin, though. But the one Apple uses may use it. So you may have to take it out and re-insert it again after every ejection.
 
Looks like it's not about whether the extension is cheap or not. There is a pin in SD card slots called "card detect" pin that detects the card when it's inserted. Not all SD card slots use the pin, though. But the one Apple uses may use it. So you may have to take it out and re-insert it again after every ejection.
Card detect looks like it’s an additional piece of hardware, a mechanical switch, so could potentially be dropped on cheaper devices as a cost saving measure.
 
Card detect looks like it’s an additional piece of hardware, a mechanical switch, so could potentially be dropped on cheaper devices as a cost saving measure.
The detect card pin resides in the slot. I mean the Mac mini's SD card slot.
 
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I think it boils down on how the OP connected the “extension” to the mini inside his 3D-printed casing. If it connects to by some card you insert inside the original card slot of course it will disappear when ejected. If it is connected via USB it should mount and dismount and behave just like any other peripheral.
 
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