Micro SD card reader problems on Mac

[MacBiter]

Working with video files on a micro SD card, I suddenly got "You should eject Xxxxxx properly [etc etc]". As the card reader was in a hub, and as devices quite often get ejected 'improperly' from it I wasn't too concerned. However, after removing and reinserting the reader the SD card did not reappear. So I tried the following, none of which had any effect:

1. used a different port in the hub
2. tried both a different card and a different reader
3. tried in a USB port on the Mac, not the hub
4. rebooted, then Shut down and booted from cold

In a last act of desperation, I suddenly remembered that the Micro SD came with an adapter to turn it into a normal size SD, then used that in the SD card slot on the Mac. Bingo! That worked.

So this is the weird situation : why won't the Mac recognise the micro SD card reader(s) anymore? Like I say, I tried two.

 

[vansmith]

My first thought is that the card itself may be flaky or on its way out. SD cards are a rather unreliable medium and since it seems to have worked in one spot and not the others would suggest, to me, that the card may have worked but only as a coincidence, less because there is something special about the adapter.

At the very least, I'd suggest backing up that card for now. If you have another card around, it might be worth also checking to see if you run into the same problem (that is, the card only working with the adapter). If the same problem occurs here, we've got a different problem but if a seperate card works fine with the adapter and the hub, then I think we can narrow this down to the card.

 

[MacBiter]

My first thought is that the card itself may be flaky or on its way out. SD cards are a rather unreliable medium and since it seems to have worked in one spot and not the others would suggest, to me, that the card may have worked but only as a coincidence, less because there is something special about the adapter.

At the very least, I'd suggest backing up that card for now. If you have another card around, it might be worth also checking to see if you run into the same problem (that is, the card only working with the adapter). If the same problem occurs here, we've got a different problem but if a seperate card works fine with the adapter and the hub, then I think we can narrow this down to the card.

I did try another known good card in the reader (point 2 above), which also wasn't seen.

However, please don't think there is anything sophisticated about the reader - it's a cheap bit of plastic with a slot for the micro SD and a USB-A connection; it looks much like a cheap thumb drive. Whereas the adapter is a simpler thing - essentially an SD card with a slot for the micro SD.

I have backed up the card, but I do think the reader is the problem; maybe that's all it is?.

 

[Jimmysb]

You are calling this a "reader", is it an adaptor for theMicro SD card, or does this device actually read the card.

 

[MacBiter]

You are calling this a "reader", is it an adaptor for theMicro SD card, or does this device actually read the card.

The problem device is actually a reader - you slot your mSD in at one end and the results are passed through to the USB.

The adapter is simply something that looks like an SD card with its standard connectors - however, inside, each connector is directly connected to a mSD connector, which then marries directly to the connectors on the mSD card. Effectively all it does is convert the mSD to standard SD form, so you could insert it in the SD reader slot on a Mac.