MacPro Confusing Problem...

[Angelo]

I'm wondering if someone can help me on this.

I just sold my older MacPro Intel based on Leopard OS to a friend in California and he seems to be having problems trying to use his card reader.

To help get him started I erased everything off the Mac Pro and reconfigured everything (as new). He installed all the programs he'll be using, primarily Aperture3 and Photoshop CS5

He had NO problem uploaded some photos into Aperture3 from a thumb drive using the USB port, BUT,

when he tried to upload photos through his card reader the MacPro does not recognize the card reader using the same USB port.

We figured the problem was a bad card reader, so he tested it on his PC and it recognized the card reader and uploaded all the photos.

Also, the card reader's green light turns on when attached to the MacPro, as if it is working and connected but it does not register in Finder or desktop to indicate that the card reader is installed.

He even tried to upload directly from his Canon 7D and it also did NOT recognize the camera either.

Why would the MacPro recognize the thumb drive on the same USB port and not the card reader or the camera?

I thought someone here may be familiar with the Macs and able to help get this guy going on his new computer (My old MacPro Intel based).

[Rson]

1: All because the green light is on doesn't mean it can talk to the mac...just a power light
2: Have him buy one that is made for macs and see if that fixes the issue

[rbalcom]

Make sure that the reader is plugged directly into one of the USB ports on the back of the Mac Pro. USB issues in Snow Leopard and Lion are fairly common. Even the ports on the front of it do not seem to work as good as the ones on the back, and hubs seem to make the issues much worse. Hope that helps.

[Angelo]

Thanks Rich,
I will mention that to him.
But not recognizing his Canon 7D ?

Hi Dick,
the reader is connected to the MacPro via wire (5 ft., approx)
and not through a hub.
We also tried the USB on the back of the unit - still nothing.
But it's worth another try.

[Rson]

Originally Posted by Angelo

Thanks Rich,
I will mention that to him.
But not recognizing his Canon 7D ?

Hi Dick,
the reader is connected to the MacPro via wire (5 ft., approx)
and not through a hub.
We also tried the USB on the back of the unit - still nothing.
But it's worth another try.

try a shorter usb cable and a self powered unit.

on the 7d make sure the usb protocall is set to (i think) mass storage is the one you want.

[rbalcom]

If he is going to get a different card reader, have him get a Firewire one. It works great on my Mac Pro, both with Snow Leopard and Lion.

[Angelo]

Dick, you read my mind.
From what I understandFirewire800s are hard to find. But I have one that I'm not using and I will be sending to him this morning. I'm hoping that solves the problem.
I asked the question to the Apple Support Communities and got this answer back:
"Try power down and doing an smc reset:

Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) "

I think he's going to find someone to do it for him.
Such a simple thing has turned into a nightmare.

[Darron Spohn]

This could be a software problem. Have him run Disk Utility and rebuild the directories. If that does not work he'll need a more robust repair utility. My MacBook Pro's DVD drive quit working last week. Disk Utility could not fix it, but Disk Warrior did. Repairing drives using Disk Warrior requires booting off a backup drive.

[Angelo]

Darron, thanks for the suggestion.
The Firewire reader did work so he's real happy.
I recommended that he fix the USB reader issue and passed on your instructions.
Thanks again.
Angelo

[lfmerrell]

With the card reader plugged in and thr card to be read inserted does Disk Utility see the card? I had some trouble like that a while back and restarting with the card inserted would occasionally allow them cards to read. Why I do not know

[Angelo]

Lewis, the green light on the card reader goes on when plugged into the computer but when the CF card is inserted Aperture does not read it. Also Disk Utility does not recognize the card reader, as if it was not inserted. I have not spoken to him since my last recommendation (#9). I'm sure he will since there's a tech that checked it out for him.

[lfmerrell]

Originally Posted by Angelo

Lewis, the green light on the card reader goes on when plugged into the computer but when the CF card is inserted Aperture does not read it. Also Disk Utility does not recognize the card reader, as if it was not inserted. I have not spoken to him since my last recommendation (#9). I'm sure he will since there's a tech that checked it out for him.

Did he restart the computer with the card inserted into the reader?

I've had luck on that on occasion.

Other than that or trying a different card reader try opening it on a windows machine. If it opens there load the photos on a different card or thumb drive.

[Concisus Cognatus]

Both issues you've mentioned are known issues and are discussed extensively on the MAC support forums. You will most likely find a workable solution there. Good luck.

[Angelo]

Originally Posted by lfmerrell

Did he restart the computer with the card inserted into the reader?

I've had luck on that on occasion.

Other than that or trying a different card reader try opening it on a windows machine. If it opens there load the photos on a different card or thumb drive.

No, we first plugged in the reader then inserted the card. I've had problems doing that way before so I've learned to attach the reader to the computer first then insert the card to the reader.
We did try the reader on a PC and it worked fine. That's why we knew that the reader was not the problem.
A thumb drive works well using the same USB port.
I emailed the tech and directed him to this thread. He told me that he was going to use Disk Warrior.

[lfmerrell]

He told me that he was going to use Disk Warrior.[/QUOTE]


Beware of installing Disk Warrior on your machine and if necessary run it from an external drive. Some versions capture your machine and the disk will not eject. If on your hard drive do not set it as the boot disk. The evilness is not on all machines or OS variants. I had to get my desktop back by fishing the disk warrior disk out with a dental probe.