Just so you should know

No one seems to believe me, but this is the error message I see about every fifth time I insert a CF card. You wonder why I am less than enamored with the Mac OS?

Comments

[Dan]

Some USB readers can be problematic with OS X. I had issues with a Sandisk CF reader and then a Lexar CF reader when I switched. The "Sandisk Extreme USB 2.0" I got works flawlessly as does any FireWire reader (I have the older Lexar model).

Another thing to consider is if you are using a USB hub. If it's an un-powered hub you can also run into issues with anything plugged into it.

[Chuq]

That's not likely an OS X problem. That's either a card problem, or a card reader problem. Dan's suggestions are good ones.

For compactflash, I finally upgrade to a good, high quality Lexar reader. Makes life much nicer -- and it's much faster, especially with faster cards (and I just bought two new 300x Lexar 4 gig cards for about $50 apiece when one of my 2 gig cards errored out).

I also -- given the cost of cards these days -- toss any card that shows a read error, and reformat them on a regular basis to make sure they're clean and pristine.

that's still a lot cheaper than (a) the equivalent amount of film and processing, or (b) losing the photos. The card that failed had a number of really high quality shots of an American Kestrel I ran into while chasing burrowing owls. grump.

[Maurizio]

I use macs since 1985 (really) and I'm a professional photographer. Believe me, I've NEVER seen that message. There has to be something defective in your setup. I know it's hard to believe, but believe me. I agree that most chances lie in the usb hub or in the card reader. I nowadays use the reader integrated in my 24" Dell monitor and I've never had any even minor problem with it.

[Pascal]

I agree that it is either a hub or a reader problem - not OSX. I have seen this message - and it turned out to be the USB hub that I was using.

[Doug Plummer]

The offending reader is my Delkin ExpressCard Slot reader. This seems to happen if the card is not fully seated in the reader, which is hard to do given the design of the thing. I've ordered a Lexar Firewire and have resigned myself to having to haul around something with a cord, instead of something integral that lives in a slot.

[Greg]

Have had the same problem with a Sandisk reader (on a Dell PC and Mac Book Pro) in which the CF card never easly seated in the reader, you could actually insert the CF card at an angle which made no electrical contact. Switched to a Lexar Firewire reader and a Lexar USB 2.0 reader and have had no problems since. The card positively seats in each of these Lexar readers.