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Cannot Find Files on SD Card on Mac

Tim3459575

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Hi,

I'm using a 128 gb sd card in my Mavic 3 and got error messages while flying today that it was "almost full and would stop recording soon". When I hooked it up to my Mac, the file properties showed that in fact it was almost completely full with 127 gb of data. However, when I opened it in Finder, it showed the usual two directories, DCIM and MISC, but these two combined only have 10gb and I can see that my images, mostly RAW photos, are not there. I looks like the file data is there but it cannot be seen by the Finder app. Any suggestions on how to recover these files would be appreciated.

thank you
Tim
 
Ouch, sounds like you might be dealing with a fake microSD card. Did you check it prior to first use?
 
I used this card for years and it's always been okay. But now I've found that my internal storage is full as well and it looks like most of my photos were saved there. Does it default to internal if it thinks external is full ? Not sure how to check my card online but is Sandisk.
 
I reformatted the card, but it still shows that it has 127 gb of data on it ????

Also, copied all the files from the internal storage then deleted them from internal (Drone). However, drone still shows that it's internal storage is full ???
 
actually, Kilrah had the correct answer above. I was deleting the files without knowing that Mac was keeping copies on the card in a hidden folder. I replaced the card and the same thing happened. With a Mac, you need to empty the trash with the card plugged in. Otherwise your card will become completely full when it appears to have no files. New to Mac so I was unaware of this.
 
Sorry I thought when you said "reformatted the card...." you meant "reformatted the card [using the drone]."

BTW, I also use a Mac and I try not to do anything on it other than Copy (from the sd card). There's no guarantee anything else you do will work with your drone. I try to let the drone do the proper work.
 
That oddness with the need to have the SD card in the reader when emptying the trash bit me as well. You won’t ever forget it going forward.
 
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actually, Kilrah had the correct answer above. I was deleting the files without knowing that Mac was keeping copies on the card in a hidden folder. I replaced the card and the same thing happened. With a Mac, you need to empty the trash with the card plugged in. Otherwise your card will become completely full when it appears to have no files. New to Mac so I was unaware of this.
Useful to know. Thanks.
 
It is possible that an invisible file or folder is taking up the storage. The Mac file system will hide any file / folder that has a filename that starts with a period "." So for example, the Trash on a drive has a filename ".Trash" which is normally not visible in the finder.

You can display 'invisible' files and folders by opening up the drive (or any folder) in the Finder window and then simultaneously hitting the keys "CMD" + "SHIFT" + "." This will show any invisible files / folders. You can see if something is taking up space on the SD card but is otherwise not visible.

To hide these files / folders again, just hit the same keyboard combination: "CMD" + "SHIFT" + "." Each time this key combination is used it will hide / show files / folders that start with a '.' in the filename.
 
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It is possible that an invisible file or folder is taking up the storage. The Mac file system will hide any file / folder that has a filename that starts with a period "." So for example, the Trash on a drive has a filename ".Trash" which is normally not visible in the finder.

You can display 'invisible' files and folders by opening up the drive (or any folder) in the Finder window and then simultaneously hitting the keys "CMD" + "SHIFT" + "." This will show any invisible files / folders. You can see if something is taking up space on the SD card but is otherwise not visible.

To hide these files / folders again, just hit the same keyboard combination: "CMD" + "SHIFT" + "." Each time this key combination is used it will hide / show files / folders that start with a '.' in the filename.
I tried this out on my Mavic 3 SD card and couldn't get it to work. Googled it and concur with above methodology but not on my machine which is a brand new Mac running Mac OS Ventura. It shows a few hidden folders when I use those commands but there's nothing in them. If I use "quick look" is shows that 10gb has been used by files but they are nowhere to be found. I can get rid of that data by emptying the trash can with the chip plugged in but it seems like you should be able to see your hidden files.
 
It's the method I use and I certainly don't try to tell anyone how to do it but the best way to remove files from a card/drive is to use the Format function in the drone. No one should be trying to access hidden folders or moving items to trash. On the Mac until recently, it didn't even used to say "Delete" so it's MacOS not Windows. Again, I know people have their own methods but trying to clear off the files to make space for new files in/from a different devices is best accomplished using Format. Anything else is not reliable.

 
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