Memory Card Reader Unexpectedly Ejects the Media

Your Memory Card Reader unexpectedly ejects the media after 10 minutes of inactivity

Potential causes

The firmware on your card reader may be identifying the reader to Mac OS X has a hard drive. When Mac OS X power management attempts to put this "hard drive" to sleep, this may result in the card reader ejecting any mounted media.

Solution

  1. Open the System Preferences > Energy Saver > Sleep tab.
  2. If the Put the hard drive to sleep when possible option is selected, then deselect this option.

This should prevent the card reader from ejecting the memory card for up to three hours of inactivity.

Related links

Did you find this FAQ helpful? You will find a wealth of additional advice for preventing or resolving Mac OS X problems in Dr. Smoke's book, Troubleshooting Mac® OS X.
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