Custom folder icon doesn’t display for SD card — shows as “generic .png” icon

findericonsd card

This is quite perplexing. I created a new folder icon to use with my SD cards. But on one of the SD cards, on one of my computers, it shows only as the "generic .png" icon.

Here's where it gets perplexing:

  • I set the icon by bringing my image up in preview, selecting all, hitting copy, then opening file info on the SD card, selecting the icon, and hitting paste.
  • I have two identical SD cards. Using the exact same .png file for both of them, one displays correctly, while the other shows the "generic .png" icon.
  • Reformatting the card did not help.
  • Inserting the card into a different Mac worked fine.

So: the icon fails to display on only one SD card on only one Macbook.

I'm guessing that the system has stored some metadata somewhere that causes it to "remember" that one SD card and decide not to display its icon.

Has anybody ever seen this before? Anybody know a fix?


Edit: I was forced to reboot my computer for other reasons, and the problem went away before I had a chance to try any of your suggestions.

Best Answer

I had this problem a while ago, honestly, I've forgotten the exact cause, but I do believe it's related to the icon cache.

Try renaming your drive, or clearing the icon cache.