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All jpeg images no longer show a preview.

I have different folders all containing images saved as jpegs. None of them show a preview anymore.

At first I thought it was only happening when I took a screenshot since the jpg had a generic white image. When I use quickview it shows the generic image.


If I change the screenshot setting to PDF, PNG, or TIFF then I can see the preview. When I go back to the JPEG setting the screenshot is again generic. I rechecked the View Options. Did a Safe Boot, still had the geberic problem. I also tried using OnyX. My OS is 10.14.

This is the look.


When I inserted the screenshot jpg to this discusion, the jpg image was no longer generic.

Mac Pro

Posted on Aug 28, 2021 6:57 AM

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Posted on Aug 31, 2021 5:59 AM

BDAqua,

Well I tried the terminal using one window. My inexperience with this app showed up. It told me to try again. So I decided to put each command in a seperate window. When I returned after leaving it on overnight, I closed the windows & quit the Terminal. Then I held my breath & took a screenshot. I was able to see a preview! I opened a folder with jpg's, all were visible!


Thank you again, you're the best!

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14 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 31, 2021 5:59 AM in response to BDAqua

BDAqua,

Well I tried the terminal using one window. My inexperience with this app showed up. It told me to try again. So I decided to put each command in a seperate window. When I returned after leaving it on overnight, I closed the windows & quit the Terminal. Then I held my breath & took a screenshot. I was able to see a preview! I opened a folder with jpg's, all were visible!


Thank you again, you're the best!

Aug 28, 2021 10:28 AM in response to macuser301

How to rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac

If searching your Mac doesn’t return expected results, rebuilding the Spotlight index might help.


  1. Choose Apple menu () > System Preferences, then click Spotlight.
  2. Click the Privacy tab.
  3. Drag the folder or disk that you want to index again to the list of locations that Spotlight is prevented from searching. Or click the Add (+) button and select the folder or disk to add.
  4. To add an item to the Privacy tab, you must have ownership permissions for that item. To learn about permissions, choose Help from the Finder menu bar, then search for “permissions.”
  5. From the same list of locations, select the folder or disk that you just added. Then click the Remove (–) button to remove it from the list.
  6. Quit System Preferences. Spotlight will reindex the contents of the folder or disk.

Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at startup), does the problem occur in Safe Mode? Could take 10 minutes.


Safe mode attempts to repair Disks & clears lots of caches & loads safe Drivers, & prevents loading of 3rd party extensions, so if Safe Mode works try again in regular boot.


Manually Rebuilding Spotlight via Terminal

If the aforementioned Spotlight control panel approach doesn’t spur a reindexation of the drive, you may need to initiate it manually through the command line. Open Terminal and use the following command string to do so:


sudo mdutil -E /

This basically asks for temporary super user status, which is why Terminal may ask you for your password (it may not if you’ve used a sudo command recently or are already logged in as a super user or root. The command asks the unix tool mdutil to reindex the spotlight database for everything on the computer, including external drives, mounted disk images, etc. To re-index only for a specific drive, use the /Volumes path. For example, for an external drive named “MiniMe,” the command would look like this:


sudo mdutil -i on /


Rebuilding a drive index can take a long time, so be prepared to wait whether you do it through the System Preference panel or the command line.


If still need be…


Open Terminal and run each of these one at a time


/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user


sudo /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -kill -seed -lint -r -f -v -dump -domain local -domain system -domain user -domain network


killall Dock


sudo mdutil -E /


sudo mdutil -i on /


Rebuilding a drive index can take a long time, so be prepared to wait whether you do it through the System Preference panel or the command line.

Aug 30, 2021 10:43 AM in response to BDAqua

I've got nothing to loose, so I'm going to try what you wrote below. Do I run these in 4 separate windows or do I use one window & add them one at a time?


If still need be…

Open Terminal and run each of these one at a time

/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user


sudo /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -kill -seed -lint -r -f -v -dump -domain local -domain system -domain user -domain network


killall Dock


sudo mdutil -E /

All jpeg images no longer show a preview.

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