XP unable to detect flash card in flash card reader

[Kristi]

I have Canon PowerShot S400 camera and SanDisk ImageMate Reader. I have Windows XP and Canon Zoom Browser EX program installed. Both the Zoom and the XP Scanner and Camera Wizard do not detect the compact flash memory card in the SanDisk flash reader. I can download the digital images from the Canon camera to both the Zoom and XP Camera Wizard but I want to use the compact flash card reader so that I don't have to use the battery in the camera.

When I click the Removal Disk drive (for the SanDisk reader), the "Insert Disk. Please insert a disk into drive F" appears even through I have the flash card in the Reader.

Do I have a defective compact flash reader?

By the way, I a new to this Forum and I purchased the Canon PowerShot S400 camera two weeks ago and am learning about the digital camera before I go on vacation.

Kristi

[CyberDyneSystems]

Hmmm... one thing you may try,. with the card in the reader,. unplug the card reader (in fact better yet,. turn off the PC.. unplug the card reader.. then turn the PC back on)

again,. with the card in the reader and treader unplugged... and the PC powered ON.. then Plug in the reader... see what happens.

Sometime this can solve issues with the OS and USB mass storage controllers.. sometimes.

[Kristi]

Thank you very much for your reply. I tried your suggestion but I was not successful.

Do you use a USB flash memory card reader and if so, what is the manufacturer and model number?

Kristi

[CyberDyneSystems]

I've got a generic USB2 reader,. it was $16.00

Sounds like you may want to return yours :(

[gsmx2]

Thank you very much for your reply. I tried your suggestion but I was not successful.

Do you use a USB flash memory card reader and if so, what is the manufacturer and model number?

Kristi

Kristi,

Actually the troubleshoot sequence should be this. I'm doing it as I type.
Turn off your computer.
Unplug the card reader and remove the card
Turn on your computer and let it boot up completely.
Plug in the card reader into a USB port. I am using a PNY USB 1 reader for this demo. There should be a beep and the light on the reader should go on. If that doesn't happen, plug the card into another USB port. Keep trying all the USB ports you can.
If no USB port recognizes it, try to plug something else into a USB port.
Eventually you will find that your USB prts or your card reader is bad, OR, you'll find a combo that works and know that they are good.
If the reader is recognized, plug in the card. Unless you've disabled the feature, you should get a Dialogue box should come up.

Good luck with your troubleshooting.

gsm x2

[Kristi]

The reader is recognized by XP. The green LED light is on, the Safely Remove Hardware icon is in the tool bar, the Removable Disk (F) is in My Computer. When I click the Removal Disk F drive in My Computer, the "Insert Disk. Please insert a disk into drive F" message appears even though I have the compact flash card in the reader. I have tried different USB ports and different compact flash cards without any success.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. If I find a solution, I will post it so that it may help another person with the same problem.

Kristi

[CyberDyneSystems]

Kristi,.

I think you have done your homework,. there is little left to do. The Reader is "poop" :( (technical term)

p.s. this is the ~El Cheapo I have,. works fine with XP;

http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=GS-G2

[gsmx2]

The reader is recognized by XP. The green LED light is on, the Safely Remove Hardware icon is in the tool bar, the Removable Disk (F) is in My Computer. When I click the Removal Disk F drive in My Computer, the "Insert Disk. Please insert a disk into drive F" message appears even though I have the compact flash card in the reader. I have tried different USB ports and different compact flash cards without any success.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. If I find a solution, I will post it so that it may help another person with the same problem.

Kristi

Kristi....yep...poop...probably something like a bent wire or something like that. Take it back.

gsm x2

[miha80]

Do you have some Firewall installed on your computer? If you do, disable the firewall and try again.

I have ZoneAlarm Pro on my computer and until I disabled it I could not download pictures from the CF altough I have seen it in the Windows Explorer.

[Kristi]

I removed the check mark in Norton Anti Virus for "Scan all removal remedia for boot viruses every time it is mounted." and turned off the XP Firewall.

I am returning the defective flash card reader to Amazon and will purchase another flash card reader locally.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. This is a great forum!

Kristi

[kq7x]

Hi Kristi,

I have a Sandisk ImageMate SDDR-31 CF Card Reader, and have had similar experience using with Window Xp. I started using it with WinMe, and it didn't work very well with that either. Strangely enough, it seemed to work pretty well with Windows 98 which is my backup computer.

The only way I've been able to get it to work reliably on XP is to keep it unplugged from the computer, then plug it into the USB port when I want to use it. It will then recognize the card when it's inserted into the drive. When I want to remove the card, I click the little icon in the system tray & "get permission" to remove it, then physically unplug the drive from the computer, THEN remove the card. A pain in the neck, however I don't download frequently, so it's tolerable.

I have a second one (a Lexar brand) that I keep in my briefcase for plugging in to my work computer, or to take to friends' houses when I will need to download images, and it works great in both Windows and Macintosh machines. It was about $17 in a local department store here in the US.

If you can return the Sandisk reader, go for it, and get a Lexar, or one of the others mentioned in other responses.

BTW, enjoy your S400; I've had an S100, an S110, and now the S400, and am very impressed with this latest model. It's a lot of camera in a very small package!

Al
Salem Oregon
USA

[Bruce Hamilton]

...and get a Lexar, or one of the others mentioned in other responses.
No reason to not get another SanDisk, if that's what you want. I have the SDDR-88, and XP has no problem finding it every time... You just happened to get a bad one.

[Kristi]

I went to Best Buy today to purchase a compact flash card reader. Best Buy had only the SanDisk and PNY compact flash USB 2.0 card reader. At the check-out counter, the clerk gave me a $10 rebate form which I was not expecting. The PNY reader does not look as nice as the SanDisk but the PNY reader downloads images from the compact flash card very fast.

Kristi

[CyberDyneSystems]

Hey!
Good news.. glad to here you solved the problem. :)