Need a USB Flash card reader

March 9, 2006 7:45 PM

I'm returning a worthless SanDisk USB Flash card reader. What is an alternative card reader brand that you recommend?

I saw that SanDisk has the monopoly on accessories at all the BestBuy and Office Depot stores. Great, a retail monopoly. Ok, I bit, and I got the SanDisk ImageMate 1-in-12 Reader. I tried it on 3 of my computers, only to find that this SanDisk reader will not read a SanDisk CompactFlash card that came with my HP C30 digital camera (and works fine in it!). All it does is map out 4 drive letters and tells me to "insert a disk" regardless of which drive letter I click, no matter whether the card is inserted, the device is unplugged and replugged, the machine is rebooted, etc, etc. The included "Button Application" doesn't detect the card, either.

I'm taking this $20 piece of junk back (and probably not buying any more cheap accessories at those stores anymore). Who makes a decent Flash card reader?

My camera is 5 years old and the Flash card is 8 MB (!). That shouldn't be an issue as the packaging says it reads CF1 and CF2. If it works in a third-party camera it ought to work in a reader made by its own parent company... needless to say I'm less than impressed.

posted by hodyoaten to computers & internet (10 comments total)

Generic ones work fine for me.

Are you sure the card isn't corrupt? There've been several times in my experience when a card that works fine in a portable device is unreadable by a proper computer. Try reformatting the card and see if that helps.
posted by cillit bang at 7:48 PM on March 9, 2006

Probably not exactly what you're looking for, but if this is for a desktop machine, you can replace the internal 3.5" floppy drive with one of these Mitsumi combo units. It has the same floppy drive but adds the 6-way flash reader in the same size box. You just need to have a USB "header" available on the motherboard inside the computer somewhere, which any computer sold in the last couple years should have.
posted by intermod at 7:51 PM on March 9, 2006

Update: On a whim I tried out the 512 MB SanDisk Flash card I picked up today and used in the camera. Oddly enough the card reader reads it just fine. But it won't recognize the 8 MB card. There's pics on there I need. This is lame. Can I go to a Walgreens or something and get them offloaded to a CD?
posted by hodyoaten at 7:51 PM on March 9, 2006

Is connecting the camera directly to the computer not an option?
posted by toddshot at 9:43 PM on March 9, 2006

Your old camera may have formatted the CF card into something non-standard. You may only be able to get the images off using the cable and software that came with the camera.

I've done well with Sandisk myself, but if you want another brand, I have a Kensington multi-card USB reader that works well.
posted by krisjohn at 11:41 PM on March 9, 2006

Is connecting the camera directly to the computer not an option?
Well, it was, until I lost my proprietary HP connector cable... DB-9 serial to some weird micro connector. Since we're just talking about one card I will just suck it up and hope it resurfaces.
posted by zek at 12:53 AM on March 10, 2006

I use a Lexar reader "Part No. RW018 Rev B" which I got on clearance at Walgreens for under $10. It has read every card I fed it, including those from about five different cameras at a family reunion (one of those was an obscure variant of a CF card).

Luck to you.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:07 AM on March 10, 2006

You could also try a CF to IDE adapter; I've seen them on eBay for $2.99. Opportunities for a manufacturer to screw up such a beast should be minimal.
posted by Freaky at 7:31 AM on March 10, 2006

Can you try installing a different driver? I used a "General" driver for a Lexar card reader when I couldn't find the install CD, and it worked just fine for me.

Also, yes, Walgreen's can generally make a cd from pics on a Flash card. Just be aware that their photo kiosks are used by the general public, and the general public isn't always careful, resulting in inoperable kiosks or slots in many stores.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 8:10 AM on March 10, 2006

You could have a flaky format. I see this fairly often where the user has filled a card a couple dozen times but never formats it using the camera. Then they try to read the card in an external reader and can't even though it reads fine in the camera. After downloading the pictures using the camera's interface cable I show them how to format the card. Voila the card is readable in external readers.
posted by Mitheral at 9:25 AM on March 10, 2006