usb card reader

[gina32]

it wont work, was ok before but trying it recently and nothing, ive re installed via the disk but nothings happening,so ive loads of pics on my memory card but cant get them on my pc, anyone have any ideas whats going on please, many thanks

[KevSparky]

1. Plug in the USB Card Reader
2. On your keyboard hold down the Windows key, between Ctrl and Alt, and press the "Pause/Break" button next to Scroll Lock in the top right-hand corner of the keyboard. This will show the System Properties dialog.
3. Under the Hardware tab, press the Device Manager button. This shows a list of all hardware on your PC. If any of those items are expanded and there's a yellow circle with an exclamation mark it means that there's a hardware issue with that device. If the card reader has a yellow exclamation over it, right click in the item and press "Uninstall". This will uninstall the faulty driver. DO NOT uninstall anything unless you're absolutely sure that its the card reader as it could cause that device to stop functioning properly.
4. Restart your machine.
5. When you reload, you'll get an "New Hardware Found" wizard. Just pop your driver CD you got with the card reader into the CD Drive and let Windows install the device. Although it probably makes no difference, I always prefer letting windows install my devices than the software that comes with the unit.

You should now be up and running on the Windows side of things. If this doesn't work, it could be the device itself that's faulty. Also, be warned, uninstalling drivers in Device Manager can be dangerous if you're not careful. Uninstalling anything with a yellow exclamation is usually OK, because the exclamation means the device has a problem and isn't functioning, so uninstalling it won't make a difference to the computers functions.

[gina32]

thanks very much, i tried that but it didnt have card reader on there but did have usb controllers and nothing had a yellow circle, what else should i do?

[Ethel]

Buy a new card reader - I paid �4 for mine from a well known Hight Street computer shop.

[KevSparky]

If you don't see the card reader showing up if you try 2 or 3 USB ports then it's definately the card reader is at fault. If you can try a different cable, or else buy a new one. You'd get one very cheap on the net, or slightly more expensive in a computer shop, maybe �5/$5.

[gina32]

thank you very much for your help, think i'll invest in one.

[ACtheTROLL]

this is getting to be quite a common problem

there are a couple of reasons why ... but the fix should be easier than walking to pc world.

this will ONLY work from the command prompt ...

copy everything between the two lines of ****s
(but not the ******s)
into a notepad text file ... and rename it hide.bat

in XP
just run it (must be using an administrator account)

in vista
right click and use the run as administrator option

then in the device manager window
use view | show hidden devices

and hunt down and in disc drives remove the generic

reboot ... and replug


************************************************************
echo off
echo.
echo.
echo.
echo This prog MUST only be "run as" administrator
echo.
echo.
echo.
pause
set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
echo.
echo.
echo.
echo.
echo in the device manager window
echo.
echo use VIEW, SHOW HIDDEN DEVICES
echo.
echo to display everything
echo.
echo.
echo.
echo.
echo written by ACtheTROLL
pause
start devmgmt.msc
************************************************************

[lajohn]

WoW! I've experienced this exact problem two minutes ago. What a coincidence someone posted this question. Thank you and thanks for all the responses.

[gina32]

bought another card reader and still nothing, please does anyone know whats going on. hopefully kevsparky can help again many thanks

[ACtheTROLL]

gina

you might prefer the sound of Kev's answer ... but unfortunately - it's not going to solve your problem.

as you've seen ... you can't remove what you can't see
more and more often this is happening ... you can see why by looking round (but it's not really important)

my fix works in both XP and Vista ...
if you chose to discount it ...

[gina32]

troll sorry but i didnt understand your reply

[gina32]

how do i get command prompt?

[ACtheTROLL]

this is going to be tough.
do you know someone who tinkers?

it's easy enough if you have an idea of how to get round in the hardware manager.

trouble is ... it only shows what is plugged in - plus some system devices.

there is a show hidden devices option
view | show HD ... but it only shows some devices (and not most usb)

from an administrator command prompt
start | run
then in the box that opend - type cmd and click OK

in the black box that opens ... type (not the stuff in ()s) ant press enter at the end of each line

set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
(removes the restrictions)

start devmgmt.msc
(starts an unrestricted dev mgr)

in the window that opens ... menu options
view | show hidden devices

you then need to delete the usb devices
reboot
plug in the reader

this type of problem can't be solved using the buy a new one option
never a good solution (unless you are certain the old one is in fact bust) - because - as in this case - it doesn't tackle the root cause.

right ... that's how to.
you will probably get away with deleting all the faint devices ...
but honestly - I'd think long and hard about doing it.... you could really mess up if you slip.

are you up to date with window's fixes?

there was a problem that XP service pack 3 or Vista SP1 fixes - try that first - start a new thread if you want to continue

[gina32]

thanks for your help