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I have a built in card reader that has always run my SD cards fine - but now it is balky when I try to read a PNY 4GB SDHC card. I think it read it at one time but not recently. I have tried to download the hotfixes I found in the knowledge base but 2 of them are apparently older than SP3 and the 3rd doesn't have an English language selection. In Device Manager, the system says the device is working properly. I have tried to update the driver but am told there is not a newer driver - I have tried to uninstall and reinstall the driver and that doesn't help either. Anybody have any other ideas or help?? I am using Windows XP Media Center edition with SP3 loaded in a Gateway desktop computer.
If this is any help - this card also does not open if I connect an external 2.0 USB card reader to this desktop - but this card works fine in my ACER netbook and in my Toshiba Satellite notebook - both running Windows XP.
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Everyone!!!
You need to note that both the SD and SDHC "cards" have the exact same physical size but the internal electronics are different. To read a SDHC card, the reader MUST be able to read the SDHC electronics correctly. You can not read a SDHC card on a standard SD reader but a SDHC reader can read a SD card.
Copied my answer from a guy talking about i/o errors to his 8 Gbyte SD card via his reader/writer that works with 2 Gbytes and lower cards fine.
I have many SD cards. My first one was 256 Mbytes, then 512 Mbytes, 1 Gbyte, 2 Gbytes, 8 Gbytes.
There is large difference between the hardware and software access to the file system on the 8 Gbyte unit because it (a) is a SDHC hardware unit, and (b) must use the FAT32 file system instead of the FAT16 file system of all of the older units.This key difference stems from the math involved in accessing beyond the 2 Gbyte limit and the size of 32 bit integer math. This discontinuity happens because you have to jump to using either 48 or 64-bit integers to seek to byte offsets within the file system in the larger capacity units. If you have done any programming of computers with random access file updates, you'd know that seeking in a file using a negative integer can be used to seek backwards relative to your current file pointer's location. This means that rather than accessing 4 Gbytes like would be possible using full 32 bits, you can access +/- 2 Gbytes using file seeking with 32 bit integer variables / values. To access a larger file system, you need to update your programming to use system calls for seeking that use 64-bits or so, then you'd be good to go on disks with sizes above 2 Gbytes.To do this "different kind of access" you need a newer "SDHC-capable card reader" that when asked to examine the 4 Gbyte, 8 Gbyte, and 16 Gbyte SD cards being sold in stores now will correctly presume that FAT32 file system formatting and access must be used, otherwise, using an older card reader meant for 2 Gbyte cards or smaller will result in various kinds of errors, one of which you seem to be getting now.Some of the newer still cameras being sold starting in about mid 2007 had the capability of using SDHC memory cards, and would automatically format them correctly to use FAT32.First I tried to buy a really cheap SDHC reader for about $4.99. It was really bad and would very seldom work properly. I took the unit back to the store, they tested it and found it was crappy too--I got one of the two cheap units to work, but they could not get any of them to go.I upgraded to the more expensive model SDHC card reader that was $9.99 and that one worked like a champ--completely reliable. Both of these were junky made in China units.
Additional details. I bought a network media player with USB, 10/100 UTP Lan, 2.5" drive bay, that seems to be a Linux based machine running Samba file sharing. The $9.99 SDHC card reader is currently attached with the 8 Gbyte SDHC card inserted and works great. I just shut down the Patriot Box Office media player, then removed the card reader and plugged it into my WinXP home SP3 computer... The computer immediately reports that the "disk" just plugged in contains photos and whatnot and what do I want to do? So I click on Cancel so that nothing stupid happens.
Seems like you have to have hardware that is known to operate correctly and reliably with SDHC sized cards?
The answer is right here folks.
Your card reader CAN'T read SDHC cards, I suggest you go out and buy a SDHC card reader.
Like the post that I quoted, go out and BUY a 10$ card reader that supports SDHC, THAT is your problem.
Now, STOP asking, because here's you answer:
GO BUY A NEW SDHC COMPATIBLE CARD READER!
NO there will NOT be a "Driver" released that will actually CHANGE the hardware, it's not possible.
There is no driver that will "convert" a SD reader into a SDHC reader. Both the SD and SDHC card have the exact same "physical" size but you need a SDHC reader to read the SDHC card. SDHC cards have different internal "configuration" than the older SD cards, so as to "pack" more storage.
I've two machines, one desktop and one laptop, both with windows xp sp3. Booting windows my sdhc 4 gb cards are not recognized. Booting a Linux on the same machines , same hardware,same SD reader, the sdhc 4 gb cards are recognized.
This means same hardware with different O.S. behave different.
As for the one post above, that says he booted Linux and it worked fine.
REALLY? REALLY NOW?
Are you SURE!
Just because you switch OS, it WON'T make the HARDWARE of the CARD READER, function differently, let along change completely. It's NOT going to MAGICALLY change your 32 bit card reader, to support a 64 bit Card.
That's like running 64 bit I.E. on 32 bit Windows XP, NOT HAPPENING.
"That which does not kill you, only postpones the inevitable." -Chaos
As for the one post above, that says he booted Linux and it worked fine.
REALLY? REALLY NOW?
Are you SURE!
Just because you switch OS, it WON'T make the HARDWARE of the CARD READER, function differently, let along change completely. It's NOT going to MAGICALLY change your 32 bit card reader, to support a 64 bit Card.
That's like running 64 bit I.E. on 32 bit Windows XP, NOT HAPPENING.
"That which does not kill you, only postpones the inevitable." -Chaos
Dude, remain calm please.
To others still having troubles...
If your card reader is an SDHC unit that is still not working properly in WinXP (but fine in Linux or whatever), it may also be that your reader is based on "an obscure chipset" for which no MS update nor Windows update driver properly runs. This might be fixed if your OEM PC manufacturing dudes got their card reader driver to be Microsoft-signed / Microsoft certified to work with your OS and when that driver becomes part of the Windows and Microsoft update set of driver files, then all will be well in the world for your model hardware because it will no longer be considered obscure hardware to Microsoft.
If it is supported in the OEM WinXP install disk or partition, then you'll have to somehow switch back to using the old OEM driver that came with the computer install, then make sure to manually prevent the online automatic updates from dinking that OEM SDHC driver off of your system again (how that might be prevented--I do not know). The inf or the setup.ini or whatever custom setup file probably has options set to ignore the lack of driver signature or lack of HQL certification or whatever.
Okay, this still does not address my issue. My Canon printer/reader was reading 1 and 2 gb SD cards, but is not now reading them. It reads in Safe Mode, but not Normal Mode. The same printer reads them with a different hard drive with the same OS - WINXP SP3. I suspect it is a software conflict, but I do not know how I would go about finding the culprit. I thought it was my camera software, but I uninstalled and reinstalled it several times with no change. I also contacted Canon support and they were useless. My Canon camera reads fine with a 16 gb SDHC card so I know it's not drivers.
Any ideas???
@Bowl turner
You need to create a totally seperate post to get an answer.
Young and learning...Have mercy - Chaos
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