«

Hi:

I purchased an XtraDrive Portable Card Reader to read my SD Card via
the USB Port on a computer.

The Card is a SanDisk 128 MB Card

The operating system on the computer is Windows XP Professional.

When I try to access the Flash Card, I get messages like "Please
Insert a Disk into Drive F:",
where the Card Reader has been plugged into the USB Port identified
as "F:".

I have heard the other people have encountered similar problems, and
I was wondering if anyone could recommend or validate that the
XtraDrive DOES work with Windows XP Professional, and if so with what
make and memory size of SD Card.

Also, I would be interested in knowing of alternative solutions for
reading my SD Card via the USB port. My digital camera (Kodak Easyshare
C530) came with a cable that accomplished this purpose, but this cable
got stolen, and Kodak wan's $25 for a replacement cable!

Thanks,

Bill Angel
Baltimore, Maryland

Bill A wrote:
> Hi:
>
> I purchased an XtraDrive Portable Card Reader to read my SD Card via
> the USB Port on a computer.
>
> The Card is a SanDisk 128 MB Card
good luck. i had two different card readers in this form factor
using plug-in SD cards. I thought they would be great since
i could get cards of higher capacity if i wanted. big mistake.

plenty of intermittent incompatibility.

some files would copy, some wouldn't. some might later on.
w2k, win xp...didn't matter. different computers too.

got an exchange. same problem. threw them out. the issue
may be tied to the actual chip in the card readers but i haven't
investigated that far. i was just using them as usb memory.
so i went and got a regular fixed memory usb stick.

as for reading/writing sd cards...i'm still interested in gaining
that ability but i'm a little loath to experiment with my money.
....thehick

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Bill A wrote:
> Hi:
>
> I purchased an XtraDrive Portable Card Reader to read my SD Card via
> the USB Port on a computer.
>
> The Card is a SanDisk 128 MB Card
>
> The operating system on the computer is Windows XP Professional.
>
> When I try to access the Flash Card, I get messages like "Please
> Insert a Disk into Drive F:",
> where the Card Reader has been plugged into the USB Port identified
> as "F:".
>
> I have heard the other people have encountered similar problems, and
> I was wondering if anyone could recommend or validate that the
> XtraDrive DOES work with Windows XP Professional, and if so with what
> make and memory size of SD Card.
>
> Also, I would be interested in knowing of alternative solutions for
> reading my SD Card via the USB port. My digital camera (Kodak Easyshare
> C530) came with a cable that accomplished this purpose, but this cable
> got stolen, and Kodak wan's $25 for a replacement cable!

Is this what you need:

<http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1776697&CatId=77>
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BLHcIs7VEcTppIfa27wze6I=
=qY54
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I see I'm not the only person with this problem... <grin>

It's possible the problem may be related to how the SD cards are
formatted.
My Koday Easyshare C530 may format the card slightly differently than
another
brand of camera. This problem normally would not be encountered by
consumers, as they
rely on the camera itself to read the SD Card, rather than an external
card reader device that exhibits a subtle incompatibility problem when
attempting to handle cards formatted
by a variety of different camera makes/models.

--- Bill Angel
Baltimore, Maryland



thehick wrote:
> good luck. i had two different card readers in this form factor
> using plug-in SD cards. I thought they would be great since
> i could get cards of higher capacity if i wanted. big mistake.
>
> plenty of intermittent incompatibility.
>
> some files would copy, some wouldn't. some might later on.
> w2k, win xp...didn't matter. different computers too.
>
> got an exchange. same problem. threw them out. the issue
> may be tied to the actual chip in the card readers but i haven't
> investigated that far. i was just using them as usb memory.
> so i went and got a regular fixed memory usb stick.
>

The replacement cable you suggested is also a good idea, in principle.

My only concern about utilizing one of these inexpensive cables is
that Kodak designed its cable (the one that it recommends using with
the camera) with a big hump in the middle

See:

http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQueri...S&pq-path=6558

So i"m not sure that a simple cable with a standard USB connector at
one end, and a mini USB at the other end, would in actuality be
sufficient to connect the digital camera to the PC


W Paul Mills wrote:
> Is this what you need:
>
> <http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1776697&CatId=77>

"Bill A" <> wrote in message
news: ups.com...
>
> Hi:
>
> I purchased an XtraDrive Portable Card Reader to read my SD Card via
> the USB Port on a computer.
>
> The Card is a SanDisk 128 MB Card
>
> The operating system on the computer is Windows XP Professional.
>
> When I try to access the Flash Card, I get messages like "Please
> Insert a Disk into Drive F:",
> where the Card Reader has been plugged into the USB Port identified
> as "F:".
>
> I have heard the other people have encountered similar problems, and
> I was wondering if anyone could recommend or validate that the
> XtraDrive DOES work with Windows XP Professional, and if so with what
> make and memory size of SD Card.
>
> Also, I would be interested in knowing of alternative solutions for
> reading my SD Card via the USB port. My digital camera (Kodak Easyshare
> C530) came with a cable that accomplished this purpose, but this cable
> got stolen, and Kodak wan's $25 for a replacement cable!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bill Angel
> Baltimore, Maryland
>

Hi.

I don't know your specific make of card reader, but I do use a Sandisc 13 in
1 Card Reader, and it can read SD, and other Cards, from several Cameras
without any problem.

The only problem which might arise, is that some Card Readers can not handle
large capacity Cards, over 2 Gig.

Most Card readers, including the multiple slot ones are small enough,
(Cigarette Packet size), to be very portable. The supplied 1.5 metre Cable
will take up more space, but it will probably also fit you Camera.

Most Cameras use a standard USB to Mini USB Cable to connect to a Computer,
( if you must do it that way), and these should be available very cheaply
from any Computer Store. Just take your Camera with you, when you go to
purchase it, just to make sure that Kodak have not been bloody minded enough
to design a special one.

USB Slots on a Computer do NOT have drive letters allocated to them. The
Card Reader, or whatever, will have the next available drive letter
allocated while it is connected.

Roy G

"Bill A" <> wrote in message
news: ps.com...
> The replacement cable you suggested is also a good idea, in principle.
>
> My only concern about utilizing one of these inexpensive cables is
> that Kodak designed its cable (the one that it recommends using with
> the camera) with a big hump in the middle
>
> See:
>
The big hump in the middle is just a Ferrite Damper, (a lump of iron).
Even most of the cheap cables have these, they only cut down on
interference.

Roy G

Well, I was fortunate enough to find another solution.

When I returned the XtraDrive to Office Depot this afternoon for a
refund (they had sold it to me for $8.00), I discovered that they were
selling the Ativa Universal 10 in 1 Memory Card Reader/Writer for
$10.00. So for only $2.00 more I got the Ativa reader, and it works
fine, reading my 128MB Secure Digital Card. The only drawback is that
it is not as small and compact as the XtraDrive Reader. The Ativa Card
reader is as large as my digital camera!
But at least it works correctly.

--- Bill Angel
Baltimore, Maryland

Bill A wrote:
>
> Hi:
>
> I purchased an XtraDrive Portable Card Reader to read my SD Card via
> the USB Port on a computer.
>
> The Card is a SanDisk 128 MB Card
>
> The operating system on the computer is Windows XP Professional.
>
> When I try to access the Flash Card, I get messages like "Please
> Insert a Disk into Drive F:",
> where the Card Reader has been plugged into the USB Port identified
> as "F:".
>
> I have heard the other people have encountered similar problems, and
> I was wondering if anyone could recommend or validate that the
> XtraDrive DOES work with Windows XP Professional, and if so with what
> make and memory size of SD Card.

Hello, Bill:

Don't waste any more time with this "XtraDrive" device, than you have
to. Return it to the place of purchase and buy a brand name, external
reader/writer, capable of using a variety of memory card formats; these
are fairly common and rather affordable, these days.

> Also, I would be interested in knowing of alternative solutions for
> reading my SD Card via the USB port. My digital camera (Kodak Easyshare
> C530) came with a cable that accomplished this purpose, but this cable
> got stolen, and Kodak wan's $25 for a replacement cable!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bill Angel
> Baltimore, Maryland

Digital camera manufacturers, in general (not just Kodak), enjoy
sticking it to their customers, by asking absurd amounts for simple
accessories. Don't give in to them -- search eBay <http://www.ebay.com>,
and you should find a C530-compatible USB cable, much cheaper than it
is, at Kodak's Web site.

Good luck and happy hunting!


Cordially,
John Turco <>