Dell SD Card Reader Not Working

sandieb

The SD card reader on my Dell has suddenly stopped working. If I use the USB lead to camera that works fine. I am using Vista.

When I go to "Explore" I cannot see the camera card plugged in on its own.

Any ideas please?

savemoney

Possibly faulty I assume the card works fine in camera sometimes giving them a wipe with alcohol/meths (the purple meths) not the sort you drink

Or failing that a cheap usb card reader you can get for under £5

sandieb

Have tried cards from 3 different cameras and so it's not the card at fault as I can read it via the USB lead.

penrhyn

I have had this on my inspiron desktop occasionally, a reboot has fixed it.
It hasn't occurred recently though, are you fully updated?

NeverInDebt

Sounds like the metal contacts have broken or not connecting properly in card reader they aren't that resilient you can buy new card readers cheaply or fit an internal one yourself if you know how to get inside and do it. The usb readers tend to me cheaper

el_gringo_3

Probably not the reason for yours but some camara manufacturers require you to have their software installed to read from a card reader, Olympus certainly do for XD cards, cos the bloody software won't work on 7 and I can only use the laptop to load pics. It won't even recognise the card as having data on if this is the case.

If its a USB reader (sounds like its not) are you using the correct cable? IIRC some of the device - usb cables have an extra pin, my usb reader won't work with my old motorola phone cable, even though they appear identicle.

sandieb

Thank you for your help.

I have just tried an XD card from yet another camera in a SEPARATE slot and that doesn't work either. This leads me to think that it may be a software problem.

Up until now the cards have been read fine.

Windows has been updated regularly ... and computer has been re-booted twice.

eyeinthesky

Try going into device manager, find usb controllers, and you should find your card reader listed. Highlight this and uninstall it from the drop down menu at the top of the box. Close device manager, and now put a card into your card reader. The card reader should now reinstall.

sandieb

Is it the "mass storage device" ??

eyeinthesky

Is this listed under universal serial bus controllers in device manager? or do you mean when you open " my computer"?
In my laptop, the reader shows in device manager as "Realtek USB 2 card reader". Not sure about "mass storage device", although this is the name that comes up in "my computer", when I insert a usb memory stick.

sandieb

eyeinthesky wrote: »

Is this listed under universal serial bus controllers in device manager?

......Yes it is