[RESOLVED] embedded card reader

[themanwhowas]

hello. on the front of my pc is a card reader that fits several different types of card. when i insert a card nothing happens automatically and i have no idea how to read from/write to the card. i have had this pc for about 2 years and have never tried it before. i have tried googling but can only find info for usb card readers. do i need 3rd party software?

[jmtjet]

After you insert the card look in "My Computer". You should see a new drive letter there. Click on the drive and your card should be read. You only need 3rd party software if you want to edit the pictures. If you have several slots on your reader that means it will read several different types of card. Choose the drive letter that corresponds to your card type. Your card should be read if windows "sees" your reader.

[HAN]

I have seen some PC that act as jmtjet describes and some where the empty card reader already shows up as a drive. The latter is a bit tougher to figure out if card media is present or not.

I guess, until you know which way your PC reacts, put your camera card into the proper slot, open the My Computer icon and double click on each drive until you find the correct one.

It's also worth pointing out that you should be careful when removing the card. You do not want to pull it out when it is in use (displaying items or being written to or read from.) If you remove the card and Windows barks a warning message to you, do not ignore it. The most common damage to memory cards and flash drives is caused by the users themselves by pulling them out of the PC before they are dormant.

[themanwhowas]

thanks guys. it does auto play. just needed cleaning. very dusty. dust must have come between the connections. thank you

[lgbpop]

The latter is a bit tougher to figure out if card media is present or not.

I don't know if this applies to all card readers, but with mine the reader's icons are B/W when empty and in color when active. If the reader is configured as a removeable drive, Windows Media Player should pick it up and you can set it up for auto display. Also, to avoid corrupting the contents use the Safely Remove Hardware feature when removing a card; if it doesn't show, wait until shutdown to remove it. I've right-clicked on the card and selected Eject from the menu when removing; I don't know if that actually does anything, but I have no problems with corruption after doing so.