Interal Card Reader Limitiation 1 GB card?

[dmrdm]

I was wondering if anyone has run into this at all. I have an internal 4 in 1 card reader. (IOI Media Bay reader) All works fine except when I use cards that are 1 GB or larger in the SD reader. Computer is 2 years old. When take my card out of my camera and place the card in the computer reader, it only transfers over the first bunches taken (say the first 70, but not the rest). When you look at explorer, all of them show the name, type, date modified, but on the ones that don't show up, the date picture taken and the demensions do not show up.

When I connect the camera to the computer directly, I can transfer them all over with no problem, so it has to be something with the card read and the size of the card. Do these readers have size limitations? I'm not able to locate a driver update so far.

Running 2 different cameras with multiple cards that are all new - so it's not the cards or the cameras (although both of these camera's are Nikon's)

ANY HELP or insight would be appreciated. I hate hooking up the USB cords! It's so much slower!!!

[Priss]

I was wondering if anyone has run into this at all. I have an internal 4 in 1 card reader. (IOI Media Bay reader) All works fine except when I use cards that are 1 GB or larger in the SD reader. Computer is 2 years old. When take my card out of my camera and place the card in the computer reader, it only transfers over the first bunches taken (say the first 70, but not the rest). When you look at explorer, all of them show the name, type, date modified, but on the ones that don't show up, the date picture taken and the demensions do not show up.

When I connect the camera to the computer directly, I can transfer them all over with no problem, so it has to be something with the card read and the size of the card. Do these readers have size limitations? I'm not able to locate a driver update so far.

Running 2 different cameras with multiple cards that are all new - so it's not the cards or the cameras (although both of these camera's are Nikon's)

ANY HELP or insight would be appreciated. I hate hooking up the USB cords! It's so much slower!!!


I'm a Nikonian too- (and Nikon boards warn against cards bigger than 1gig in their cameras) BUT--this isn't a camera problem for you--it's more probably the internal card reader. You could try a couple of things---downloading more frequently through the internal---and clearing the cards (always in the camera, btw, never let the computer do that) OR perhaps try an external card reader on USB. I have never encountered this issue with my San Disk external (with 4 sizes on it) on computers both older than and newer than yours, and with various types of capturing disks. I never download from the camera directly into the computer. Nikon recommends, too (and I expect the other camera manufacturers do)--that you do not come close to "filling" one of the cards--that can ruin the entire capture, unfortunately. Good luck, and let us know!

[mom2bandc]

Priss,
Why not let the computer delete the photo's from your card. I have the Elements downloader do it all the time & so far I haven't had a problem, but I had never heard that I should not. (I use a Canon camera with a 2 GB SD card.)

[Priss]

If you delete the images from the card in your camera, the camera itself is in total control of the reformatting for use of the cards. Sometimes if the computer does this--it can corrupt the card. (so I read on the Nikon boards, and heard at Nikon school.) I am not a Canonite, and do not know if this is one of those little quiet things that Cannon doesn't talk about. While up to 4 gig cards are available for these cameras, Nikon does not endorse the use of over 1 gig cards, and have not "tested" larger cards. Remember you are asking the CAMERA to search through very very very large area to deposit the digital information, and this can affect not only the camera performance, but the cards. Read your Canon boards about this, and see what discussion is going on over there about that when you have a minute. And feel free to ask this question of the professional Canon photographers who hunker down at the photography experience (http://www.thephotographyexperience.com) (where I'm an editing specialist)

I postively DISPISE the Elements downloader, and have it totally turned off on all my computers....but that's just me, I'm sure it does a fine job!---Still recommend that after it's done--(and you've backed your pictures off the hard drive of your computer permanently) you clear the memory card in the camera -----in the camera!

[Wendy]

Hi ..

I'm a Canon user and I tend to sticker with the smaller cards for another reason altogether ... a year ago whilst we were on holiday I took lots of photographs but when we got back one of my cards had failed :(. Thankfully it was a small one so all the rest of my photographs were OK ... if I had have been using a large one then I would have lost them all ... Since then I have gone for more cards but with a max of 512MB

Canon do recommend that you reformat using the camera but I have to admit that I rarely do it :o :eek:

Wendy

[Sharpli]

Letting the camera delete the files is a new one for me. I'm using a Panasonic now and SONY before that and have never had a problem deleting in the computer and have been using digital camera for about 10 years.
Hmm - something to check out with Panasonic.

[Sharpli]

BTW, I, too, despise the Adobe downloader. I simply use Windows Explorer to handle the transfer of photos. I never even load the camera software. "Tis easier to do things the way I'm familiar with.

[Jan]

I'm a Nikon user too, and use 1 and 2 GB cards in my camera successfully, but I've never had any problems with my computer's internal card reader. I also have an external card reader, which I picked up at a discount store for about $25, which I use with my laptop. Maybe getting one of those would solve the problem.

I also recommend that you not keep so many images on your card. Not the best storage for your pictures. Whenever I'm shooting, I always make sure to download the images as soon as I can to a file on my computer (I don't use the Oragnizer) or to a disk, or my external hard drive -- and keep the card in the camera empty and ready for shooting.

[troush]

Jan,

Glad to hear you've had success with the larger cards on a Nikon (I have a D50).

Here's my workflow (after disabling the Adobe Downloader):

1. Put card in card reader (got one for like $10 at CompUSA or MicroCenter or Best Buy or somewhere).

2. Use Windows "Transfer Files" Wizard in advanced mode to move the photos where I want them.

3. I use IMatch to "Organize" my photos (Windows only, although I've heard of some people using Wine on Linux successfully - haven't heard if anyone has got it running on a Mac on it's Window's emulators).

4. Do a backup of the hard drive.

5. "Safely Remove Hardware" to remove the card (although, sometimes Windows won't let go of it, so I have to wait until I shut down the computer to take it out of the card reader).

6. Card goes back in camera, and then (as per Nikon School directions) choose the "Format" option to re-format the card. If you are using your camera's software to download the pictures (I used to with my Fuji Finepix), you can probably use the software to format. But, everything I've read recommends using the camera.

I don't format the card until I've backed up the computer and had a successful backup.

-Trish

[armybrat]

Trish,

Do you "format" your card or just delete the photos from the card? If you do format rather than delete the photos, can you tell me why you do that?

I have always just deleted the phots from the card while in the camera. I don't trust the comper to do it.

Thanks,


Judy

[scrapperjlc]

Trish,

Do you "format" your card or just delete the photos from the card? If you do format rather than delete the photos, can you tell me why you do that?

I have always just deleted the phots from the card while in the camera. I don't trust the comper to do it.

Thanks,


Judy

Same question here, I have never reformatted my cards in the almost 4 years I have been using them. I just delete my images off the card when needed. And I have been using both my camera and my computer to delete photos off my cards with no problems either way. I have a Kodak 6340 and a Canon Rebel XT. The Kodak software allowed me to remove the images from the card after copying them to the computer, which was very handy. I can't find that same option with my Canon software, so unless I only have a few images to delete or want to delete ALL images on the card (easy to do in-camera), I have started using an external card reader for my CF card to delete my photos when I have a lot to delete. Been doing so for about 6 months now, no problems at all.

Jodi

[troush]

I "Format" the card, as that is what they suggested at Nikon School. I'm guessing it's kind of like a hard drive... When you delete a picture, you're just deleting a "pointer" to the image. Maybe the card can get fragmented (like a hard drive). I'm just guessing. It's also faster than deleting 40 pictures one at a time.

-Trish

[armybrat]

Thanks Trish for the info about formating. It makes sense. I did notice that after I used my camera for the first time, and "deleted" the pictures that I didn't have as many pictures available to take.

I will have to try formating and see what happens.


Judy

[karen donnybrook]

I NEVER delete/format my card until I am sure that the transfer from camera to computer has been completely successful. If I let the computer delete the images and the download has not been successful - oops no pictures.

Karen :)

[estherf]

I have never formatted my cards even though my Canon user's manuel recommends formating a new memory card.

The manuel warns that formatting erases all data, including protected images and other file types. I guess if you didn't want to go to the trouble of unprotect files before erasing them, this would do the trick.

It also tells me that I should select a low level format if I suspect the read/write speed of the card has dropped. Also, stated is the capacity of the memory card displayed after formatting will be less that the rated capacity of the memory card.

The one time I erased the card through Adobe's Elements downloader it left some kind of image on it that my camera didn't recognize, and I had to erase it anyway. So I will never do that again.:eek:

[dmrdm]

No Priss you're right, it's not a camera problem. I can view the pics fine in the camera and transferring to the computer via the USB works...but I hate doing it that way! Doesn't appear there is a driver update for my 4 in 1 reader, but I'll keep on looking to see what else I can figure out. Looked around the Scandisk site and didn't find any info either. Even the professional camera shop were we bought the D-80 didn't have a clue. I've Googled and see others with problems, but didn't bump into any solutions - except of course to buy an external reader. Others have told me to throw away my cards - so they of course even know less than I do. :-)

I didn't have the card full or even close to full when I had the problems. Just dinking around.

Since the discussions have evolved some, we've run our Olympus cameras (E-10 and a C-4040) for the past 4-5 years with no problems. Those have run the Smart Media and Compact Flash cards. It's rare that I reformat cards. Just usually transfer to my hard drive, then from there to my external hard drive and a DVD. After I get them to my hard drive, I delete them from the cards while in the reader. Have read the debates on format vs none formatting. Have never had any failures.

So anyway....will continue to keep my ears open for the transfer issue. Thank you.