PC/Laptop guru's..........Help!!!

[MattW]

I seem to have a very strange problem with my HP laptop.

Basically, it can "see" my Sony memory stick from my digital camera, however it can't open it. Looking at My Computer/Windows explorer it sits there, however when you try to open it you just get a message as if it was a floppy drive with no disk "Please insert disk into drive F". If you right click and properties, again nothing - says 0 bytes.

I've had another MS from a friends camera and it's exactly the same. I have used the card reader with my own stick a few times, but probably not for a few months i must admit.

HP have suggested Re-flashing BIOS drivers and re-installing the card reader drivers, which on the face of it seems like a good idea. However, didn't make any difference (well apart from the fact that my display got brighter when i flashed the bios!!!)

Anyone got any good ideas?? Laptop is still under warrenty, so i could send it back if i really have to, but that would be a right PITA!!

[DCM]

thats an odd one, does it only see it in both reader and camera?

[_JP_]

Matt are there anydrivers for the camera?

Do you have any mapped network drives?

what do you see when you remove the card, is there anything reporting to be an "F" drive?

LOL flash the BIOS what a bunch of nobs some tech support lines are, did they not ask you to reformat!

[matdodd]

Thats not such a good idea then JP

[_JP_]

BIOS flashing can be disastrous, if you screw that up it kills the PC, there are ways back, but its not easy

[Southwell]

Ive only seen this when the sticks can't map to their drive letter, normally on networks as they have various drive mappings. Some sticks are set to a certain letter, normally F:.
Try the following with the stick inserted, you should be able to change the drive letter, which MIGHT work.

http://support.microsoft.com/default...;EN-US;q307844

[MattW]

I can't actually connect the camera via USB - as i've managed to break the socket in the camera - hence i wanted to use my card reader!! Card works fine in Cam.

JP - shouldn't really need drivers for cam should it?, should only need them for USB hook up? I have to be honest, i was expecting the "reformat" suggestion. but i haven't had it from them! No network drives, and if you remove card, icon disapears as you'd expect.

I tried a theme on drive letters. Before putting MS is reader, i put my USB pen drive in, which then took drive letter F. Then put MS in, and it took letter G, still no change (well, apart from it telling me to insert a disk in drive g!!)

HP have now given up on the drivers/software idea and decided it must be a hardware fault - well, the guy that emailed me from far off lands has anyway!!! So he's saying to call them and i then suspect send it back. If it comes to this then so be it, but would REALLY like to avoid that!

[Southwell]

Put it in your mates camera and try it. Then reformat it if you can get the stuff off??

[mark christopher]

i had this and it was a dicky card reader, a new one worked perfect

[SlowOne]

Me too - the problem lies with cheap card readers. Apparently, they aren't always as able to do their 'driver built-in' bit with the computer. I'd try another card reader first before going down the PITA route!

I replaced my €12 Spanish bargain with a £30 British (well, Japanese actually!) jobbie and have never looked back. Same goes for memory sticks - my €20 1Gb bargain is now in a landfill somewhere, but the £70 4Gb number is still purring along!

[Medders]

try going into disk management and changing it from F: to something else, eg x: This usually works.

Put the usb or card in, go to contol panel, then administrative tools, then its probably computer management, click on disk management, then right clisk on f: and select the option to change drive allocation.

[Southwell]

Originally Posted by Medders

try going into disk management and changing it from F: to something else, eg x: This usually works.

Put the usb or card in, go to contol panel, then administrative tools, then its probably computer management, click on disk management, then right clisk on f: and select the option to change drive allocation.

Like post 6?

[Medders]

Perhaps !!!!

Either way, its almost certainly the problem

[MattW]

Well the saga continues on this one. Called HP last friday and they decided it would need to go back for repair as it was a hardware problem. Fair enough, they said it would be picked up on Monday and be back 4-8 business days after.

So, came back today, they kept to their word on time. Unfortunately they seem to have forgotten to actually FIX the problem!!!! Now maybe i'm being fussy, but i like the idea that repair centres actually repair stuff...........or is that just me.

So, been back on the phone to them, they suggested re-installing the drivers (sure i've heard that somewhere before ) only to now decide that it needs to go back to thre repair centre . Now they are going to pick it up on tuesday - which is damm nice of them.

Congratulations HEWLETT PACKARD, you are doing wonders for Sony's advertising campaign.

[wouter.z]

go into you bios and change the speed of the usb port. I had this problem a few months ago.

[MattW]

wouter, don't think it's a USB problem, the card reader is integral to the laptop. My external USB card reader works perfectly!!! I will look at it though, thanks.