SD card READER issue - insights?

Hello, I'd love to understand a problem: I have a Sandisk Ultra 32GB SD HC 1 class 10 card that works fine in my cameras. I am supposed to shoot products at work and download them via a recently swept together PC onto their servers. - Everything works well in the beginning but from a certain point on the cardreader built into the PC there struggles; i.e. Windows Explorer hangs up, when I put my before mentioned card into it. Restarts don't help and after formatting things seem to work again. I can still read out the card via USB cable and camera. My DCIM folder is currently 10.4GB and holds only 1060 files. - Camera is an M8 (no spring chicken).

What is going wrong there? - My Laptop handles that card just fine.

Do they need a different reader at work?

What is a proper one called?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

I am supposed to shoot products at work and download them via a recently swept together PC onto their servers.

The problem is with the PC. It may need driver updates or the OS fixed/reinstalled.

What OS is on the PC? What is the make/model of the PC?

Quick thought short term bandaid -- load at home & send to work or bring on a flash drive.

OS: windows 10 (home?); AFAIK updated automatically and recently. Something about 2 or 3 month ago needed administrator rights to install itself.

Make / model unknow; I think it is a 2 year old modest i5 or similar, intended to be just good enough to limp Lightroom. - The company is big enough to not go wild with the hardware.

This freeware program Download Driver Booster - The best free Nvida, AMD, Intel & Dell driver update software for Windows 7 & above. will check and download/install driver updates as needed. Win 10 should do it but they occasionally do not have the current drivers in the Windows database. I have occasionally found generic drivers on my computers as the correct driver was not in the Windows database.

 

There are built in diagnostics in Windows starting back in Vista and Win 7 to correct errors in the system. They are in run from an Administrator Command Prompt (also called Windows Power Shell), run order with correct syntax

sfc /scannow

System File Checker (sfc) this will scan and repair system files if needed

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Description: What is DISM?

Used to repair an image: How to use DISM command-line utility to repair a Windows 10 image

 

I'm betting the problem is the USB controller driver that handles the card reader is at fault or does not have the correct code for the type of card you are using.

Run sfc followed by dism and repeat sfc if a failure occurred in the first pass of sfc.

 

P.S. There is a free utility from Intel that updates all Intel drivers on ones computer.

Intel® Driver Update Utility

Edited August 4, 2017 by thirteenthumbs

Thanks Thirteenthumbs. I'll forward to the sysop. Just to double check: Can a hardware issue really be excluded? - I think I have at least 2 USB card readers at home that work only with ancient tiniest SD Cards of 2GB or less. The reader at work works with 8GB on card and of course small cards. it had no issues with CFs. - I'm not sure if it handled a filled SD card from different cameras yet. - I don't know how the SD card standard developed after breaking the 2GB barrier. Was it really 64GB ready beyond 2GB?

Yes, it can be a hardware problem. Card reader for SD (Standard Cards the SD SC standard), may require a firmware upgrade to the card reader itself or, if not upgradable not be able to read a SDHC or SDXC card.

 

For about $15, I purchased this from BH:

 

SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC/SDXC UHS-II Card SDDR-329-A46 B&H Photo

 

So far, it can read any SD card and slips in my pocket or camera bag. It plugs into any USB port (well, I have not tried a USB 1 port).

 

Another solution, most cameras come with a USB cord. Simply plug your camera into the computer and use Windows Explorer to copy the files.

Can a hardware issue really be excluded?

Yes as hardware is the slot the card plugs into and the wires/plugs that connect it to the motherboard or USB port.

The card works in camera and the computer reads the card when the camera is connected to the computer so the camera is providing the access when connected to the computer.

I have a ScanDisk Ultra 8 SD in my D300. The only thing that changes is the internal chip in the card not the external housing or interface contacts.

The work computer needs an updated driver (firmware) for the newer card. The Windows diagnostics won't hurt anything either and may help.

I have a ScanDisk Ultra 8 SD in my D300.

Correction, its a CF not SD.

Try going into device manager and looking for yellow "!" marks next to any storage devices. My guess would be that you have an internal USB connected card reader with an old or incompatible driver installed. Or the internal USB cable is of poor quality/badly shielded/badly routed.

 

Easiest option is to get a new external USB reader for about 15 bucks and have done with it. It ain't worth the downtime taking the lid off the machine to sort the internal reader.

 

The problem could easily be hardware related. Maybe a chip in the reader is overheating after a certain number of reads, or as previously stated, a crappy lead might be causing data corruption.

 

Whatever, the hassle of tracking down the issue isn't worth the time or trouble when a new USB card-reader or adapter costs so little.

 

" I don't know how the SD card standard developed after breaking the 2GB barrier. Was it really 64GB ready beyond 2GB?"

 

No. The original MM/SD card standard only supported up to 2GB. The standard was then extended to SDHC with a capacity limit of 32GB, then to the current SDXC standard that goes well beyond 128GB.

Edited August 5, 2017 by rodeo_joe|1

Screen shot of sfc

DISM

progression bar does not display at first, when it does depends on the system being checked.

An additional thought: it is possible for usb connections to disengage because of power management settings. There are two routes that change various settings. I found a youtube video where a driven youngster explains both routes in a single vid. I hope this helps solve the puzzle Jochen, It's worth checking out. Best!

Thanks a lot for getting back. - I hope to get hold of the sysop at work soon. - For now I am using tiny cards.

You're welcome, good luck :)

The quick and most promising "cure" is to use a new USB card reader. Even the best readers cost under $20, and use any available USB port, even if labeled USB3. USB3 is the fastest, but compatible with earlier USB ports. Transfer speeds never seem to approach the rates promised by card manufacturers. With the latest gear, mine top out at about 35 Mb/sec.

 

Card readers wear out, pins bend, get dirty and break. Small wonder that Apple and other manufacturers omit them from new computers and laptops. Furthermore, SD cards have undergone continual evolution, and some have extra pins not found in earlier versions, and new interface requirements. The reader distills these differences to fit the USB protocol. All the computer sees is a FAT32 disk, or possibly ExFAT.

 

If the card works in your Leica M8, it can't be the card's fault. Even the M9 is notoriously fussy about the card size and make.

Edited August 12, 2017 by Ed_Ingold