Media card reader problem on a Gateway laptop...

**Eric Perry** · #1 08-15-2008, 06:21 AM

Hey all...

I have Gateway MX8523 laptop. Fairly fresh install of XP Pro with SP3. 2 GB of RAM, *lots* of free disc space left. No conflicts anywhere. It runs great, no problems at all... except: The damn media card reader won't work. It used to. Worked well. Recently, nuthin'. I grabbed the drivers from Gateway's site and uninstalled and reinstalled them several times, but no luck. When I plug in a card, the computer doesn't do anything, it's like I never put a card in at all.

Any ideas, or suggestions? Let me first say, however, that I will *never* buy an overpriced, elitist, proprietary machine (Mac), so save your keystrokes. K thanks!

jkritchey · #2 08-15-2008, 11:47 AM

Have you tried different cards? Is it one of those 5 slot units for different size cards, and can you try any of the other slots?

Do the drives show up as lettered drives in 'My Computer'?

**Eric Perry** · #3 08-15-2008, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkritchey

Have you tried different cards? Is it one of those 5 slot units for different size cards, and can you try any of the other slots?

Do the drives show up as lettered drives in 'My Computer'?

All I have are SD cards. They have worked before.

Nothing shows up in My Computer, other than the partitioned HD and the optical drive.

tplyons · #4 08-15-2008, 07:07 PM

Have you changed anything major since you last remember it working?

Worst case scenario, you might be looking at an external card reader (usually faster too)

One of these would do greatly, just about what I use, just the CF version.

http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Item...derWriter.aspx

**Eric Perry** · #5 08-15-2008, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tplyons

Have you changed anything major since you last remember it working?

Worst case scenario, you might be looking at an external card reader (usually faster too)

One of these would do greatly, just about what I use, just the CF version.

http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Item(1151)-SDDR-99-A15-SanDisk_ImageMate_5In1_ReaderWriter.aspx

Haven't changed anything. The damn thing just petered out

I know the external readers are an option, it just ticks me off when I can't fix somethin', ya know?

**Eric Perry** · #6 08-16-2008, 06:40 AM

No other takers?

Chunk-O-Funk · #7 08-16-2008, 07:30 AM

Just a shot in the dark.

Go to the "Devise Manager" and check to see if your card reader is listed.

I have an external one and when it's plugged in it shows up as a "portable devise" and when I click on the plus tab all four slots show up as a "storage devise" I'm running Vista so yours may be listed slightly different.

If it's not listed I'm guessing your computer is either A) not detecting it or B) the card reader has died. You could always try taking it out of the laptop, start your laptop, shut it down and then put it back in. If the card reader is okay the computer may detect it again when you start it.

OR

If it is listed in the devise manager, but still doesn't show up in "my computer" I would uninstall it from the devise manager and reboot. After rebooting it should reinstall it and load the drivers.

**Eric Perry** · #8 08-16-2008, 07:45 AM

Hey Chunk, thanks for the reply...

It does show up in the Device Manager. I've uninstalled it and reinstalled it, but the symptoms (or lack thereof!) are the same. What's odd is it doesn't go through the typical "found new hardware" upon reboot. They just magically show back up in the device manager.

peterbright · #9 08-16-2008, 07:48 AM

An external reader is very cheap & could be used until you correct the problem.

**Eric Perry** · #10 08-16-2008, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peterbright

An external reader is very cheap & could be used until you correct the problem.

Yeah, I do have one. It's not so much an issue of not being able to access my pics, I just hate when something doesn't work like it should!

Chunk-O-Funk · #11 08-16-2008, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric618

Hey Chunk, thanks for the reply...

It does show up in the Device Manager. I've uninstalled it and reinstalled it, but the symptoms (or lack thereof!) are the same. What's odd is it doesn't go through the typical "found new hardware" upon reboot. They just magically show back up in the device manager.

Hmmm, Okay. Well the Device Manager simply knows if there is something connected to the computer, that's about it. You could always go to the Control Panel and use the "Add Hardware" Wizard. Even though I've never really had good luck with that feature it's worth a shot.

BTW, I'm no pro, just a guy who's built a computer or two. If your one of the lucky one and your hardware is listed in that wizard I would start to think it's the card reader that's gone bad. This is really only my best guess though.

Good luck.

jkritchey · #12 08-17-2008, 02:59 PM

Sorry to peter out, busy weekend. Can you uninstall it from device manager completely? Then, with the card in one of the appropriate slots, restart the PC. Sometimes the presence of data might 'help' it....