Card Reader Query

[KJ]

Anyone know if someone makes an internal card reader with an on/off
switch on the front face? From what I understand internal readers are
logged as drives in XP. IOW, if the reader has 4 slots for different
kinds of media, XP will log the card reader as C:\, D:\, E:\, F:\ (for
example). I don't want all those drives listed all the time for no
reason, as I work in File Manager a lot. I want to be able to turn the
card reader on when I need it, and off afterwards.

I realize an external reader would work in this fashion, but would
prefer to have the thing tucked away in a 3.5 bay.

TIA

 

[Conor]

Anyone know if someone makes an internal card reader with an on/off
switch on the front face? From what I understand internal readers are
logged as drives in XP. IOW, if the reader has 4 slots for different
kinds of media, XP will log the card reader as C:\, D:\, E:\, F:\ (for
example). I don't want all those drives listed all the time for no
reason, as I work in File Manager a lot. I want to be able to turn the
card reader on when I need it, and off afterwards.

I realize an external reader would work in this fashion, but would
prefer to have the thing tucked away in a 3.5 bay.

I haven't seen one with a switch on the front.

 

[HDRDTD]

I haven't seen one with a switch, but if you're just concerned with all the
extra drive letters, then there is a solution.

For exmple you have a card reader that you onlu use the CF slot, and never
use the other slots.
Start by inserting a CF card in the drive, then...

Go to
Control Panel
Administrative Tools
Computer Management
Disk Management
You should now see the various drive letters assigned, and you should be
able to see which letter goes with the slot you have the CF card in.
For each of the other slots that you don't use, just right click on it
Assign/remove drive letter
remove the drive letter.

That's all there is to it.

It doesn't stop the other slots from working, it just doesn't assign a drive
letter to them any more.

 

[The Seabat]

Cool! I got one for Xmas, but like the OP, I'm not satisfied with all
those drive designations. So if you want to use one of the other
slots, how would you access the data? Would you have to go into Disk
Management each time and untick the the drive designation and how
would you know which one to untick? Thanks.

 

[Rod Speed]

Anyone know if someone makes an internal card reader with an on/off
switch on the front face? From what I understand internal readers are
logged as drives in XP. IOW, if the reader has 4 slots for different kinds
of media, XP will log the card reader as C:\, D:\, E:\, F:\ (for example).

They dont all do it like that. Some only assign
a drive letter when there is that media in the slot.

 

[KJ]

I haven't seen one with a switch, but if you're just concerned with all the
extra drive letters, then there is a solution.

For exmple you have a card reader that you onlu use the CF slot, and never
use the other slots.
Start by inserting a CF card in the drive, then...

Go to
Control Panel
Administrative Tools
Computer Management
Disk Management
You should now see the various drive letters assigned, and you should be
able to see which letter goes with the slot you have the CF card in.
For each of the other slots that you don't use, just right click on it
Assign/remove drive letter
remove the drive letter.

That's all there is to it.

It doesn't stop the other slots from working, it just doesn't assign a drive
letter to them any more.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[KJ]

Cool! I got one for Xmas, but like the OP, I'm not satisfied with all
those drive designations. So if you want to use one of the other
slots, how would you access the data? Would you have to go into Disk
Management each time and untick the the drive designation and how
would you know which one to untick? Thanks.

I haven't tried this but would imagine that when you insert a card into
one of the other slots, XP automatically re-assigns a drive letter to
the active slot. After you are done using the slot, you likely have to
go back and manually remove the drive letter per the instructions above,
if you want it to disappear again, or it will persist even after a
reboot. Again, that's my guess.

 

[KJ]

They dont all do it like that. Some only assign
a drive letter when there is that media in the slot.

Well, that's ideal. And how I would have thought they worked by default,
but from reading reviews at NewEgg it seems clear that many (at least
the lesser expensive models) assign drive letters. It's something many
people complain about.

Aside from reading through reviews looking for models where there don't
happen to be any complaints about that particular thing (which isn't
conclusive anyway), do you know of any models or features to look for
that are indicative of a reader that does not pre-assign drive letters
to empty slots?

TIA

 

[Ed Medlin]

Well, that's ideal. And how I would have thought they worked by default,
but from reading reviews at NewEgg it seems clear that many (at least
the lesser expensive models) assign drive letters. It's something many
people complain about.

Aside from reading through reviews looking for models where there don't
happen to be any complaints about that particular thing (which isn't
conclusive anyway), do you know of any models or features to look for
that are indicative of a reader that does not pre-assign drive letters
to empty slots?

TIA

I have a Sandisk 8-in-1 external USB2 card reader that only assigns a drive
letter to the slot being used......... I can't say for sure if their
internal readers do the same. It might be a place to start though.

Ed

 

[Rod Speed]

Well, that's ideal. And how I would have thought they worked
by default, but from reading reviews at NewEgg it seems clear
that many (at least the lesser expensive models) assign drive
letters. It's something many people complain about.

Aside from reading through reviews looking for models where
there don't happen to be any complaints about that particular
thing (which isn't conclusive anyway), do you know of any
models or features to look for that are indicative of a reader
that does not pre-assign drive letters to empty slots?

Fraid not, havent bothered to keep track of the ones that do it properly.
Its not the sort of thing you buy very often or which gets reviewed much.

They're often not even branded products, very anonymous most of them.

 

[KJ]

I have a Sandisk 8-in-1 external USB2 card reader that only assigns a drive
letter to the slot being used......... I can't say for sure if their
internal readers do the same. It might be a place to start though.

Ed

Thanks, Ed!

 

[KJ]

Fraid not, havent bothered to keep track of the ones that do it properly.
Its not the sort of thing you buy very often or which gets reviewed much.

They're often not even branded products, very anonymous most of them.

Right. I may just go with an external one that's small enough to throw
in a drawer when it's not in use. I just don't want a bunch of external
crap connected to my system.