Card reader - I foolishly disconnected it

[putteesinmyhands]

When about to change SD cards in my laptop's card reader, I right-clicked on the drive and selected "disconnect" instead of "eject". The result is that, even after re-starting the laptop, the card reader is no longer discovered by Explorer. I can't find the card reader in Device Manager either.

Have I done something that will require me to switch it back on in the BIOS or can I reconnect it some other way?

 

[Tremaine]

My Laptop has an inbuilt card-reader which is infinitely more useful than digging round for my external USB gadget! Which could be a viable alternative to the laptop card reader which isn't working.

I've no idea how to msolve the problem you describe but look in device manager under disk drives your reader(s) should appear there, click on the little box +- they should appear. If there is a yellow asterisk or question mark showing, there is an issue. There should be an option to update driver, you could give that a try. It could be several things but that is the easiest thing to check first.

There could be a number of reasons for the failure (obviously) . Which version of windows is it? or is it another platform? My Laptop card reader worked when I first inserted a media card and I use Windows 7, it (only then) mounted and installed the device as a USB and was instantly useable. It seems when the card was removed, the drive dismounted again. There are a number of threads, on the web, in numerous techie forums and support sites about this problem , usually found of course under Google. SD Card Reader Not Working on Acer Aspire 5600 Laptop - FixYa or Hardware devices are not working or are not detected in Windows

No doubt some wizardly and more helpful type will be along shortly

 

[Troy]

When about to change SD cards in my laptop's card reader, I right-clicked on the drive and selected "disconnect" instead of "eject". The result is that, even after re-starting the laptop, the card reader is no longer discovered by Explorer. I can't find the card reader in Device Manager either.

Have I done something that will require me to switch it back on in the BIOS or can I reconnect it some other way?

Another option to consider in future is to use the icon with the green arrow at the bottom of the screen to, "safely remove hardware." Click that and wait for the message, "it is now safe to remove, whatever it is you want to remove." It saves any possibility of disconnecting drives from your system.

 

[pongo6863]

See if it's still there in the Device Manager. If it is then right click it - you should have the opportunity Enable it.

 

[putteesinmyhands]

There was no sign of the card reader in the Device Manager, hence the inability to re-enable it.

Fortunately, it's back on now. IT geek at work spent over an hour trying to get it back without obvious success despite reinstalling what looked to be the driver and a few more Restarts. After he gave up, I did a full shut down and started the labtop up from fresh. The card reader reappeared and functioned as normal.

It looks like the full shut down was the key in getting things back to normal, though I don't know if the reinstallation of the driver also contributed. Certainly, "Restart" didn't let the electrons flow into the necessary places, so I'll bear this in mind next time something goes wrong.

Thanks for your contributions, I do normally safely-remove by using the icon in the bottom task bar, but on this occasion I had a few other devices plugged in and couldn't decide which was which, hence the move to the Explorer "Eject" option (except that "Disconnect" seemed like an equivalent. I know better now).

 

[Steven]

Cold boot is always favourite for hardware changes.

 

[BrandySoured]

I haven't used windows for a long time but is there not a function to search for new devices? A search may show up your reader again.

 

[putteesinmyhands]

I haven't used windows for a long time but is there not a function to search for new devices? A search may show up your reader again.

We tried that, but the card reader didn't show up as a new device.

Incidentally, it was after the cold boot (I've learned a new term - must drop it into conversations to impress people) that the machine reported that it was installing the "new" driver - and everything went back to normal. It didn't do this after the numerous "Restarts".

 

[pongo6863]

We tried that, but the card reader didn't show up as a new device.

Incidentally, it was after the cold boot (I've learned a new term - must drop it into conversations to impress people) that the machine reported that it was installing the "new" driver - and everything went back to normal. It didn't do this after the numerous "Restarts".

Sorry puttees, one never knows what's already been attempted or how good the complainant's computing skills are when trying to solve problems on-line. As Steven said a cold boot, as opposed to a warm boot (or restart) is always recommended when you're having driver problems. As you're using a laptop I'd (wrongly) assumed you'd done a cold boot at some stage as most of us turn laptops off whenever possible to avoid overheating problems.

 

[putteesinmyhands]

One of the biggest problems us computer divs have is not knowing the buzzwords. Googling can throw up answers if you know what to ask for, although us experienced divs have learned that "Registry" and "config.sys" are the domains where only geeks are permitted access - usually to be followed by a statement that the computer's had it, upon which you look for a more knowledgeable geek...

 

[pongo6863]

One of the biggest problems us computer divs have is not knowing the buzzwords. Googling can throw up answers if you know what to ask for, although us experienced divs have learned that "Registry" and "config.sys" are the domains where only geeks are permitted access - usually to be followed by a statement that the computer's had it, upon which you look for a more knowledgeable geek...

I heartily agree with you there, the registry is not an area to be modified without a good idea of what you're doing and using Config.sys is even worse IMO because it's much easier to get at.

But don't think it's not difficult for us nerds! When we first started programming Windows applications we used a text file in a known location (usually a .ini file in the Windows folder) to store all the user's preferences (e.g. the font size and/or colour). Then along came 32-bit Windows and the .ini file was dumped and all the data normally stored in it had to go to the registry. This was a bit of a shock and now instead of writing a nice little, readable text file we have to store stuff in sub-folders of sub-folders in the registry and one little mistake can, as you know, have serious consequences!

It does, however have one major advantage - .ini files were easy to find and even easier to edit (I often used to edit games files to give me better weapons or more money) but the thought of changing the registry puts off many people so program data is not hacked so often!

 

[GrandadsMOB]

USB-connected devices are notorious for disappearing (e.g. photo/slide scanners, cameras etc.)

I've always found that plugging it into another USB slot usually works. The system thinks it's a new device, searches for the relevant driver and installs it on the new port.

After a few cold starts (that's Old 'n' Bold Geek terminology from mainframe days!) it eventually sorts itself out.

GMOB

 

[pongo6863]

USB-connected devices are notorious for disappearing (e.g. photo/slide scanners, cameras etc.)

I've always found that plugging it into another USB slot usually works. The system thinks it's a new device, searches for the relevant driver and installs it on the new port.

After a few cold starts (that's Old 'n' Bold Geek terminology from mainframe days!) it eventually sorts itself out.

GMOB

You'd better believe it! I started using a small mainframe called a PDP-8 which had a manual bootstrap (you had to set a row of switches into different configurations several times before the machine would read the punched paper tape that loaded the operating system).

You young lads, you don't know you're born!!

 

[viceroy]

Cold boot is always favourite for hardware changes.

IF you are using windows....

You could always buy a Mac and have no such issues...

 

[GrandadsMOB]

You'd better believe it! I started using a small mainframe called a PDP-8 which had a manual bootstrap (you had to set a row of switches into different configurations several times before the machine would read the punched paper tape that loaded the operating system).

You young lads, you don't know you're born!!

Was that a PDP-8A, 8E or PDP 8-M then? And could you make the memory sing by manually using the program keys?

And pongo, it wasn't a mainframe. It was a toy mini-computer. Used by Reuters currency dealers and maintained by Wobble and Careless (and me!) in Bahrain.

This is a mainframe - I know 'cos I used to build and fly-and-fix the feckers from the plant in Mission Viejo, CA!

(Swing that lamp, lads!)

GMOB

 

[putteesinmyhands]

You'd better believe it! I started using a small mainframe called a PDP-8 which had a manual bootstrap (you had to set a row of switches into different configurations several times before the machine would read the punched paper tape that loaded the operating system).

You young lads, you don't know you're born!!

IBM 1620 beats PDP-8. Thankfully, I just handed punched cards to the operator.

 

[Tinman74]

IF you are using windows....

You could always buy a Mac and have no such issues...

I can concur with that!!

 

[pongo6863]

Was that a PDP-8A, 8E or PDP 8-M then? And could you make the memory sing by manually using the program keys?

And pongo, it wasn't a mainframe. It was a toy mini-computer.

GMOB

Yeah, I know, but for the purpose of this discussion... Before that I used a Prime.

One thing it did have though was a 'magic switch', a small toggle switch on the side. It was there when I joined the company so I've no idea of its history. If it was up, the computer would work; push it down and although the power stayed on, it stopped working. I wanted to know what it did so I took the side off. There was a single wire attached at one end to a circuit board and the other to one side of the switch. All I could think was that it added a bit of capacitance somehow.

 

[pongo6863]

I'm not going to get into a MAC/PC discussion as it's an argument that's impossible to win.

What I will say is that although all the desktops in my office run Windows (we program in Microsoft's .NET) both my personal laptops run Ubuntu Linux which, along with all it's software is free. And yes, Ubuntu will run on a MAC.

 

[walt_of_the_walts]

I'm not going to get into a MAC/PC discussion as it's an argument that's impossible to win.

Argument is over. The PC has won.