sd card question

[Kali]

I have a REALLY old cell phone that had a couple images I could never e-mail to myself and then a few more images I took in an "emergency" even though verizon no longer supported the phone being able to send images. Prior to February of this year all but the first three images could be sent to my e-mail or to other phones like normal.

I finally got around to buying a micro sd card and transfered the images to it. The package included an adapter sd thingy that you insert the micro in to supposedly be able to transfer the files with. Do I need to buy a card reader too? I thought it would work in one of my regular cameras and then I could use the usb cord to finally get these pictures onto my computer but neither camera seems to see any files through the adaptor. I am sure they are on the micro card now because they are off the phone unless I insert the micro into it.

hmmm I wonder if this has anything to do with it - the package says micro SDHC card supposed to be HD video but says for pictures and video. could this be why my cameras won't read it (they are both cheapo cameras too.

any help/calling me a total dumbass gladly accepted

[NYC_SKP]

1. I don't know but I've had similar problems.

Not all my cards work equally well across different devices.

Usually, however, a card reader to my desktop will read anything.

Good luck, I hope someone else gives better advice.

[Kali]

2. ah, I just don't have much experience with them

figured I should probably get a reader. I think my printer has one but not sure that would actually transfer to the laptop as files even if I could figure out where it is and how to use it.

oh well, step at a time. now at least if the phone croaks for good I at least have the files somewhere else.

thanks!

[sir pball]

7. + a lot

Card readers are so cheap these days you should have one regardless...both of my laptops have SD slots builtin and I still have one in my camera bag just in case. It also reads MMC and CompactFlash, but I haven't had use for that since my D70 died.

[ManiacJoe]

3. Digital cameras are very picky about what they read from the cards.

Besides the file system needing a very specific directory structure on the card, many (most?) cameras will not read the image if the camera did not create it. For example, take JPG with your camera, copy it to your computer, edit the image and save as a JPG, copy it back to the SD card, try to read it with the camera. Many will fail to read it.

Using a card reader (external, or internal to your computer) is your best bet for reading the card.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

4. Agreed ^^^

What he said.

[krispos42]

5. Your micro-SD card... did it come with a USB adapter?

It's a gizmo that you stick the microSD card into, and then plug it into a USB port on your computer. If yours came with that, as well as an SD card adapter, then you should use that. Your PC will see it as a USB drive, same as a memory stick. They're about the size of a Jolly Rancher.


Failing that, if you have a printer, check and see if it has slots for sticking in memory cards. The HP that my parents have has slots built into it that lets me stick an SD card, a Sony MemoryStick, and something else into the front of it directly. When I do that (with the printer turned on), the card appears as a USB drive on the PC (drive G: or something similar).


It's possible that the microSD card is too big for the camera, as well... some of them can't handle large capacity memory cards. The part about being for HD video shouldn't be an issue; it's a measure of how fast the card can read and write. I bought one of those a few months ago but my smartphone kept eating them, so I put in an older, slower, and larger capacity (and cheaper) microSD card instead. It's still fast enough to play standard-def video for the amusement of my son, so I'm all set.

It might be worth the $15 to get a universal memory stick reader. I saw one at Target, for $15 or $20, that plugs into your computer's USB port and that takes SD, microSD, MemoryStick, and a couple of others. This way you're covered.

The cheaper way might be to take the microSD card (with the SD adapter) to a place with an instant photo-printing area, like CVS or Wal-Mart or whatever, stick the microSD card into their computer, then make a CD-ROM of the images that are stored on there. It's cheaper than buying the memory-stick reader, but obviously it would be a one-time thing.


Good luck!

[Festivito]

6. Also, do you still have the charging cable with a USB end.

This can plug your phone directly into your laptop or desktop. Depending on operating system it should ask you to choose which program you prefer when reading your camera's memory.

I prefer windows explorer. There you can see and transfer your pictures from the camera flash drive to your personal hard drive. A camera program may exist as a choice that will automatically transfer your pictures. Use the one that makes you feel most comfortable.

If you do have trouble with a brand new HD card, you might have to buy another being careful to put it into the camera first. I found this with my phone. The phone will not see an HD formated by my laptop, but the laptop will see my phone formatted HD card.

Good luck.