memory card readers???

[cassidy0423]

Need help from all you pro's. Could someone please explain what a memory card reader is, do I need one for my Axim X50v, and is there one that will read all types of memory? (sd,cf,sdio) Thanks for any info.

ppc dummie

[Jason Dunn]

A memory card reader attaches to your desktop or laptop over USB 2.0, and allows you read/write from CompactFlash (CF) cards, Secure Digital (SD) cards, etc. You can get them on ebay for $10 or so, and most perform the same. You can read and write to CF and SD cards through your X50v right now though, using ActiveSync. So you might not need a memory card reader, though they are handy to have.

[MleB]

What Jason said.

I picked up a new SD reader/writer (it runs on my USB 1.1 by the way) for around $7.00 from a local store and I used it to copy a majority of the docs, music, video, PDF files over from my main computer to my PDA's main SD card.
The advantage is that the computer sees the SD card in this device as just another drive, the transfer is quick and there is no dubious 'conversion' of files taking place thru the sometimes equally dubious ActiveSync.
Once done, I then placed the SD card back in the Axim and the appropriate programs found the files with no problem.

As Jason said, you can access the memory card via the Mobile Device in My Computer (when the PDA is cradled) and do essentially the same tasks, but I prefer the reader/writer for the reasons stated above.

~~~~~~~~

Incidentally, the store I got 'such a deal' from was Factory Direct in Toronto, near the U of T. Part of a small chain dealing in new and refurbs, they also have a website - www.factorydirect.ca

[Sven Johannsen]

To add a little to that, you can get memory card readers that read and write only one kind of card, or ones that do multiple formats, typically by having multiple slots. They are priced accordingly.

There are a number of memory cards that use the same slot but have different names. SD (Secure Digital) and MMC (MultiMedia Card) use the same slot for instance, as they are generally physically interchangeable. A reader that has one slot that does those will be called a two format, or 2 in 1 reader, even though it has one slot. You will see 7 in 1 and 9 in 1 readers with only four slots because of this plethora of names for essentially similar formats.

[Brad Adrian]

I agree that card readers can be really useful, especially when transferring large files, like movies. Just remember that you may get a prompt from a card reader saying it can't recognize the formatting of the PPC system and asking you to reformat the card.

[cassidy0423]

Thanks everyone, for the great info. I have to confess that one of the reasons I purchased my Axim was this forum and all of the great users willing to help us tech_nots. If I do receive a prompt to reformat a card, could someone tell me in simple terms how to do that? Again thanks to everyone for their replies.

ppc dummie :D

[MleB]

Your computer should 'see' the card (whatever type you use) in the reader/writer exactly as it does, say, a floppy. As such, either use Windows Explorer or My Computer and right-click on the drive. There you will 'Format'. Click on this and follow the prompts as you do with a floppy.

I did this on a SD card when I moved from Palm to WinMobile and I wanted a clean slate to start from on a SD card I had used on my E, while a new SD card I bought as my main storage did not generate a request for re-formatting.

[Jason Dunn]

Thanks everyone, for the great info. I have to confess that one of the reasons I purchased my Axim was this forum and all of the great users willing to help us tech_nots.

I can't think of a better compliment to this community - that's great to hear!

If I do receive a prompt to reformat a card, could someone tell me in simple terms how to do that? Again thanks to everyone for their replies.

99.999% of all memory cards will be pre-formatted. But, if you put it in your Axim and it's not formatted, you'll get a prompt for formatting that's a simple YES/NO. If you want to format a card manually, you'll need either a program for the Pocket PC, or a memory card reader on the desktop.

If you do get a memory card reader, you'll get new drive letters in My Computer on your desktop. So instead of just having C: for your hard drive and D: for your CD drive, you'll have E:, F:, G:, etc. Each one will be for a different slot on the memory card reader. When you insert your memory card into the appropriate slot on the card reader, on your desktop you can then right-click on the appropriate drive letter (say, F:) and select FORMAT from that menu.

About the only tricky thing with memory card readers is that when they install those new drive letters, they aren't usually labeled with the type of card they support (CF, SD, etc.). So sometimes you'll put a memory card in and you'll have to figure out which drive letter (E:, F:, etc.) you need to click on. Once you figure that out though, it will always be the same drive letter.

Hope this helped explain things a bit!

[cassidy0423]

Thank you again for taking the time to give me the helpful info. I think I understand, and will probably wait until my Axim is delivered and I get to use it for awhile, to decide if I will need the card reader. That will give me a chance to look for one on sale :D

PPC dummie