SanDisk USB Imagemate CompactFlash Card Reader (SDDR-31-01)
by SanDisk

List Price: $29.99
Category: CE
See more product details

(Click here)

Digital Photo Product Details

• Fast transfer--up to 50x faster than using a serial cable
• Easy to use; just drag and drop your files
• Saves batteries; let ImageMate (not your portable device) transfer your files
• Hassle-free installation
• Wide compatibility

• Targus PAUH217U 4 Port Ultra Mini USB 2.0 Hub
• Targus PAUH212U 7 Port USB 2.0 Hub
• Targus DMC111 Digital Memory Card Case - Black (Koskin)
• SanDisk 128 MB CompactFlash Card
• SanDisk SDCFB-128-A10 CompactFlash 128 MB

Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SanDisk USB Imagemate CompactFlash Card Reader (SDDR-31-01)

Customer Review: Works beautifully... after some major complications
Summary: 4 Stars

To say that the installation process turned out to be difficult would be an extreme understatement. When I first got my reader, I was running Win95 OSR2 - not even Rev. B, but I had gotten Rev. B's USB drivers from a friend - and an add-on USB card. I had already installed the drivers for both the USB card and the reader in anticipation of getting the reader.

So, with the necessary drivers already having been installed, I was not surprised when the reader was recognized immediately the very first time I plugged it in. Yes, this reader can and does work with Win95, given the proper drivers, which are available on SanDisk's web site [sandisk.com]. The reader transferred a few test shots VERY quickly, and I was quite pleased with it.

Then the whole thing went down the toilet. The reader stopped working, would not read, would not write [this device writes too], was not detected by my system, and would not show up in my Device Manager no matter what I did. The USB diagnostic utility included with the drivers suggested upgrading to Win98 for its full USB support. I had a Win98SE CD which I had never bothered to install, but now I finally had a good excuse to do so.

SERIOUS complications ensued, most of which were eventually found to be Win98's fault, but some of which were caused by the SanDisk drivers themselves. Suffice it to say that fixing one problem always seemed to create another - not just with the reader, but with my USB card and with other devices as well. It was a LONG night and a long morning after. No matter how many times I installed and uninstalled and reinstalled the Win98 drivers for this reader, no matter what I did in Device Manager, Win98 refused to fully recognize it. Win98 could see that the reader was plugged in, but that was the extent of it - that little red 'X' in Device Manager is rarely a good sign.

After a total of about 14 non-continuous working hours trying to stabilize my new Win98 setup and the SanDisk installation, I determined that the mere presence of the old SanDisk Win95 drivers - even though I was explicitly telling Win98 to use the Win98 drivers - was causing all sorts of PnP problems with the SanDisk. Win98 absolutely insisted on using the Win95 drivers because they were "newer and better." [Newer FILE DATES, that was all! There had apparently been a recent revision by SanDisk, giving the Win95 drivers newer dates than the Win98 drivers.] After an expedition deep into the guts of my registry and my C: drive, in which I completely eliminated every last trace of every copy of the old Win95 files and every reference to them, and after finding that Win98's "IRQ Steering" setting was the cause of a great many problems including the malfunctioning of my USB card, AND after following some rather involved instructions from SanDisk's site, I FINALLY got the drivers to install. FINALLY, the reader worked, and worked like a charm.

I've had no problems with it since then, and the sheer speed of it - and of USB in general - never fails to amaze me, but what should have been a simple "load the drivers and plug it in" installation turned into major OS version upgrade and an extremely frustrating debugging process.

Granted, my case is probably the exception to the rule, and most users will not, or at least SHOULD not, have any difficulty installing the drivers and getting this simple device to work. Most of my problems were caused by Windows itself, not by the SanDisk drivers, but it seems that under the right circumstances, those can be just a little bit stubborn as well - something which has been reported by other reviewers here. I REALLY like my SanDisk reader now, but for several long hours there, I was ready to give it a delicate adjustment with a sledgehammer.

In summary... It's a GREAT reader when it works, but if it doesn't work on the first try, you might be in for a severe headache trying to make it work. Other readers' drivers may not be so balky.