New Compact Flash card not recognized by system [SOLVED]

lizardbrain · n00b Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 64 Location: the swamp

I recently purchased a Lexar 4 GB Compact Flash card for my Nikon D100. The old Lexar 512 MB card is fine, but I wanted more space.

The new card works as well as the old one in the camera, but when I insert it into the Lexar Jumpshot reader, the LED on the reader just lights up and stays lit, unlike with the old card where the LED lights up, flickers, and goes out as the card is mounted. The new card never mounts. As far as dmesg is concerned, no event has occurred when I plug the new card in; the old card produces a number of lines of info in dmesg as it is mounted. When I put the new card into the camera and connect the camera to the computer with its USB cable, nothing happens. When I do the same with the old card, it mounts normally.

The new card mounts and is readable in a friend's Windows box.

Using genkernel, I upgraded my kernel this morning to 2.6.27-gentoo-r8, using menuconfig to make sure I had all USB options compiled in. Same result.

Any help is appreciated.

pianosaurus · l33t Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Posts: 944 Location: Bash$

I believe the JumpShot reader is only compatible with USB-enabled CF cards (integrated USB controller in the card). According to Lexar, «All USB-enabled CompactFlash cards have the "USB-enabled" logo clearly marked on the top side of the card.» I'd check for that first, as I know they sell cards that are not USB-enabled.
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pianosaurus · l33t Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Posts: 944 Location: Bash$

Should still be readable through cable when in the camera, though, so I guess the problem is somewhere else. Did you format it in the camera?
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lizardbrain · n00b Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 64 Location: the swamp

I didn't know that Compact Flash cards came in USB-enabled and non-USB-enabled versions. Sure enough, the old card is USB-enabled and the new card isn't.

Yep, I formatted in the camera and still no luck. Is that because the camera attaches via USB cable and then becomes a USB reader? How does the card reader slot on my friend's Windows box work? Is that something other than USB? My knowledge is lacking here.

If the solution to the problem is to go out and buy another card that is specifically USB-enabled, I can live with that. I can sell this card at a loss and just replace it with something that works.

Thanx for the link to the Lexar USB-enabled CF FAQ. And for your informative reply.

pianosaurus · l33t Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Posts: 944 Location: Bash$

Most cards are not USB-enabled, and most readers do not require the card to be so. I don't even think most USB readers have to have USB-enabled cards, but readers that do require it are simpler to build, and therefore also cheaper (since the card does the USB communication itself, the reader is pretty much just a converter for the plug).

The camera doesn't require the card to be USB-enabled, and so you should be able to transfer your images with a USB cable from the camera. I don't know why that doesn't work.

Your friend's card reader slot may be on the USB bus and have its own built-in USB chipset, or (more likely) it is on the PCI bus. They do things like that differently from machine to machine.

If you can't get cable transfer to work, you should check one thing before buying a new card: Does your D100 have the 2.0 firmware? If not, can you upgrade it? The 2.0 firmware (or newer) includes support for formatting the card with the FAT32 file system. Without FAT32, you cannot use more than 2.2 Gb of a card, and that could also be the reason cable transfer won't work.

Another alternative to buying a new card would be buying a new reader. It would give you more flexibility when choosing cards in the future, but I don't know how much they cost. I don't have one myself.
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lizardbrain · n00b Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 64 Location: the swamp

I checked, and the D100 does have the 2.0 firmware installed.

A quick run by Newegg tells me that a card reader would be a much less expensive alternative to a new card. And, as you say, it would give me more flexibility regarding future card purchases. I'll order one and see if that fixes the problem. The Jumpshot reader came with the old Lexar CF card, ordered when I bought the camera, so I never gave a thought about how it worked.

You've given me a wealth of information on the subject of Compact Flash cards and USB, and I thank you for it.

pianosaurus · l33t Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Posts: 944 Location: Bash$

No problem.

One final thing: Make sure the card reader you buy is USB 2.0, as USB 1.1 has a maximum transfer rate of 12 Mbit/s (1.5 MB/s). CompactFlash is usually faster than this, so the old USB variant would be a bottleneck.
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lizardbrain · n00b Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 64 Location: the swamp

The new card reader arrived, and works like a charm. And it's incredibly fast! The JumpShot reader must've been USB 1.1; my biggest complaint with it was that it took forever to download a few hundred MB of images. No problems downloading a day's worth of shooting, now.

Thank you, Cuber, for your patient help.

pianosaurus · l33t Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Posts: 944 Location: Bash$

You're welcome. That's what the forums are for.

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