Camera Card Reader

On Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:24:46 GMT, "David J Taylor"
wrote in
:

Allen wrote:
[]
On another subject--congratulations on either your wisdom or luck in
not converting from XP to Vista. My old XP machine died right when my
wife was in the middle of a big project and I didn't have time to
special order a machine with XP, so I had to buy an off-the-shelf
Vista box. There should be an investigation to determine just what
the MS designers and programmers were smoking and/or inhaling when
they produced Vista. I have been dealing with computers since
1954--analog, mainframe, minis, PCs--and I have never seen anything
like Vista, except for Bob and Win ME. Allen

What didn't work about Vista for you? I have it on a number of PCs here,
and all seem to be working well, doing a variety of tasks.

The two biggest problems with Vista:
* Device drivers
* Application compatibility

Other big issues include:
* High resource consumption
* Poor performance of some common operations
* Removal of XP features
* User Account Control
* Memory protection flaws
* Poorer battery life
* TPM (DRM)

--
Best regards,
John
Panasonic DMC-FZ8, DMC-FZ20, and several others

John Navas wrote:
[]
The two biggest problems with Vista:

* Device drivers

Not been a problem here. It could have been in the first days after
release a couple of years back, although again not here.

* Application compatibility

I think Nero version 6 is the only program I have which doesn't work, and
there are free alternatives which do. Note that Nero 6 is a very old
version. I haven't found another application which doesn't work, although
one or two force the display to basic mode from areo mode.

Other big issues include:
* High resource consumption

Vista needs a little more memory - perhaps 2-3GB - but actually makes
better us of it than XP and feels faster in operation to me. The cost of
disk and memory make it almost a non-issue these days.

* Poor performance of some common operations

File copying springs to mind, but I think that was fixed to a degree in
SP1. It certainly hasn't been an issue for me.

* Removal of XP features

Yes, I think I found it more complex to change the icon for a file type.

* User Account Control

Optional. I find it helpful.

* Memory protection flaws

More details, please.

* Poorer battery life

Haven't done a comparison.

* TPM (DRM)

Hasn't been an issue for me.


Please don't think I am suggesting that you should remove your Windows XP
or even Windows 2000 if it works for you - I don't see Vista as an upgrade
to XP. But having Vista on new PCs just isn't an issue for me today.

Cheers,
David

On Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:00:29 GMT, "Dudley Hanks"
wrote in NO84l.199$z%.29@edtnps82:

Regarding symtoms, there's not much I can say. If I format the card
in-camera and put it in a card reader (I currently use two different
readers), the computer doesn't recognize the format. An error window pops
up asking me if I want to format the card, so the operating system knows
something is there, it just doesn't recognize the format.

On the flip side, if I format the card in a reader attached to the computer,
it will work just fine in the camera, for a short time. Then, the card
fails, and neither the computer or the camera can do anything with the dead
card. They won't reformat. But, as noted above, the computer knows a card
is there; it just can't reformat it. Sorry, it's been a few months since
the last card died, so I forget the exact error message I get if I try to
reformat. It was pretty generic though, something like: Error accessing
(writing to?) removable disk. Format halted..."

I've only seen such problems with defective Flash memory.

--
Best regards,
John
Panasonic DMC-FZ8, DMC-FZ20, and several others

On Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:30:00 GMT, "David J Taylor"
wrote in
:

Please don't think I am suggesting that you should remove your Windows XP
or even Windows 2000 if it works for you - I don't see Vista as an upgrade
to XP. But having Vista on new PCs just isn't an issue for me today.

Since you're only concerned with your own experience, there's nothing
more for me to say. For those issues where you feel you need more
information, a Google search should quickly give you more information.

--
Best regards,
John
Panasonic DMC-FZ8, DMC-FZ20, and several others

John Navas wrote:
On Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:30:00 GMT, "David J Taylor"
wrote
in :

Please don't think I am suggesting that you should remove your
Windows XP or even Windows 2000 if it works for you - I don't see
Vista as an upgrade to XP. But having Vista on new PCs just isn't
an issue for me today.

Since you're only concerned with your own experience, there's nothing
more for me to say. For those issues where you feel you need more
information, a Google search should quickly give you more information.

Thanks for your help on this, John.

David

On Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:00:29 GMT, Dudley Hanks wrote:

Regarding symtoms, there's not much I can say. If I format the card
in-camera and put it in a card reader (I currently use two different
readers), the computer doesn't recognize the format. An error window pops
up asking me if I want to format the card, so the operating system knows
something is there, it just doesn't recognize the format.

Although you're using two card readers, they may both have similar
incompatibilities. Several years ago when I got a newer type of xD
card, my readers also reported the same errors. Several months
later I saw an updated version of one of my readers in Staples,
bought it and the cards suddenly became readable. How old are your
card readers?


On the flip side, if I format the card in a reader attached to the computer,
it will work just fine in the camera, for a short time. Then, the card
fails, and neither the computer or the camera can do anything with the dead
card. They won't reformat. But, as noted above, the computer knows a card
is there; it just can't reformat it. Sorry, it's been a few months since
the last card died, so I forget the exact error message I get if I try to
reformat. It was pretty generic though, something like: Error accessing
(writing to?) removable disk. Format halted..."

There are two things you can try if you still have those cards.
Years ago I used Microsoft's DEBUG.EXE to write directly to floppies
and hard drives, allowing boot records and partition tables to be
wiped out or modified. This program is still supplied with XP (it's
in my Windows\System32 directory. To start it create a DOS window
and type "DEBUG" followed by the Enter key. It should load
instantly and give you a "-" prompt. Now type "?" Enter and
you'll see a list of DEBUG's commands. Note that "Q" Enter is
used to quit/exit debug.

Another thing you could try is the Control Panel's Administrative
Tools. Double click "Computer Management" followed by Disk
Management (in Storage). Maximize the window and you should see the
flash card listed as one of the drives. Select it by clicking on
the large portion on the right, not the left side. Then right click
it and see if it offers a Delete Partition option. When I tried
this with my SD card, the option was unavailable (grayed out). If
you're lucky, this option may be available. If it is, delete the
partition, recreate it, and then reformat it. If you reformat it
with the computer, reformat it again in the camera before taking
more pictures. If Disk Management won't allow you to delete the
partition, there may be some free "disk" utilities that will. There
are commercial apps that may work such as Partition Magic, and
possibly System Commander which says that it can do partitioning for
different OS's. But don't buy one unless someone that uses it can
confirm that it'll work with flash cards in readers. Good,
compatible readers, that is . . .

On 2008-12-23, John Navas wrote:
On Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:30:00 GMT, "David J Taylor"
wrote in
:

Please don't think I am suggesting that you should remove your Windows XP
or even Windows 2000 if it works for you - I don't see Vista as an upgrade
to XP. But having Vista on new PCs just isn't an issue for me today.

Since you're only concerned with your own experience, there's nothing
more for me to say. For those issues where you feel you need more
information, a Google search should quickly give you more information.


Sounds familiar. Something about not wanting to objectively compare
camera capabilities unless it's done at St.Francis Yacht Club springs
to mind.

--
savvo orig. invib. man

David J Taylor wrote:
Allen wrote:
[]
On another subject--congratulations on either your wisdom or luck in
not converting from XP to Vista. My old XP machine died right when my
wife was in the middle of a big project and I didn't have time to
special order a machine with XP, so I had to buy an off-the-shelf
Vista box. There should be an investigation to determine just what
the MS designers and programmers were smoking and/or inhaling when
they produced Vista. I have been dealing with computers since
1954--analog, mainframe, minis, PCs--and I have never seen anything
like Vista, except for Bob and Win ME. Allen

What didn't work about Vista for you? I have it on a number of PCs
here, and all seem to be working well, doing a variety of tasks.

Cheers,
David
Well, for a start:
Totally non-intuitive, in many ways, compared to Win XP and 98.
Too much "security" in home versions. I don't want to fool with admin
rights.
I have had to use the Restore feature perhaps 6 times since July; I
never had to use it with XP.
Right now, although everything seems to be in place for WMP, it won't
run; to restore it, I'm told by many knowledgeable people that it is
necessary to reinstall Vista, as there isn't a repair facility.
These are a few of my issues; you can find tens of thousands of gripes
in Google. And, if it's so damn good, why does MS keep extending XP support?
As I said in my post, I've had 54 years of dealing with computers, and
I've not seen anything to compare with it. A huge step backward for MS
in my (and others') opinion. I've known and used IBM 1401 AL, 360/370
AL, Fortran, IBM PL/1, COBOL, IBM Series I with Waterloo OS, CPM, Wang
Basic and close to a dozen other Basics, most versions of MS software
for PCs, both DOS and Windows, also a little Pascal and a few 4GLs. I've
been around the block a few times with computers.
Allen

Allen wrote:
Vista vs. the rest?
Well, for a start:
Totally non-intuitive, in many ways, compared to Win XP and 98.

Yes, I agree it's different. I've used it long enough now to find that
there are quite a lot of aspects I like, but it's not without its learning
curve. Did you find a similar problem moving from 98 to XP?

Too much "security" in home versions. I don't want to fool with admin
rights.

Accepted, but I think that's a positive point. not a negative one. We'll
have to agree to disagree here.

I have had to use the Restore feature perhaps 6 times since July; I
never had to use it with XP.

That's more times than I would expect. Is that on the same hardware?

Right now, although everything seems to be in place for WMP, it won't
run; to restore it, I'm told by many knowledgeable people that it is
necessary to reinstall Vista, as there isn't a repair facility.

You must have tried the System File Checker?

http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/2231/..._file_checker/

I have also seen issues with WMP, but they have been caused by 3rd party
software. Removing the bad software restores full function.

These are a few of my issues; you can find tens of thousands of gripes
in Google. And, if it's so damn good, why does MS keep extending XP
support? As I said in my post, I've had 54 years of dealing with
computers, and I've not seen anything to compare with it. A huge step
backward for MS
in my (and others') opinion. I've known and used IBM 1401 AL, 360/370
AL, Fortran, IBM PL/1, COBOL, IBM Series I with Waterloo OS, CPM, Wang
Basic and close to a dozen other Basics, most versions of MS software
for PCs, both DOS and Windows, also a little Pascal and a few 4GLs.
I've been around the block a few times with computers.
Allen

Similar experience here, Allen, starting with building computers at school
in the 1960s.

It does seem that Vista hasn't been as successful as some might have
hoped, but I do think that it doesn't deserve all the bad press it's had.
Windows 7 will be based on Vista, I understand, so it will give folk a
breathing space in UI changes, and perhaps allow some of the tardier
software and hardware vendors chance to catch up. I suspect that had
Vista simply been XP with the security enhancements, people would still
have complained.

Cheers,
David

David J Taylor wrote:
Allen wrote:
Vista vs. the rest?
Well, for a start:
Totally non-intuitive, in many ways, compared to Win XP and 98.

Yes, I agree it's different. I've used it long enough now to find that
there are quite a lot of aspects I like, but it's not without its
learning curve. Did you find a similar problem moving from 98 to XP?

Too much "security" in home versions. I don't want to fool with admin
rights.

Accepted, but I think that's a positive point. not a negative one.
We'll have to agree to disagree here.

I have had to use the Restore feature perhaps 6 times since July; I
never had to use it with XP.

That's more times than I would expect. Is that on the same hardware?
Yes.

Right now, although everything seems to be in place for WMP, it won't
run; to restore it, I'm told by many knowledgeable people that it is
necessary to reinstall Vista, as there isn't a repair facility.

You must have tried the System File Checker?

http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/2231/..._file_checker/
Tried it. After a few minutes I went to Task Manager and got a "Not
Responding" message for it.

I have also seen issues with WMP, but they have been caused by 3rd party
software. Removing the bad software restores full function.

These are a few of my issues; you can find tens of thousands of gripes
in Google. And, if it's so damn good, why does MS keep extending XP
support? As I said in my post, I've had 54 years of dealing with
computers, and I've not seen anything to compare with it. A huge step
backward for MS
in my (and others') opinion. I've known and used IBM 1401 AL, 360/370
AL, Fortran, IBM PL/1, COBOL, IBM Series I with Waterloo OS, CPM, Wang
Basic and close to a dozen other Basics, most versions of MS software
for PCs, both DOS and Windows, also a little Pascal and a few 4GLs.
I've been around the block a few times with computers.
Allen

Similar experience here, Allen, starting with building computers at
school in the 1960s.

It does seem that Vista hasn't been as successful as some might have
hoped, but I do think that it doesn't deserve all the bad press it's
had. Windows 7 will be based on Vista, I understand, so it will give
folk a breathing space in UI changes, and perhaps allow some of the
tardier software and hardware vendors chance to catch up. I suspect
that had Vista simply been XP with the security enhancements, people
would still have complained.

Cheers,
David
I think we'd better agree that Vista works for some, but there are huge
numbers of people who hate it. It certainly is not MS's finest hour.
They keep supporting XP and are rushing 7 through (perhaps too fast).
That tells me something.