9-in-1 memory card reader

[Zimdesign]

One of the PCs (Compaq SR1130NX) the company I work for has a built-in 9-in-1 memory card reader. We recently purchased a new Sony Cybershot digital camera so we bought a high-speed 1GB Memory Stick Pro. We noticed that the transfer speed using the camera attached with a USB cable is faster than the integrated reader so we did at test: it took 2 minutes to copy over 570MB to the hard drive via USB while it took about 9 minutes with the reader. Any idea why it's so slow?

 

[Hyun]

Have you verified that the 9-in-1 media reader is USB2.0, and not USB1.1?

 

[Zimdesign]

That sounds like a logical explanation. Not very surprising coming from Compaq either. They are probably still using old media readers even though their motherboards are USB 2.0. Is there a simple way of confirming the reader is USB 1.1?

 

[corkyg]

I have a new H-P Pavilion with one of those multi-readers - absolutely useless for me because it does not handle the most common media around - Compact Flash. So, I use a C/F PCMCIA reader, and it is much faster than any USB port reader. I suspect that the Compaq/H-P alliance mutli-readers are not top of the line.

 

[Hyun]

Check the Device Manager under "Universal Serial Bus Controllers" and see if you see something like "USB 2.0 Root Hub" or something that indicates the presence of a 2.0 controller.

AFAIK, "USB Enhanced Controller" is USB2.0, and USB "Universal Controller" is USB1.1. Does your Device Manager have an entry for "Enhanced Controller"?

 

[Zimdesign]

Yeah, it says "USB Enhanced Controller".

 

[Hyun]

OK, so we've established that the USB controller on your mobo is USB2.0. Now, under the Device Manager, change the View to "Devices by Connection" and make sure that the 9-in-1 reader shows up under the "Enhanced Controller." If it does--then the reader itself may be a 1.1 device. You could buy a 2.0 reader from a place that accepts returns (Staples) to test it out, of course.

 

[simms]

Wait, if the devices shows up under the USB2 Enhanced controller, doesn't that mean it's USB2?

 

[Zimdesign]

It show up under "USB Universal Host Controller" and not under "USB Enhanced Host Controller".