Customer Reviews

SONY PCMCIA Memory Stick(R) Reader

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It works great with the older MemoryStick (128Mb or smaller) and no driver is required. Just put the MemoryStick in and it works like a floppy drive.

However, it won't work on MemoryStick Pro and MagicGate card.

If you want the newer model that compatible with MemoryStick Pro, get Sony MSAC-PC3 Memory Adapter instead.

I wanted a rewriteable medium that 1) was as easy to use as a floppy disk and 2) could hold as much information (if not more) than a CD-RW (rewritable CD). I found my solution by using this Sony PC Card Adapter for Memory Sticks.

This adapter, which fits into my PC card bay (which most laptops have) allows me to insert -- and eject -- a Memory Stick as if it were a floppy disk. (Imagine having a Memory Stick reader built into your laptop, and you'll get the picture.)

The Memory Stick is also much more convenient (and quieter) than using a CD-RW (which needs a special drive). And since a Memory Stick can hold up to 128 MB of data, the usable capacity of the device is almost a hundred times that of a normal floppy (which only holds about 1.44 MB of info).

With Memory Sticks -- and the adapter -- I can now transfer data, music or digital image files among my PC's, or among my photo printers, PDA's and MP3's which use or accept the Memory Stick format.

The adapter is plug-and-play with all of my Windows XP laptops, so installation was a snap. I was also happy to discover that my laptop will ignore the PC Card adapter and Memory Stick during start-up, so I don't need to dis-install the adapter in order to boot up my computer (cool!).

Even though Memory Sticks are quite a bit more expensive than floppies, their reusability makes them economical. The computer reads them as just another drive or memory device, so saving or retrieving data is a piece-of-cake. Best of all, with their larger storage capacity, I'm not running out of space as quickly -- as I always did with floppies.

I love using Memory Sticks -- and this Sony PC Card adapter (for storing and transferring data). Best of all -- I hope never to have to use another floppy disk again! Hallelujah!

I've had USB card readers and 3.5" floppy readers (these are basically card caddies for the fast-disappearing A: drive), and have found that both types can be finicky. The former require a software installation & reboot, and the latter require an A: drive and fresh, watch-type batteries to function. The PCMCIA card however is truly a no-brainer. It requires no software and no batteries. Just slide your camera's memory card into the slot on the edge of the PCMCIA card, then insert the whole thing into your laptop. It is automatically recognized as a new drive and copying from there to your C: drive or to a data CD in your D: drive (to make a permanent photo album) is just a few mouse clicks away.

The Strastechnologies 3rd-party card is a bargain and worked flawlessly ONCE I figured out something that the product descriptions (even on the Sony brand) don't reveal. Specifically, if your PC is running Windows® XP (Home or Pro), ME, 2000, or 98SE operating systems, this card won't work without the installation of driver software that is not included in the package! It took me a lot of research to get the correcct software directly from Sony. To save you the trouble, here is the link: http://ciscdb.sel.sony.com/cgi-bin/swu-install.pl?upd_id=1277&PASSVAL2=SMB and the driver file is MSFMTINST210.EXE. I would have given it 5 stars if this information had been enclosed. Go for the bargain!

This is a terrific product for laptop computer users on the go. I was carrying around an external 6-in-1 media reader, which took up a bit of space in my bag.

This PC Card adapter is slim and easily fits in a pocket. I inserted it into an available PC Card (also known as PCMCIA) slot in my XP laptop and it installed itself and read the files on my card immediately. (Although it recommended a reboot to work, I didn't need to.)

I was concerned it would only read Sony brand memory sticks, but it has no problem reading Lexar. File transfer speed is pretty quick also... the images came in faster than when I used my external media reader.

All in, another excellent Sony product. Recommended.

This is the fastet and easist product to use. I can plug all my memory sicks used in Clie and camera into my notebook without any wire. That's it!! Actually I have used a USB stick reader. but Sony PCMCIA Memory Stick Adapter is easier and faster than it I guess. Additionlly it is comportable to carry even in your pocket.

This is an ideal device for small to medium data transfer requirements.

I popped it into my XP laptop and the card was recognized, a reboot, and it was done. Now I can pop out the PCMCIA card anytime and transfer it among my other systems.

I popped the PCMCIA card into an old Windows NT IBM laptop, and the device was recognized on reboot.

Now I can use my memory sticks pretty much anywhere I want.

The only complaint I have with the memory stick technology is that it is limited to 128 MB (currently nothing larger in size is available). Compact flash cards are running upwards of 512 MB while the memory stick lags behind.

If you are simply managing large media files, then memory sticks should suffice. However if you need anything in excess of 128 MB you may want to consider the Compact Flash memory cards.

The seller should make it clear that the reader does not work with "PRO" duo memory sticks!

I have the Sony Memory Stick PC Card Adapter (MSAC-PC3) and it's very unreliable on my mac (powerbook, osx 10.3.8). Most of the time it just doers not work at all. When i insert the memory stick the little red light flickers a bit but then nothing. If I shut my mac down completely, leave it off for a few minutes, then boot it again then the crd reader will sometimes work. All in all not a very satisfactory product for mac users.

It worked only some of the time, usually my PC wouldn't recognize the hardware. I sent it back, seller was very accomodating. Now I've ordered a genuine Sony reader.