Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I own a Cannon PowerShot S100, and was sick of using the complicated transfer software that came with it after only one day. My friends who reccommended the camera also reccommended this SanDisk drive, and its made things a whole lot easier. It's natively supported by Windows XP--this means you can plug it into your USB port and XP will recognize it (no need to use the installation disk) and place a link to it inside your "My Computer" folder.

Transfer is surprisingly quick, though if you want to edit your pictures it's better to transfer them off the disk first. And, if you're low on USB ports, it has no problem being hotswapped (unlike a few other devices I have). Very easy to use--makes your CompactFlash card act just like a Zip disk or data CD. Highly reccommended.

I purchased the Sandisk SDDR-31 after purchasing a Kodak DX3500 digital camera. The camera only supports Windows and Mac with the included Kodak image transfer software. Also, using the camera to dowload pictures drains the batteries and puts wear and tear on the small USB connector on the side of the camera. Since Linux is my primary OS, I had to download pictures to my Windows machine and then copy them to my Linux PC -- not an optimal solution. Enter the Sandisk SDDR-31 Imagemate. I connected it to my Linux PC, mounted the device and copied my pictures directly from the Compact Flash card. No muss, no fuss. This is the way USB should work with every device.

This is much better than downloading images from a digital camera, especially if you have more than one brand of camera. The image transfer is fast, and the jpgs are unmolested so the exif data comes over correctly (if that matters to you).

One tip for Win2k users - DON'T install the software that comes with the card reader. Just plug it into the USB port, and the native Win2K drivers will see it. If you do install the software, you will end up on the phone with their support uninstalling things, like I did. Although, the phone support was good.

Overall, a really good product and worth having.

I bought my Imagemate after upgrading my computer system. The thing refuses to work properly. On my first install, it locked up *all* my drives, C-F, by taking them over. I'm still not sure what happened, but I had to reformat. The Imagemate only works sporadically, locking up my computer 95 percent of the time. I exchanged many emails with tech support. They're friendly and try to be helpful, but it seems that this product just doesn't work with some computers.

Windows 98 SE has known conflicts with USB on computers with AMD chips. Also, if you have Easy Cd Creator installed, you will have trouble with the Sandisk. I have an AMD chip, Win98 SE, and the cd software. Even when I uninstall the cd software, apply the MS USB patch, and go through the registry editing procedure you can read about in the Sandisk Imagemate FAQ- well, the thing still doesn't work.

If you decide to buy one, I would suggest getting it at a brick and mortar store so you can return it easily if it doesn't work. The chances are pretty good it will work for you. I've used it on one other computer with no problems whatsoever... but it stinks if you are the 1 in 10,000 (or whatever) it doesn't work for!

Good flash card reader. CAUTION: On windows 2000 / XP, DO NOT install the supplied drivers on CD like the manual says, let Windows install native drivers, otherwise you will have a major headache.

Installing the drivers for the SDDR-31 caused my system to lock up and a blue screen appearing with the message: "A fatal exception OE has occurred at 0028:C16ED46E in module VXD APIX(01)...The application will be terminated" (Or it immediately reboots)... What's going on? In looking at the ScanDisk website I learned how to fix this problem. I was running Easy CD creator 3.5c and Direct CD 2.5d. I needed to install the floppy107.exe patch from ROXIO. This patch fixed my "blue screen of death" and now the ScanDisk works like a champ.

This just makes you aware how interralated hardware and their drivers are to each other, where one small hickup can cause you such distress and much finger pointing. It just makes you thankful for the internet and excellent companies that post their latest updates and fixes on their websites.

A wonderful product at a great price, the digital pictures from my camera copy really fast, and I do not have to rundown the camera batteries to transfer my pictures.

I bought the SanDisk card reader out of frustration trying to get my Polaroid PDC 1100 to work with Windows XP. To install, all you have to do is turn off the computer, plug in the USB cable, and turn the computer back on. W-XP recognizes it and there's nothing else to do. Unfortunately, the instructions don't tell you this (it's on the SanDisk website) and you don't use the CD that comes with the product. Once the card is inserted, you can view the thumbnails in Windows Explorer, drag and drop to other folders, etc. A lot easier than downloading from the camera.

The SanDisk Flash Reader is a very cool product, very easy to install and use. If your (or anyone else's)PC has a USB port, I recommend simply turning on (i.e. hard booting) the system, and then plugging in the SanDisk Flash reader into the appropriate port. On relatively new systems, i.e. where the USB port drivers are already installed, there is no need to even load the SanDisk software. Just boot up, plug the SanDisk reader into the USB port, the system will recognize the SanDisk reader as a new, removable, drive, and you can automatically bring up your digital pix from your removable memory card. This is especially great for your kids and grandkids, as well as grandparents, who might be trying to economize by saving cost on 35MM film, photo reprints and such. If you experience any difficulty with your SanDisk install, fear not, for SanDisk's help desk is staffed by a very professional and friendly staff. Hint: if there is a problem with the install, it might well lie in the bundled software and embedded marketing stuff that you (perhaps unknowingly) bought with your desktop. I highly recommend trying the install without prior loading of the SanDisk software as a first course of action. It was a most pleasant surprise to find it work so well the first time. I think you also deserve a break today! So go for SanDisk!

This is *the* compact flash reader to get. I originally owned an IBM USB CF reader and used it with Win 98/2000. Finding the drivers was a pain and it didn't work on my Mac (OS X) or Linux PC. The SanDisk is compatible with any new Linux distro with USB support, OS X, Windows of all variety. I just plugged it in on all 3 and it worked. I love it. It feels like heavy, solid construction. The only thing I don't like is that you must pull the CF cards out...I like an "eject" button. Still, Highly recommended.

I tried this on my system with Windows ME and couldn't get it to work. I think I have some incompatible software and/or hardware. The documentation that came with the card reader was weak and the on-line support did not solve my problem. After I switched to my older computer (Windows 98), it worked great. I love that it behaves like another disk drive. I can load photos onto my computer in a flash (then transfer them to the Windows ME system over the home network). This is a handy and affordable add-on.