Front Panel Memory Card Reader Interface on Mobo 1

[goombawaho]

Looking to replace a dead motherboard with a different brand/model and wondering if the front panel memory card reader just plugs into one of the motherboard's "available 9-pin USB header on the Motherboard" as it says for this product.

For reference, the card reader looks similar to this product but came with an Acer PC

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...CODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=VRqCjC7BBTkwCjCECjCE

That's where the previous unit is plugged into on the dead motherboard - F_USB header

I guess I always thought those were manufacturer-specific. Apparently they just plug into a USB header on the mobo?!?

 

[flyboytim]

Probably a standard USB to multicard reader - you will find the driver files on the ACER support site - which will give you an idea of the card reader's provenance.

If you ever booted from, or know that it was possible to boot from a memory card in the reader, it is likely to be USB rather than PCI. PCI SD card readers are often unable to boot from the card, although they are plug and play like USB, they do not appear in the bios, which makes my netbook a source of frustration!

http://www.fxxxingcomputers.co.uk

 

[paparazi]

Usually these things are just plug n play USB devices, they often don't need 3rd party drivers to function correctly but it maybe avisable to have a look at the support page on the Acer website depending on the OS being used.
USB2 versions allow for higher capacity/faster transfer and functionality with larger flash cards (usually over 4GB)

Martin



On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar and sleep

 

[goombawaho]

I was just confirming what I analyzed by looking at where the connection from the card reader went to on the old mobo.

Remember I'm replacing the board with a different board so that's what started my search. I've just never replaced a board in a machine that had one of those multi readers, so I just wanted to make sure it was a generic connection on the motherboard vs. something proprietary.

All this means is that I can maintain the functionality of the card reader with the new mobo. I thought I was going to have to dump it.

 

[BadBigBen]

a note of caution:

if you have to do a fresh install of XP, make sure that the CardReader is unplugged from the mainboard, until after the installation is through...

I've found that Windows tends to see these card readers before it sees the HDDs, and thus the C: partition is sometimes given these card readers...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[kjv1611]

I can vouch for BBB's caution there - have seen it done myself, and being frustrated, just reinstalled - after the messed up install, b/c XP installed to something like a D or J drive.. I forget, but I've seen it at least once or twice - I probably didn't learn the lesson the first time.