USB card reader connection drops repeatedly.

For some reason, all three of my CF card readers drop connection while I try to transfer files from them. They do it with all five cards, all six USB2 and both USB3 ports — but this was a very occasional problem till yesterday. Now I have to re-start transfers several times in a row. Any idea why? Other devices work fine on those ports. I tried multiple cables, too. Every so often, the transfers begin at USB1 speeds, too.

The computer is stable otherwise.

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11 Responses to USB card reader connection drops repeatedly.

  1. Robert Turner says:

    Have you checked in device manager, usb controllers and expand that to see if there are any yellow splats in there?

  2. Oleg Volk says:

    And every so often — like right now, none of the card readers connect at all. The computer beeps when they are attached but no volume gets mounted. It finally mounted after sitting idle for about two minutes. Then Abobe Bridge hangs for about a minute before starting download…and fails half-way through due to self-dismounted volume.

  3. HSR47 says:

    Are the cardreaders powered by USB, or by an external power supply?

  4. Tango says:

    Got any USB extension cables? Most card readers have 2″ leads on the cables. Once plugged in, you now have weight pulling down the plug. This could potentially be the reason that your card readers and ONLY your card readers are having an issue. Can you verify that this is or isn’t the case?

    Check the Windows event viewer for anything that might offer a clue. Long shot, but worth a gander.

  5. Mike Atkinson says:

    I suspect that the USB mass storage driver, even if it is up to date, may need to be reinstalled.

    To do so, go into Device Manager, double click to expand “Universal Serial Bus controllers”, right click on the ” USB Mass Storage Driver “, click “Uninstall” and click “OK”.

    Then, restart your computer and Windows 7 will reinstall it automatically.

  6. Red says:

    Email me and I will forward to Michael. He’s like the Yoda of computers

  7. J. Smathers says:

    I highly recommend you try re-ordering your USB connections and PCI-E cards.

    This is me agreeing that it could be that a USB hub may be getting overtaxed, but also plays into something that’s affected me once before: Due to many devices having a “preference” (understatement) of memory addresses, there are often times where connecting a number of devices in certain orders, can lead to the devices forcing each other to limit their total addresses or attempting to fight over possession of them. Sounds silly, but I once had a problem where 10+ known good USB devices would not work when all plugged together on the same computer – their behavior sounds identical to what you describe Oleg; random disconnects, slow transfer speeds, etc.,. I ultimately resolved the issue by removing my sound card and installing it on another computer, of all things. Removing one or more of your card readers might be a great idea, you can’t possibly -need- all three on one machine, right?

    Good luck!

    • Oleg Volk says:

      I tried them all in turn. The problem is intermittent: I had no problems last night but plenty int he morning.

  8. SinEater says:

    There are power settings in Device Manager. Try opening Device Manager and expanding the Universal Serial Bus controllers section and then right clicking on each of the USB Root Hubs and see if you have a check box checked for saving power on the Power Management tab in the properties of each hub.
    Depending on when you got your computer, you can also open up Control Panel and Power Options and Change Plan Settings. Then select Change Advanced Plan Settings (the link in small print).
    Expand the USB settings and disable the USB Selective Suspend setting.

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