SDHC driver for Compaq Presario / Winbond slot?

[wortgames]

Hi,

I have a Compaq Presario X1401AP notebook, circa 2004.

It has an SD card slot in the front, which shows up as "Winbond SD Drive (F)" when any SD/SDHC card is inserted.

It can only actually read/write/format SD cards though, not SDHC.

Anyone know of a driver update / patch / anything else that will let me use SDHC cards in there? I haven't had any luck finding anything but I don't have much experience in this area so I may not be looking in the right places. I'm running XP SP2 fully updated.

I'd rather not have to buy/use a separate card reader if there's a way to get the factory slot working with SDHC.

Many thanks!

[wortgames]

On further investigation (if I'm looking in the right place) the device appears to be a WEC0518:

Device Instance: ACPI\WEC0518\4&61F3B4B&0
Current Driver Version: 2.0.2003.1225 (25/12/2003)

That's where the trail ends for me. I've tried using driveragent but it doesn't even see the device so it's no help.

Anything else I can try?

[Mimsy]

SDHC is a new flash format that is very different from SD. It is not backwards compatible so in other words if a device cannot read SDHC cards, only a firmware update could possibly make that happen.

[plodr]

I bought this
at OfficeMax but other places probably carry them. You open the back, insert your sdhc card and plug it into a USB port.
I've successfully used both 4GB and 8GB sdhc cards in my computer running windows 2000. I'm able to move, copy and play files on the sdhc card.

[wortgames]

Hi, thanks, but I don't want to use a card reader. My USB ports are on the rear and there is an SD slot staring me in the face. I'll stick to 2Gb if I have to, but larger would be nice.

Originally Posted by Mimsy

only a firmware update could possibly make that happen.

Cool... where do I get one?

[Mimsy]

Originally Posted by wortgames

Cool... where do I get one?

If there even is one available (given the age of your computer), it would be provided by Compaq. I would start here.

[wortgames]

Originally Posted by Mimsy

If there even is one available (given the age of your computer) -snip-

You might be right, but it's pretty sad when a relatively high-end notebook becomes obsolete and unworthy of updates within 4 years! If it's just a bit of code that makes the difference between SD and SDHC you'd think it would be worth the bother.

Thanks for the link anyway - I hadn't found that one before, but it just looped me back to ones I had. It's looking unlikely.

I've got a couple of 2Gb SDs that work fine, and I've ordered a cheap Transcend 4Gb SD that will hopefully do the trick too.

[Mimsy]

Originally Posted by wortgames

You might be right, but it's pretty sad when a relatively high-end notebook becomes obsolete and unworthy of updates within 4 years!

To be honest, after 4 years, if you want to be high-end you should have upgraded at least a year ago... computers age fast, and faster now than they did four years ago. It's the way things are. Look at the release date of the last driver updates on that page I linked you to. Most OEMs like HP, Gateway, et cetera, stop supporting a product when it's been out for two years. There is too much new stuff at that point, and not enough resources to make it worth supporting an older machine that no longer brings in money.

If the 4GB card is SDHC, which is likely, it may not work in the slot in your laptop. In that case, I'd suggest just buying a cheap USB card reader that takes SDHC and use that instead.

[wortgames]

Originally Posted by Mimsy

To be honest, after 4 years, if you want to be high-end you should have upgraded at least a year ago...

Oh I certainly didn't expect to remain 'high end' by any stretch, but you'd hope by buying high end to start with it would at least be a little slower to fall off the support radar. I'm sure there are plenty of these machines in daily use in corporate environments and if a mere software patch could bring the hardware SD slot from near-obsolescence to being current then it seems a bit slack of Compaq not to do it. IMO anyway.

Originally Posted by Mimsy

If the 4GB card is SDHC, which is likely, it may not work in the slot in your laptop.

If it is SDHC, then it certainly won't work in the slot! It is apparently straight SD however.