SD Card Reader Problem - Vista Laptop

Hello, Something seems to be wrong with my SD card reader. Sometimes it will read SOME cards and sometimes it won't. I thought it had to do with my camera and bought a new one. lol Anyway, now I have a micro SD for my phone and it won't read it either. The biggest problem with this is it has actually locked up my computer once. A couple of times I went to reboot and my computer wouldn't shut down. I thought maybe it could be a driver but my computer says the driver is ok. I have a 4GB SanDisk and an Ativa 2GB Micro. I sure hope someone knows what I can do, because well, can I LIVE without my SD drive?? lol Anyway, thank you ahead of time. <:
Lynn in Oklahoma