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Rich Hawley - 2009-10-24 4:11 PM
Old stuff, but just checking to see if there are any updates. Multiple posts on HPCFactor have shown that many of the CF drives used for digital cameras will not work on HPCs because they are locked in IDE mode.
Actually, the ones that work in digital cameras are generally *not* locked in IDE mode. The ones made for embedded applications, like in MP3 players and such, are usually IDE mode locked. Seems trifling, but it can be important info in figuring out whether a drive will work for your HPC or not.
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I picked up a couple of 6gb in eBay auction 280402859530. For only $5 USD each, I couldn't resist them. Actually they make handy devices to image my desktop and laptop HDs on, and they work on my 900C if I plug them into the USB port.
That would make sense - most USB CF readers are actually just USB IDE adapters wired to a CF slot instead of to a standard 40/44 pin IDE connector. USB IDE chips are cheap and plentiful, and a card that works in CF mode will always work in IDE mode. It's that IDE mode cards don't always work in CF mode that causes problems.
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Still I pulled one apart and discovered the internal Seagate ST 660211 CF drive which wasn't recognized properly when I plugged it into my 900C's CF slot. I got that old "what is the name of this card" type prompt.
So I guess my question is this: Has anyone tried any of these drives in a newer machine that has a CF slot? I was wondering if there are any software drivers I could add to my 900C so the drive would be recognized.
I haven't seen any software solutions to this problem. I think it's a hardware problem - I believe the PC Card slot or CF slot in most HPC's simply does not have the hardware to work in true IDE mode. Maybe this is not true on some of the newer WinCE based Netbooks though? I think I remember reading somewhere that Windows CE 5
(or maybe 6
) has software support for IDE devices built-in, but I can't remember where or when or even if I really read such a thing. :0
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Do you think any digital cameras operate with versions of Windows CE that we might get the drivers from? Any ideas?
See above about digital cameras. But, maybe something from one of these WinCE Netbooks?