Lexar CF 133x performance question

marklarry28

Hi guys,
I have a Lexar 2GB CF 133x Pro.
This card takes around 15 minutes to download 1Gb of pix to my computer. and 27 minutes to download 1.7GB

:dunno
I tryed in different computers, laptops, card readers as well.
I called Lexar, they said is nothing wrong with the card, but they will change with no problem.


How long takes to download your CF card????

ops... Just make sure.:D
I have an AMD 4200+ 64Bit X2, 2GB ram, 70GB Raptor 15K. Internal cardreader usb2.0... performance isn't a problem.

Scott_Quier

Using SanDisk Ultra II 1.0Gb, I can download the entire card to my computer in about 7 mintues.

I have to wonder how you have the card connected to the computer to which you are downloading. I the best of all worlds, you would be using a dedicated cardreader via a USB 2.0 connection (or Firewire). I'm hoping you aren't connecting your camera directly to the computer.

marklarry28

Hi Scott,
No I don't download my pix using my camera.
I plug my CF to my internal cardreader that is a 2.0 usb.

wxwax

Weird. That's way too slow. I'd be curious to see if an external USB2 card reader was faster.

Art Scott

I have 2 Lexar 80X 2gb Pros and I can have them filled to the max and download in less that 5 minutes.....my machine is an old tired HP vectra 400 with 512mb ram and a 20gb "c" drive running windows XP pro.....my reader is a USB 2.0 external made by Stratitec {multi card reader...20 or 26 cards...I only have CF } (bought at SAM'S CLUB for under $15).....I have yet to fill my 8gb Transcend 120X to see how long it takes.

For some reason it seems to take longer for my file to tranfer into the 300gb storage disk than it ides to get off card into a temp file for renaming and such....all my files are named by date shot and then if its an event the event name............

marklarry28

I have a laptop as well and 2 different card readers... the speed is the same.

but the great thing is Lexar will change my CF.... so I am glad with that. I just got an new spare for now Transcend 2GB 120x for $70.:ivar

ian408

I would think this was your reader or the USB port(s) and not the card.

Can you be sure that your reader supports USB 2.0 and that the ports
you are using also support USB 2.0? Use the device manager in winder's
to tell you what the port does.

mr peas

Try borrowing another card reader or trying it on a different computer. The most likely culprit could be that its your ports not being USB2.0 and/or its the card reader that isnt 2.0. I use a very inexpensive card reader branded "SHG" I bought from Frys Electronics for $5.00, I can do a 1GB dump on my 120X card in 5-10mins, depending on what else my computer is doing at the time. I'm sure its not your card, unless you purchased it via Ebay, I've had bad experiences with buying cards on there, lol.

AntoineD

I have the very same lexar card (2gb, 133x) and it takes 2 minutes to download its whole content on my laptop with a Lexar firewire reader.

marklarry28

Hi Guys,
I have my internal reader from my HP computer and more 2 external readers.

Also I tryed in 3 computers:D

So I have the same speed with the 3 reader. I have USB 2.0 I download my SD 40X card faster than my Lexar 133x.

AntoineD

marklarry28 wrote:

So I have the same speed with the 3 reader. I have USB 2.0 I download my SD 40X card faster than my Lexar 133x.

Then, have Lexar replacing your card, just so you can be sure.

marklarry28

When I get my new CF will post here .:D

AntoineD

...it's the voice of reason.

ziggy53

It could also be the driver. If you just let the card reader install using the default driver, instead of the custom driver that should be installed before the device, the computer can install something much slower. (USB is bad about this.)

If that's what happened, try unplugging the device, de-installing from the OS (Control Panel in Windows) and then install the correct driver and reboot before re-attaching the reader.

Sometimes that helps.

Always format the card in the camera. If you get a card that is pre-formatted, format in the camera before use. An existing factory format can be slow on both the camera and a reader.

Firewire/IEEE-488 reader devices are much better overall, and the prices have come down considerably.

ziggy53

AntoineD

ziggy53 wrote:

It could also be the driver. If you just let the card reader install using the default driver, instead of the custom driver that should be installed before the device, the computer can install something much slower. (USB is bad about this.)

If that's what happened, try unplugging the device, de-installing from the OS (Control Panel in Windows) and then install the correct driver and reboot before re-attaching the reader.

Sometimes that helps.

Always format the card in the camera. If you get a card that is pre-formatted, format in the camera before use. An existing factory format can be slow on both the camera and a reader.

Firewire/IEEE-488 reader devices are much better overall, and the prices have come down considerably.

ziggy53

ouch, using a mac fortunately puts me far away from those geek things

DifferentSeed

I have the same 2GB card and can download a full card in 7 or so minutes.. I use the cable to the camera however, since my laptop does not have a CF card reader built it (it has every other reader built in tho!).

I'm curious, off topic, sorta, is there some harm that can be done when using the camera and not using a card reader?

AntoineD

DifferentSeed wrote:

I'm curious, off topic, sorta, is there some harm that can be done when using the camera and not using a card reader?

To my knowledge, there is no real "danger" but your battery will go down very quick. This is why one generally uses a specific reader

ziggy53

AntoineD wrote:

ouch, using a mac fortunately puts me far away from those geek things

Not at all. The computer platform has nothing to do with the card formatting, unless you format the card using the reader, which is not recommended for a card working in a camera.

If you get a USB device, be sure to read the instructions carefully, and add any drivers before plugging in the device. Macintosh also has some "universal USB drivers" which may limit functionality on some devices. Always do what the USB device manufacturer says to do, in the order it says to do it.

ziggy53

AntoineD

ziggy53 wrote:

Not at all. The computer platform has nothing to do with the card formatting, unless you format the card using the reader, which is not recommended for a card working in a camera.

If you get a USB device, be sure to read the instructions carefully, and add any drivers before plugging in the device. Macintosh also has some "universal USB drivers" which may limit functionality on some devices. Always do what the USB device manufacturer says to do, in the order it says to do it.

ziggy53

oh, yes, you're totally right, sure I always do verify if a pilot is needed. But, in this reader's thing, I don't ever see any driver to install on a mac.

Anyway, I'm using a lexar firewire reader which is very good

ziggy53

AntoineD wrote:

To my knowledge, there is no real "danger" but your battery will go down very quick. This is why one generally uses a specific reader

Plus there is a definite service life for electronic components, that decreases with heat stress. If the memory card gets warm or hot after a transfer of 7 minutes, it is stressing parts of the camera that can fail prematurely.

You can probably get a cardbus reader, or USB reader, for your laptop that's less than $20USD and well worth it, IMHO.

ziggy53

marklarry28

Hi Ziggy53

Thanks for the advice but I am sure that isn't retated with hardware or software because I tested in a coulple of computers...
Also guys... I am a geek too... MCSE and security engineer... so I should be able to fix that ahhaha... If I couldn't maybe I have to change my position hahahaha

thanks anyway.

mr peas

marklarry28 wrote:

Hi Ziggy53

Thanks for the advice but I am sure that isn't retated with hardware or software because I tested in a coulple of computers...
Also guys... I am a geek too... MCSE and security engineer... so I should be able to fix that ahhaha... If I couldn't maybe I have to change my position hahahaha

thanks anyway.

Foolio, you should be teaching us!!!! haha

marklarry28

CF performance speed that is not related with security or microsoft knowledge.

Because that I nicely ask some help.....

mr peas

Hey, I just recently experienced a serious hang on transferring files to my cpu but no noticable perforamce on slowing down on program's ability to do work. it was a worm under a file named 'runll32.exe' that kept re-running itself over and over. It took about an hour for me to dl 1GB worth of photos but post processing and other things were not deeply affected. I just did a quick system restore from a few days before and it took care of it. I think I got it from an e-mail or something. But ctrl + alt + delete and see if you have a rundll32.exe or any other program that is running in groups (i saw more than 20 instances on mine of the same program) just to make sure its not a worm thats slowing you down.

..wait i take it back it wasnt the worm, lol. i think it all started when i installed the canon utilities CD. but i dont know, my cards are going slow now too. lol