Help please with reading CF cards

[tadthephoto]

Can someone please help me understand what's going on here?

I have a Canon EOS400D, with 3 CF cards (2 Extreme III 2Gb, and 1 Ultra II "Gb, all by SanDisk). Up until recently, I have been able to put all of them into a Jessops "All in 1" card reader and copy my photos to my laptop, which is running Windows Vista. My wife has also been able to copy photos using the same card reader to her laptop using Windows 7.

A few weeks ago, we both received an error mesage when we plugged the reader into the USB socket "You need to format the disk in E: before you can use it". All 3 cards work fine in the camera, and we can download photos without any difficulty by connecting the cable and using Canon utilities.

I have formatted the card in the camera, but this has not made any difference. I get an error message "Windows was unable to complete the format" when I attempt to format the card in my laptop. Has anyone come across something like this before, or got any ideas about what's causing this sudden issue, and what I can do about it. Apart from downloading the regular Microsoft updates, absolutely nothing has changed on either computer. Thanks for reading.
Tad

[tadthephoto]

Okay, problem solved. A couple of the pins has become pushed back into the body of the card reader. A quick dissasembly of the reader, re-aignment of the pins, back together, and hey presto.

[jdepould]

You may want to buy a new reader. The last thing you want is for a pin to break off in the card. If you don't notice, it'll ruin the card and you'll be sending the camera back for a costly repair.

[tadthephoto]

That's a mighty wise tip, I shall do just that. Thanks