What to do with a 4gb Microdrive

My mp3 player broke. I took it appart and got the 4gb microdrive out. I dont have any camera or other device to use it with.

Any ideas what I can do with it besides sell? My laptop only has a card reader for SD and MM cards.

If I buy an external card reader will i be able to use it like an USB stick? my internal card reader need drivers and it would suck if I had to install the card reader everytime I pluged it into a computer. Are external card readers (USB) detected as easy as USB sticks under XP/Vista?

 

Does it have the same connectors as a Compact Flash card?

If so, you can put it in a USB Compact Flash reader and then it will behave like a USB drive. I've done this with SD cards in a USB reader. Yes, with XP or Vista these USB devices don't need special drivers although there is a delay they first time they are used while the device is detected and added to the list.

However, those microdrives don't win any speed trophies. I've got one of these in my collection of devices and it is slow compared with the solid state sticks. However, it is useful extra storage in a small size. I bought it about 6 months ago when flash was much more expensive.

John

 

Yeah it is like a CF card only fatter. It reads at about 7mb/s and writes with 5mb/s. It uses alot of power too. More then 500mA it seams because it doesnt work on my USB hub. I think I will sell it on ebay.
Thank you for your help.

 

I've just check the specs for a Hitachi microdrive and it shows a maximum current of 270mA. However, it is quite possible that it will not work with a hub unless it is powered.

John

 

microdrives have the same interfaces as compact Flash cards i think so it should work in a CF reader, dunno about if theyd fit cuz of the size though. maybe you can open the drive up to get a smaller fit? or u cud break the plastic off a cheap CF reader and get the drive to fit that way