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Best sd card reader

R

Rgarner

Android Expert
Which should I get? I've never used one. I'm trying to transfer everything from an apparently dead Samsung S5's sd card to another S5 sd card without a computer. I guess I would also need some kind of cable. There's not a lot of money I can spend on that.
 
Help! I went ahead and got the Vanja Ocnbrze suggested and naively expected it to include instructions. I sure don't see any. Besides the padded envelope and small box, there"s nothing but the device itself and a couple of end caps. How do I hook it up to 2 sd cards?
 
  • SanDisk Extreme PRO SD UHS-II. ...
  • Transcend SDXC UHS-II U3. ...
  • Lexar Professional 633x SDHC / SDXC UHS-I. ...
  • PNY Elite Performance SDHC. ...
  • SanDisk Extreme PRO CompactFlash. ...
  • Transcend CompactFlash 800. ...
  • Samsung PRO Endurance. ...
  • Samsung EVO Plus.
  • Inexpensive microSD cards with SD card adapter
 
Rgarner said:
I'm trying to transfer everything from an apparently dead Samsung S5's sd card to another S5 sd card without a computer.
I went ahead and got the Vanja Ocnbrze suggested... How do I hook it up to 2 sd cards?
Click to expand...
Doesn't look like that can hold 2 micro SD cards at the same time.

Without a computer you could put one SD card in the Vanja and one in a phone, then connect the Vanja to that phone (assuming it supports OTG, Galaxy S5 does). Then use a File Explorer app to copy the data.
 
Would it be safe to take the sd card out of the pc? The computer is off, unplugged, and hasn't been used in quite a while. There's also one in the other phone, but it will probably have to be dismounted first.
 
Rgarner said:
Would it be safe to take the sd card out of the pc? The computer is off, unplugged, and hasn't been used in quite a while. There's also one in the other phone, but it will probably have to be dismounted first.
Click to expand...

To play it safe I would do the same on both devices by system dismounting the SD cards. Reason why I for the PC because it could have been finishing writing a log on the SD card. If the PC is still usable just turn it on right click safely remove SD card to avoid SD card being corrupt in any kind of way.
 
I'm not sure if it's usable. The screen's messed up somehow. It looks as if a giant ink bug got smashed in the lower right. I think I posted a picture of that. It's a Dell Inspiron laptop, about 5 or 6 years old.
 
Rgarner said:
I'm not sure if it's usable. The screen's messed up somehow. It looks as if a giant ink bug got smashed in the lower right. I think I posted a picture of that. It's a Dell Inspiron laptop, about 5 or 6 years old.
Click to expand...

Should be able to use a PC monitor with it, if the internal screen is unusable, provided it boots of course. It's likely got VGA or HDMI out.
 
Turning the phone off will dismount it. If there's a larger SD in the computer and the computer is off then you can just remove the card.

But is the card from the computer needed? If you've a card in one phone and the card from the other phone in the card reader surely you just plug the adapter into the phone and use a file manager to copy from the card in the adapter to the one in the phone? Or have I misunderstood something?
 
Actually, there are 3 sd cards, another long story. The 1 in the pc has mp3s and the others don't. They're mainly photos and videos. There are I believe 2 32 gbs and 1 16. I'll have to check. Ideally I would be able to put it all on 1 sd, but I don't know for sure. They have different amounts of used v. available space.
 
If you can use the PC, the easiest way to handle it would be to transfer each card to the PC. After you've done that you can then selectively transfer whatever you like to the phone.
 
That sounds great, but I'm not sure I can use the pc right now. The problem is that the "ink bug" is on a critical part of the screen and it's almost impossible to make it work with that there. I'm probably going to have to get an external mpnitor or have it repaired. Meanwhile, how the heck do I use this Vanja? It's got a "big" plug end and a smaller one, but how does it connect with a phone and/or sd card?
 

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Rgarner said:
Meanwhile, how the heck do I use this Vanja? It's got a "big" plug end and a smaller one, but how does it connect with a phone and/or sd card?
Click to expand...
The big one is standard USB to connect to a computer, the small one is micro-USB to connect to your phone.

Insert your SD card in the Vanja and plug the small end of the Vanja in your phone just like a charger, then use a file explorer to copy files.
 
Ok, I think I finally get it. I put the other sd card in the small slot on the side. Then I unplug the phone and plug the reader in where the charge cord goes. Now how do I transfer files from that sd card to the one that's actually in the phone? How do I unplug the reader without damaging it or anything else?
 
Use the system settings to unmount the card in the reader before removing (and mount it if needed).

Use a file explorer to copy from one card to another.
 
I did figure out how to copy, thanks. I guess I should go to storage settings to unmount. Is it safe to leave the other sd card in the reader or should I remove that before I store it?
 
I've been meaning to ask Hadron this. Who is your avatar? At first I was thinking a character from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but maybe not?
 
Close: he's a character from a different British sci-fi comedy, Red Dwarf.

Specifically, he's "Ace" Rimmer, a version of regular character Arnold Rimmer from a parallel dimension, where due to one event happening differently his life took a completely different track(*). I did go through a phase of using different Red Dwarf avatars, but when it came to Rimmer's turn I adopted his alter ego instead, and somehow never got round to changing it again.

(*) Specifically he became a ridiculously heroic and sexy Spacecorps test pilot, as opposed to a jealous and resentful technician whose most important responsibility was cleaning the nozzle of the chicken soup dispenser.
 
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I think I might have seen an episode or two. Was Walter Koenig (Chekov on the original Star Trek) in that? I might be thinking of Dark Star. I believe it was originally on in the late '70s or early '80s.
 
When I went to copy mp3s I found they were all over the place. Why is that? Is it chronological? I tried to narrow things down by using the search function, but it claimed it couldn't find any. I finally just had to go through the whole sd card and find them myself. I hope there's a better way.
 
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