Does Vostro 1500 SD reader support SDHC?

My Vostro 1500 is sporting a Ricoh R5C833 SD reader. Can it read 8GB SDHC cards?

• Memory Stick™
• Memory Stick PRO™
• Secure Digital (SD™)
• SDIO card
• MultiMediaCard™ (MMC)
• xD-Picture Card™

The Inspiron 1520 / 1521 supports SDIO technology. An SDIO (SD Input/Output) card is an interface that extends the functionality of devices with SD card slots. A variety of SDIO cards are being developed, such as camera, Bluetooth®, GPS, and 802.11b devices. Examples of the different possibilities can be found on the SD website, http://www.sdcard.com/usa/TextPage.asp?Page=5 

I need to buy one..... I would like to be sure before buying....

The manual states: 8-in-1 memory card controller Ricoh R5C833 8-in-1 memory card connector 8-in-1 combo card connector Cards supported • Secure Digital (SD) • SDIO • MultiMediaCard (MMC) • Memory Stick • Memory Stick PRO • xD-Picture Card • Hi Speed-SD • Hi Density-SD Now I would like to buy the fastest and biggest memory card (say 4 or 8GB) just to let VISTA use that memory card to memoryboost. What is your advise? Thanks

Yes, it does support SDHC. Problem is, Windows XP doesn't and Microsoft, in their infinite wisdom, decided to make it very hard for you to get the necessary files to make the whole thing work. But they do make a hotfix.

The most straighforward way to do it is to go here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923293 E-mail Microsoft and wait for them to send you the patch.

For a more immediate, but somewhat convoluted solution, try this:
1. Download this patch from Dell:
http://support.us.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&releaseid=R169620&formatcnt=1&libid=0&fileid=231041

2. Instead of executing the EXE file, extract all the files using WinRAR or something equivalent. The reason for this is that the patch above is made for an Inspiron 1520. They may have the same hardware, but for some reason not the same patches.

3. Among the extracted files, you will see a file named "XPePatch_071009.exe". Extract this file in the same way as the EXE file from step 2.

4. Among the second set of extracted filed you will see the file which is really the Microsoft hotfix I described above. The filename is called "WindowsXP-KB923293-v4-x86-ENU.exe". Execute this file, restart the machine and you will have SDHC support. It's a bit convoluted, but it works.

Message Edited by bogdan2 on 12-12-2007 08:42 PM

I ended up with a nightmare trying to use the SD slot on my wife's brand new Vostro 1000. I hope this help other's looking for SD/SDHC drivers. Here is my story. Here is the forum post and here is a link to the drivers.

Message Edited by bunklung on 01-25-2008 04:48 PM

thanks for the info.

I defintelly confirm that, now, my Vostro 1500 is reading SDHC cards (4GB)....