Technical help needed

[Oleg Volk]

I would appreciate input from knowledgable people:

1. On my Windows XP computer, I can insert and remove flash memory cards without problem when using a USB2 reader. When trying to use a Firewire/1394 reader, I can get one card to read. In order for the computer to recognize that another card got inserted after the first, I have to unplug the reader from the port and re-connect it. How could I fix that problem?

2. Gallery 2 which I use at http://olegvolk.net/gallery is awkward and its interface is ill-designed on the authoring and the user ends. What free or inexpensive solution would you recommend to replace it? Ability to integrate captions with the photos is important, as is the ability to import Gallery content into the new tool.

3. What free or inexpensive content management system would you recommend to supercede my mix of plain static HTML and Gallery pages? Ability to make easy, quick updates without much coding and the ability to move content without breaking internal links are important.

[Sindawe]

With respect to the Firewire card reader issue, what make and model is the reader?  Have you checked your system event logs for any errors or warnings associated with the device when the issue occurs?  Are there any issues with the device noted in Device Manager?

[Finch]

On number one, I am of no help, but 2 and 3 let's see.

2.) You may want to check out coppermine http://coppermine-gallery.net/index.php
I found it to be much better over gallery2.

3.) On the issue of a CMS, I have fallen in love with Joomla - www.joomla.org
I currently have a website running on it ( www.theroadtotilt.com ). As with all CMS's, it does have a learning curve, but this one is quite easy to get the hang of.

[spinr]

I'm not too familiar with Firewire, so this may be of no help, but I'll offer this on problem #1:

I've found that quite often when a flash memory device is connected to XP, the OS will assign it a drive letter that is already in use.  When it does that, it will seem as though the newly attached flash memory isn't there at all.  It won't even give the pop-up dialog asking if you want to open or view the files on the card.

To check for this, with the flash media conncected look at Disk Management located in Administrative Tools.  You should see the flash card listed along with your hard drive, CD/DVD drives, or any other storage media.  Compare the drive letter of the flash card with the other devices.  If it's using the same letter as another device, right click on the listing for the flash card and select the "Change Drive Letter and Paths" option, then just pick an unused letter of the alphabet.

Like I said, don't know if this is an issue with Firewire, but maybe it'll help.

[garrettwc]

You might cruise this thread I started a while back about running a website. It's got some links to some pages about content management software in it some were even free/open source.

http://www.armedpolitesociety.com/viewtopic.php?id=2811

On the gallery software, did you try checking some of the photo forums like Rob Galbraith? They might have some recommendations.

Problem #1 is what's called "hot plugging" meaning you can add and remove devices while the system is up and running. WinXP recognizes your card reader as an external disc drive. USB and 1394 allow for "hot" plugging/unplugging in XP but the drivers can sometimes be buggy.

Here are the results of a quick and dirty google search:

First, check that your FireWire adapter is installed and functioning properly. You can check the Device Manager by right-clicking My Computer and choosing Properties. On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager. If your FireWire Controller has an exclamation mark beside it, then you need to highlight the entry, remove it, and then reinstall its drivers.

If your IEEE 1394 FireWire card is installed and is functioning properly, you should know that Microsoft has recognised that this fault can occur when hot-plugging a FireWire or USB CD/DVD-ROM drive into a computer running Windows XP. Microsoft says that the fix for this is to install Windows XP Service Pack 1. Note you may require the same fix if you attach a digital video 1394 device that supports non-S100 data rates, and you see only a black window in Windows Movie Maker.

So do you miss your Macs yet?