Getting rid of unwanted card reader drive letters

[John Gray]

For no obvious usefulness, we've got a bunch of HP 6000 Pro system units with what appears to be a block of five readers for different card-types therein.

Working in Disk Management:
* Uninstalling them and/or disabling them doesn't really get rid of the drive letters.
* Changing the drive letters to <none> removes the drive letters - good - but they still stay as items in Disk Management
* I am thinking of opening each case and disconnecting the power connector, and maybe the data connector, from the back of the card reader unit.

Would this cause a problem, in anyone's experience, or is there a better way I haven't thought of?

[BobArch2]

It would seem that your options would be to remove the media card reader completely, which would leave a gaping hole in the system unit, or as you suggested, just disconnect the power and data cables. I cannot see how your option would cause any issues. Other than a frustrated end user calling support to say their card reader is not working.

[John Gray]

I cannot see how your option would cause any issues. Other than a frustrated end user calling support to say their card reader is not working.

They don't even know they've got them! And who uses a card reader at work?

[BobH]

Is there a reason that you want to remove them, John? Are you worried about the introduction of malware? ????

To my knowledge there is no setting in the BIOS/UEFI that would allow you to disable them, but you might check to be certain of that. Otherwise, crack open the cases and detach the power and data cables is the only other option I could offer. You wouldn't need to remove the hardware and the readers could be enabled later if needed.

[John Gray]

Is there a reason that you want to remove them, John? Are you worried about the introduction of malware?

No - it's just that they take up five drive letters near the top of the alphabet, some of which have already been allocated for connected network drives! And those card readers will never be used.

It's only in the last few days that I have discovered that any network drive connected, say, by NET USE x: run as an Ordinary user is not available to an Administrator! The magic registry setting is EnabledLinkedConnections...

The same registry key (HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System) is home also to the essential LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy, which you can Google if interested!

[John Gray]

For those eager to know my progress on this topic...

The hardware manual for the HP Compaq 6000 Pro SFF system unit shows a diagram of a plug which should be removed from the associated pins on the motherboard to disconnect the media card readers. However, there are FOUR such plugs directly next to one another, and it is by no means clear which is the correct one to remove!

I did some ferreting in the BIOS, and found that there were six USB ports specified for the front of the system unit. Incremental experimentation with disabling each in turn determined that the five media card reader USB devices could be disabled together by disabling just USB Port 2 in the BIOS. The single USB 2.0 socket on the media card reader, and four ordinary USB 2.0 sockets in a block further across the front, still work as expected.

Exactly what I wanted - but so much effort could have been avoided by better documentation. It is ever thus...

[HansV]

Thanks for the update. Good detective work!

[BobArch2]

For those eager to know my progress on this topic...

Wow, quite an ordeal! At least you found an easier way via BIOS settings rather than cracking open XXX systems and making physical changes.

Good Work!

[John Gray]

Thank you, chaps - I feel a warm glow of achievement!
The only downside is that I have to document it...

[ChrisGreaves]

The only downside is that I have to document it...

Ah!
Just give 'em a URL to Eileen's Lounge

[stuck]

...And who uses a card reader at work?

Professional photographers.

Ken

[Rudi]

Mediums?

[John Gray]

Mediums?

Media - surely!

[Rudi]

Media vs. mediums
Medium has two plurals—media (the Latin plural) and mediums. While there is some gray area between the plurals, they are kept separate in several contexts. Media is used in reference to mass communications, where media are newspapers, radio, the internet, and so on. It’s also used in science, where medium usually means an intervening substance through which something is transmitted. Mediums is the plural when medium refers to a person who communicates with the dead. In art, where medium refers to materials used to create a piece, both plurals are commonly used.

Please note the *gray* area keeping the contexts separate!

[John Gray]

You can hardly expect me to have any trust in an account which misspells the 'colour' "grey"...!

[ChrisGreaves]

While there is some gray area between the plurals,

So, strictly speaking, could the Gray/Grey area be described as the medium position?

[Rudi]

I'll tell you shortly; let me just check in my crystal ball.