Hi, Try going into the BIOS and looking to see if it there, if it is there try enabling it. Also I have found this for you,

Code 10

If the device has a "FailReasonString" value in its hardware key, that string is displayed as the error message. The driver or enumerator places this registry string value there. If there is no "FailReasonString" in the hardware key, the following generic error message is displayed:

Solution button: Update Driver

To resolve this error code, make sure the device is connected to the computer correctly. For example, make sure all cables are plugged in fully and that all adapter cards are properly seated. Follow the suggested solution button and update the device driver. It may be possible to remove the device and redetect it using the Add New Hardware wizard.

I hope this helps.

Looking at the BIOS is not going to get you anywhere - this is a long standing problem with this device and this machine. By long standing I mean 12 months or so. It was the subject of many, many complaints in the old (and much more useable Dell Forums) and there was really no solution - Dell did say throught their moderator that it was a static problem (bad earthing) however they have never (to the best of my knowledge) offered a recall. Their approach seems to have been to stick it out and hope that everything will die down and eventually people will get fed up with complaining and go out and buy a cheapo media card reader to plug into one of the USB ports.

I think most people have thrown in the towell now, but you can continue to try all the combinations you can think of for unistalling the drivers, reinstalling the drivers, flashing the firmware and rebooting the machine - believe you me there are many. One day you may hit the right combination and the devices may come back - you will see the correct little icons in Explorer and the 4 drive letters that you are probably now missing will come back, on the other hand you may go mad trying I'm afraid.

Bernard

Why dont you try unplugging the Reader's cable while the computer is powered up. Then plug it back in allowing the OS rediscover the Reader? Just make sure you have no static charge by touching the computer's case before you try it.

There are 2 versions of the 19in1 FlexBay Card Reader. One normal one and one with BlueTooth. They both connect to the motherboard with a proprietary USB connector. I only have experience with the normal (non-BlueTooth) version.

I have a similar one (the 13in1) on my XPS-410 and it has worked fine (on XP and Vista Ultimate-32). I setup a XPS-420 for a client the other day. It had the 19in1 and it also worked fine (Vista 32).

Windows should see it as 4 external drives. The driver is bundled in Windows. I think it's the same universal Mass Storage Driver that gets used for USB FlashDrives.

Enough history ... Now to why I'm posting ...

I have a WinXP / Vista32 / Vista64 Tri-boot. Once, a few months ago, when I switched OSes, one of those FlexBay drives was in error. Again, this has only happened once in the 1-1/2 years I have had the 410.

I just deleted them all, restarted, they were re-detected, and all was fine again ... has been since.

You might try this (but remember, this it only for non-BlueTooth versions of the readers:

Unplug all your external USB devices except the keyboard and mouse. Delete the FlexBay drives. Delete any USB devices in Device Manager that you are positively sure belongs to the FlexBay device.

Shut Down. On boot, go into BIOS and disable it. I think it's called USB for FlexBay.

Boot up and make sure all the FlexBay drives and device are still gone.

Shut Down, on boot go into BIOS and turn the FlexBay back on. When the computer boots up, the FlexBay should Plug-n-Play, auto-detect and re-populate the device manager and add the drives back.

Pardon my asking but what has FlexBay got to do with this - I don't understand the relevance. CAB-200 refers to the 19 in 1 Media Card Reader with integrated Bluetooth Module as supplied by Dell for XPS-420 systems and others. Its manufactured by TEAC. Maybe you know something I don't - if so I would be grateful if you could explain the connection. This particular problem is driving a large number of people completely round the bend.

Bernard,

FlexBay is the term Dell uses to describe the propietary (USB) multi-pin connector on the CPU board where the TEAC card readers plug in. So that you don't have to open the machine and disconnect anything when you want it to be dis-connected (like during OS installs and cleaning out old or failed driver installs) you can just disable the FlexBay connector in the BIOS. This basically kills the signals to the jack and therefore, it's like the 19in1 reader is disconnected.

But like I said, I really only have first hand experience with the original 13in1 and 19in1 readers (both in a 410 and 420 ... but non-BlueTooth versions). When you install the 13in1, I know it works fine with the bundled Windows Vista drivers. The plain 19in1, might in fact require the Dell driver to work (but I doubt it).

However, as I look at the available downloads for the 410, and separately for the 420, I think I see what the problem is. 

First, there are actually at least 3 versions of TEAC Readers. There is a 13in1, a 19in1, and a 19in1 with BlueTooth (CAB-200). The previous 2 have similar model numbers which may be confusing people when trying to download the proper driver (of course, you have to use the exact proper one).

Second, the CAB-200 drivers are hidden in the CD/DVD driver downloads section.

Third, for example ... the 19in1 Media Card Reader with BlueTooth (in Vista 32bit) actually has 3 different downloads/parts. There is a Firmware, a Driver, and an Application.

Forth, this is actually 2 separate devices in one hardware package (needs twice as many drivers). Also, BlueTooth hardware can be a little tricky to get working at first. Related to this, when people say it's not working, it's important to find out which half (or both) is not working.

I don't have access to a 420 with a CAB-200 at the moment, but I would do it like this. Sorry, my above post's directions were for a 13in1 (non-USB).

Unplug all your external USB devices except the keyboard and mouse. Delete the FlexBay drives. Delete any USB devices in Device Manager that you are positively sure belongs to the FlexBay device.

Shut Down. On boot, go into BIOS and disable it the Media Card Reader. I think it's called USB for FlexBay.

Boot up and make sure all the Media Card Reader/FlexBay drives and device are still gone. This is actually an important part (when having problems getting hardware installed). It helps Windows flush drivers for hardware that isn't currently connected (or in our case ... temporarily disabled).

Shut Down, on boot go into BIOS and turn the FlexBay port (and likewise the Media Card Reader) back on. When the computer boots up, the Card Reader should Plug-n-Play.

This is where it gets a little tricky. I would think it will go like this. Install the DRIVER (reboot if ask to). The Device Manager should be free of errors. I would think the Card Reader portion would be working by now. If the built-in Vista BlueTooth stack/app supports this device, there is a chance that it will be working too. There is a chance that the "Application" is really just another BlueTooth stack (but as supplied by the device maker). It's like WiFi adapters ... sometimes you want to use the Vista interface ... sometimes the one from the manufacturer works better (or worse).

So, if the BlueTooth part is still not working, install the Application part. Now, everything should be working. If so, you might want to leave well enough alone. If not, you can try the Firmware file. After you upgrade the Firmware (most likely it's just for the BlueTooth radio part) you may or may not have to reinstall the drivers and application. If it looks good in the Device Manger, you should be good to go.

In the future, someone with a 420 or new 430 and the CAB-200 (19in1 w/ BlueTooth) will eventually have to install their Vista from the original DVD. Maybe they can make some notes and shorten these directions a bit after actually going it. Even directions to get it working on Dell loaded machine (likely to have some drivers pre-loaded) will be helpful to many.

Thanks Tesla1856 for the info on Flexbay - that's very useful since it means I can stop taking the machine to pieces every time I'm supposed to disconnect the device.

Now on the question of software - I looked at the Dell Driver site for my particular machine (my service tag) and it only lists 2 files for my machine (I agree they are hidden in the CD section - heaven alone knows why). These two files are R191223 which is the Firmware revision (V7.12, A01) and R166859 which is the driver (06082007-32,A00-32). These are the only files which mention Media card Reader 19-1 and Bluetooth in the descriptions. I have both installed on my machine.

I also went and had a look at the "Results for all Dimension/XPS" hotspot and in this there are more files but again only the same two which mention both Media Card Reader 19-1 and Bluetooth. However in this section there is an 'Application' file which does refer to Media Card Reader and Bluetooth, but NOT to 19-1. Anyway I downloaded this one and tried to install it but it failed saying "A later version of WIDCOMM Bluetooth Software 6.0.1.6200 is already installed on this machine. the setup cannot continue" This is probably correct in that the file name R152639 includes the string "6.0.1.4300" - also I think this probably confirms your feeling that the Application is just a Bluetooth stack. So I conclude that only the first two files mentioned above are releavant to my machine (Vista Home Premium 32 with SP1). Would you agree with this analysis?

OK so much for the software - shortly I'll try unplugging all the USB devices and going through the boot sequences you mention - I'm not confident that it will change anything, but its worth a try. I'll post again when I've done it all. By the way I'm not sure I can rerun the Firmware update - it always fails now saying it is already at that level.

OK I've been through the unpluging, reboot sequences and I'm afraid my pessimism was correct.

What I did was unplug all USB devices, uninstall the 4 'Generic Volumes' in the Storage Volumes section of Device manager, uninstall the 4 disk drives in the Disk Drives section of Device Manager and uninstall the CAB-200 device from the USB section. Then I powered down and rebooted.

On reboot I went into setup and disabled the Flexbay as you mentioned. Interestingly the blue light on the front of the device (I think this is probably Bluetooth related) came on as the system rebooted - I'm a bit puzzled by this since the Flexbay was disabled. Anyway when the reboot was complete there was no sign of any of the devices mentioned above (4 drives plus CAB-200). So I powered down again.

On the reboot this time I re-enabled the Flexbay (set it to factory default of NOBOOT) and then waited for the reboot to complete. As it proceeded it loaded the drivers for the CAB-200 and 4 USB Media Drives and said all was well. However when I go to Device Manager I see 4 Generic Volumes in the Storage Manager section (all with a yellow exclamation mark on them) and 4 drives in the Disk Drives section, plus the CAB-200 device in the USB section. I do not see any drives in Windows Explorer for the 4 disk drives. The properties tab for the Disk Drives says everything is OK, but the properties tab for the Generic Volumes says Code 10. So back to square one.

Just as a matter of interest and in case its relevant in the Driver Tab for generic Volumes I have 5 entries - the first and last are Microsoft entries (ecache.sys and volsnap.sys) and the other 3 are Acronis. In the Driver Tab for Disk Drives there are 4 entries - the first 2 (disk,sys and partmgr.sys) are Microsoft and the last 2 are Acronis. I could uninstall Acronis since my free trial is over just to see if it made any difference but I really don't think it will change anything at all.

Any other thoughts?

If I go Desktops, XPS, 420 ... it shows all 3 files (including the "Application" file). It doesn't say 19in1 (they just forgot to type that in the description) but it does say CAB-200). Yes, it appears this is definitely the Wincomm (Broadcom) bluetooth "application stack".

So, we know the Media Card reader portion is not working, but is the BlueTooth portion working?

There is more troubleshooting we can do to get the BlueTooth part working, but I'm inclined to ignore that part until we get the MediaCard Reader part working.

Firmware upgrades (no matter if it's a Media Card Reader, a DVD Burner, a BIOS, or whatever) only ever need to be done once. It reprograms the component's "low base code" permanently.

Your procedure sounds correct. Thanks for following the direction closely.

Power might still be on to the bay (so the light might flash), but the signals are disabled. Noticed it still didn't see it during that part ... no that part is correct. You just verified that the 13in1 and 19in1 FlexBay devices all work the same in that respect ... good.

Now, in Device Manager. There should NOT BE ANY devices in Generic Voumes. There shouldn't even be a Generic Volumes category showing. Because they are in "limbo/partially installed" is why they get thrown in there.

I also have Acronis Home v10.0 (Build 4942) Full version on my machine (excellent Imaging utility by the way). It does add a device to DM, but it should be in a category called "Acronis Devices". It's only 1 device right there. Nothing in Disk Drives for Acronis.This may be related to your problem. You should uninstall it. Either the fact that it's an older version, or the fact that it's an expired demo might be screwing up your device manager.

Then you might have to repeat the steps. On the part where the FlexBay is disabled in the BIOS, and you are looking in the DM to make sure no old parts are hanging around, be sure there are NO Generic Devices or even a category called that. If there is still, resolve that issue before trying to get the Media Card Reader to work again.

Here is where the 4 Media Card Reader drives are SUPPOSE to show up in DM:

Disk Drives
- 4 separate entries (1 for each card type)

Portable Devices
- 4 separate entries (1 for each card type)

Also, I'm not sure if this a real or virtual device ... but IT IS the connection point for the drives (so it must be showing for the reader's drives to connect)

System Devices
- UMBus Enumerator
- UMBus Enumerator
- UMBus Root Bus Enumerator

Since my 13in1 uses only bundled Windows drivers, I still think the Media Card Reader portion of the 19in1 works the same way. Meaning, you should be able to get the drives to work using only Plug-in-Play and Windows Update online for drivers (but they should be on the disk). I'm pretty sure all those Dell branded downloads are only for the BlueTooth part.

If the rebooting and Plug-and-playing doesn't work, as a last resort for finding the right driver, you can right click on a errored device and click "Update Driver Software"

Let me know how it goes.

By the way, are you still under warranty? Is it onsite?

I think we're agreeing with each other - the Bluetooth part seems to work OK - at least I can get my Nokia phone to connect with the 420 without any problem. I haven't tried passing any data, but the connection was made virtually instantly which seems like a good sign.

Right now with no changes from doing all the rebooting in Device Manager I have an Acronis Devices section with an Acronis True Image Backup Archiver Explorer Device.

I also have a Disk Drives section with 4 DELL USB xxx Card Device lines plus my real disk drives.

I have a Storage Volumes section with 4 Generic Volumes, each with a yellow exclamation mark.

I have a CAB-200 device in the USB section, but I don't have any Enumerator lines!

One other thing I did notice - I tried displaying Hidden Devices just to see if the Enumerator lines might be in this category and I then find I have 8 lines in the Storage Volumes section - the original 4 generic Volumes with yellow exclamation marks, plus 4 more Generic Volumes without any exclamation marks! Also I then have a Storage volume shadow copies section which has 37 (!) Generic Volume Shadow Copy lines in it.

Does a) the lack of the Enumerator lines really mean anything or could this be an x32/x64 difference or b) what do you make of the 4 additional Generic Volume lines when I display hidden devices?

I think, I would have to go back and try again to be sure, that when I tried clicking "Update Driver Software" it didn't change anything, but I could not swear exactly what happened.

I'm still under Warranty - 4 months to go - they have already replaced the device to absolutely no effect, so I have 2 of them now! Also I don't really have any faith in the script reading that seems to go on when you call them - I honestly don't think they have a clue.

Oops! Let me apologise - I did not read your post quite carefully enough - you said look for enumerator in the System Devices section! I can see two lines in there which say

UMBus Enumerator

UMBus Root Bus Enumerator

Sorry about that.

Tesla, I am curious.  Has anyone attempted to determine if the internal card reader issue has to do with the "SIZE" of media card?

Reason being, I noticed that my 19 in 1 card reader (on my new XPS 420) disappears from My Computer when I insert a 4GB SD or CF card into it (and obviously won't read the 4GB cards).  But, when I insert a 2GB SD or CF card, it's perfectly fine and reads the cards without any problem, and without any "disappearing" issue.

I suspect it has a lot to do with the larger format of media cards above 2GB in size.

Just a thought!

So, if the BlueTooth is working, that tells us a few things:
1. The FlexBay port on the motherboard is working.
2. The card reader cable is good.
3. The 3 download files for the CAB-200 are either installed or un-needed. They are just for the BlueTooth part.

If they have already swapped the actual card reader out, combined with what we know above, you can pretty much say that your Windows install is corrupt or the drivers are still not installed properly. Most likely, some other driver or software is installed that is conflicting with it. Might have been something you installed or even something Dell installed before they sent you the computer.

The CAB-200 device you are seeing in the Device Manager/ USB controllers is most definitely the BlueTooth radio half.

It doesn't matter if it's Vista 32 or Vista 64 . The DeviceManager looks the same for me. Never turn on "show HIDDEN devices" (they only complicate things ... most are only virtual devices anyway).

Your new (more complete and accurate) description of what your Device Manager looks like is more normal. UMBus is where it needs to be. However, this is part is the obvious problem:

Storage Volumes section with 4 Generic Volumes, each with a yellow exclamation mark.

When you get the proper drivers installed for these 4, it will become Portable Devices, with the 4 card reader named drives (non-generic) inside it. The drivers for these media card drives come from Microsoft (bundled with Vista).

Sounds like you might have to backup your data, and then reinstall Vista from scratch. If that doesn't fix it, have Dell start replacing parts until they can make it work.

Bryan,

Well, I would hope that he is using smaller cards (under 2 gigs each) to test it. Maybe he can verify that.

However, without any cards in the slots, the drives are missing and the supporting devices in the Vista Device Manager are in error.

Thanks for the compatibility info.