Inspiron 6000 - SD Card Slot

I have had this laptop since september 05 but I have never used the sd card slot.  I just bought a Canon A700 digital camera with a 1GB corsair 60x SD card.  When I click the card into my sd card slot in my Insp6000, Windows XP SP2 does not show any info, no window opens showing contents of the card, and there is no "removable media" icon in the "my computer" folder.  Windows however does produce the customary "bee boop" acknowledging the fact that I connected new hardware to the laptop.  Where in Windows is the SD card?  I can connect the camera through the usb, but then what the heck is the sd slot for if it doesn't work, a slot for loading dust?  Please direct me to any info on fixing this problem, thanks.