Problem with Memory Card Reader on Inspiron 1720

I was trying to use the memory card reader on my Inspiron 1720 with a Kingston 1 GB SD card.  When I insert it, I get the "bing-bong" (or whatever) noise that Windows makes when you insert a card like this or a USB flash drive, yet I do not see the card in Windows Explorer, nor do I see it in the Disk Management window.  When I take it out, Windows also seems to acknowledge its removal via the sound.  So it's like Windows is seeing it, but won't create a drive letter for it.  I've had this problem with USB drives and cameras and I believe it relates to Windows being too stupid to assign a drive letter due to leftover assumptions about what's a valid range of drive letters for local devices.  I have two hard drives, so they are C and D, then I have the DVD drive which is E.  That leaves all the "local" drive letters taken, with the assumption that F and above are network drives and Windows won't use those automatically (I think that's the story, at least).  So with the USB drives and the camera, I had to go into Disk Management and assign them a drive letter manually.  Now when I plug them in they work fine, but this is not working with the SD card.  It does not appear in Disk Management.  I have the latest Ricoh drivers, which seem to be the ones that control this, though Dell does not make this clear at all.  Any help with fixing this problem would certainly be appreciated.