Removing a Microdrive from a G1

[Stevejac]

I asked this in the storage forum with minimal response, so I'll ask it here as well:

I have a G1 and just bought a 1GB microdrive. The drive instructions say not to pinch the drive on the large faces of the case but rather on the thin edges. I find that when I push the eject button on my G1 the drive is still held tightly in the camera and pinching the drive on the narrow sides with my fingers won't work. My fingers slide off.

Is there a preferred technique for extracting the microdrive from the G1?
--
Steve Jacobs

 

[Dick Barbour]

Steve,

I have a G2 and have the same problem. I try to just grasp it by the very front edge and not the flat side, but it's still hard to get out. I would be interested in whether this is true of other G2s or just ours.

****

I asked this in the storage forum with minimal response, so I'll
ask it here as well:

I have a G1 and just bought a 1GB microdrive. The drive
instructions say not to pinch the drive on the large faces of the
case but rather on the thin edges. I find that when I push the
eject button on my G1 the drive is still held tightly in the camera
and pinching the drive on the narrow sides with my fingers won't
work. My fingers slide off.

Is there a preferred technique for extracting the microdrive from
the G1?
--
Steve Jacobs

 

[james mcnalley]

I grasp the long edge of the MicroDrive with the tips of my thumb and first finger. Most of the resulting pressure is distributed along the rounded long edge, rather than the flat portion. In the six months and 6500 images I've shot with the G1 and Microdrive (340MB, in my case), I have had no trouble with the Microdrive.

Due to a failure in the G1's power switch, I have replaced them with an S30 and 256MB Compact Flash card. Although the 340MB Microdrive has incredible coolness -- it is more usable than the 20MB HP kittyhawk drive and has the same capacity as the largest circa-1992 IDE drives -- I found it to be slower and noiser than a CF card.

I asked this in the storage forum with minimal response, so I'll
ask it here as well:

I have a G1 and just bought a 1GB microdrive. The drive
instructions say not to pinch the drive on the large faces of the
case but rather on the thin edges. I find that when I push the
eject button on my G1 the drive is still held tightly in the camera
and pinching the drive on the narrow sides with my fingers won't
work. My fingers slide off.

Is there a preferred technique for extracting the microdrive from
the G1?
--
Steve Jacobs

 

[LarryRz]

I asked this in the storage forum with minimal response, so I'll
ask it here as well:

I have a G1 and just bought a 1GB microdrive. The drive
instructions say not to pinch the drive on the large faces of the
case but rather on the thin edges. I find that when I push the
eject button on my G1 the drive is still held tightly in the camera
and pinching the drive on the narrow sides with my fingers won't
work. My fingers slide off.

Is there a preferred technique for extracting the microdrive from
the G1?
--
Steve Jacobs

Steve, I have a G1 (Nov '00) and 1GMD ( March '01). Over 10K picks on this MD (my second) and 20K total on the camera. Also, I ALWAYS remove the MD or other memory cards and use a ZiO! CF card reader for transfer of files to my computer. Not saying that's the right or wrong way to go about things but that's what I do.

If I push the eject button slowly the MD does not "pop out" but is still extractable with minimal pressure on the flat (front/back). My fingers don't press on the circular shadow on the face of the MD.

If I give the eject button a stronger, sharper push, the MD pops out so that about 1/2" (just over 1.3cm) is exposed. Anything more than 1cm should allow for easily gripping the top and bottom.

FWIW, my CF cards readt the same way to gentle or stronger pushes of the eject button. But, don't push so hard that the card comes flying out and drops to the floor. But I guess that's not your current problem!

So in specific answer to your question, "What is the preferred technique for extracting the microdrive from the G1?", I would recommend using a quick, strong, snappy, firm, push on the eject button to get the MD to pop further out.

Happy card popping,

Larry

 

[Tadeusz Letocha]

My G2 likes to hang onto the MD, too!

My solution was to take a piece of sellotape about 1 inch long and stick it to the MD so that it makes a sort of "tab" that protrudes out of the slot in the G2. Now when I push the eject button, I also get this tab to hold on to which makes removing the MD a cinch.

If you do this be sure not to cover up the hole on the MD (the one marked "do not seal").

 

[Giordano Biondani]

I do exactly the same.

I grasp the long edge of the MicroDrive with the tips of my thumb
and first finger. Most of the resulting pressure is distributed
along the rounded long edge, rather than the flat portion. In the
six months and 6500 images I've shot with the G1 and Microdrive
(340MB, in my case), I have had no trouble with the Microdrive.

 

[morris]

I have a G1 and 2 microdrive. Neither of them sticks but I have had this happen with CF cards. This is a manufacturing tolerance issue. You can sand or file off a small amount of material on the drive rail of the drive that is sticking and all will be fine. Take it slow or you will wind up with a projectile when you hit your eject button.

Morris

I asked this in the storage forum with minimal response, so I'll
ask it here as well:

I have a G1 and just bought a 1GB microdrive. The drive
instructions say not to pinch the drive on the large faces of the
case but rather on the thin edges. I find that when I push the
eject button on my G1 the drive is still held tightly in the camera
and pinching the drive on the narrow sides with my fingers won't
work. My fingers slide off.

Is there a preferred technique for extracting the microdrive from
the G1?
--
Steve Jacobs

 

[Stevejac]

Thanks all for your advice... I think you've solved my problem!

I asked this in the storage forum with minimal response, so I'll
ask it here as well:

I have a G1 and just bought a 1GB microdrive. The drive
instructions say not to pinch the drive on the large faces of the
case but rather on the thin edges. I find that when I push the
eject button on my G1 the drive is still held tightly in the camera
and pinching the drive on the narrow sides with my fingers won't
work. My fingers slide off.

Is there a preferred technique for extracting the microdrive from
the G1?
--
Steve Jacobs

Steve, I have a G1 (Nov '00) and 1GMD ( March '01). Over 10K
picks on this MD (my second) and 20K total on the camera. Also, I
ALWAYS remove the MD or other memory cards and use a ZiO! CF card
reader for transfer of files to my computer. Not saying that's the
right or wrong way to go about things but that's what I do.

If I push the eject button slowly the MD does not "pop out" but is
still extractable with minimal pressure on the flat (front/back).
My fingers don't press on the circular shadow on the face of the MD.

If I give the eject button a stronger, sharper push, the MD pops
out so that about 1/2" (just over 1.3cm) is exposed. Anything more
than 1cm should allow for easily gripping the top and bottom.

FWIW, my CF cards readt the same way to gentle or stronger pushes
of the eject button. But, don't push so hard that the card comes
flying out and drops to the floor. But I guess that's not your
current problem!

So in specific answer to your question, "What is the preferred
technique for extracting the microdrive from the G1?", I would
recommend using a quick, strong, snappy, firm, push on the eject
button to get the MD to pop further out.

Happy card popping,

Larry

--
Steve Jacobs

 

[mike savad]

I asked this in the storage forum with minimal response, so I'll
ask it here as well:

I have a G1 and just bought a 1GB microdrive. The drive
instructions say not to pinch the drive on the large faces of the
case but rather on the thin edges. I find that when I push the
eject button on my G1 the drive is still held tightly in the camera
and pinching the drive on the narrow sides with my fingers won't
work. My fingers slide off.

Is there a preferred technique for extracting the microdrive from
the G1?
--
Steve Jacobs

i poke the button and pull it out.

since only a tiny bit of it comes out my fingers never venture any further then that small edge. i do it over a table as not to drop it.

---Mike Savad

--
http://www.pbase.com/savad/