PC won't read certain SD cards (Problem is with PC, NOT card)

I have two PC with Windows 10 Home on them. Both are patched and upgraded to the latest version (Regular build, rather than insider build).

One of the PC simply won't read certain SD cards. I put the card in the reader and when I try to click on it Windows Explorer freezes and goes to "not responding". The same thing happens if I try to do this from the command prompt.

I can't even format the SD cards on the PC as when I select the card in the formatting utility (Even with FDisk) the window that I use to select the card goes to not responding.

I put the exact same card in the other PC and everything is 100% perfect. I've tried formatting the cards using both the quick and the long format methods. I've even put the cards in a camera and used the Format Memory Card function. Still, the first PC absolutely cannot read the card and the Window freezes every time.

It's not all SD cards. The PC that freezes can read apparently identical cards from the same manufacturer without any problems.

This says to me that the cards are OK, but that the problem is with the PC.

These cards all used to read OK, I used some of them for a couple of years without any issues.

I remember somewhere that Windows will record each SD card and USB stick that it reads and will identify it in the registry, so I suspect that at some time I have gotten a bad registry entry for them.

This started happening around the time that I installed some software to allow me to read a Linux formatted disc on my PC, and one of the SD cards that I'm having problems with has previously had Openelec installed on it (Linux based OS). This may be a red hearing, but I thought that I should mention it.

I had a similar problem with my Laptops SD Card Reader, it's only 3 years old, but no cover on the SD slot.
The answer was to carefully clean the SD Card Reader contacts, and indeed the SD card contacts.
They seem to be very sensitive to contamination.

Not had any problems since.

Helmut said:

I had a similar problem with my Laptops SD Card Reader, it's only 3 years old, but no cover on the SD slot.
The answer was to carefully clean the SD Card Reader contacts, and indeed the SD card contacts.
They seem to be very sensitive to contamination.

Not had any problems since.

That was one of the first things that I tried.

This may not help but have a look at device manager > View > hidden Devices.

May find a lot of hidden SD card entries under drives, try uninstalling them.

cereberus said:

I practically gave up using sd card readers as so temperamental. Now I just insert sd card in a usb sd card reader which is more reliable, and you can boot from sd card via a usb reader.

Tried that, too.

How about the card reader's drivers? Might try an update of those especially if the SD reader does not show up in the Device Manager.

clam1952 said:

This may not help but have a look at device manager > View > hidden Devices.

May find a lot of hidden SD card entries under drives, try uninstalling them.

Oh, I think it will help - that would have been my first suggestion. Once an incorrect driver has been associated with a particular SD card it will be loaded every time that card is inserted. Uninstall it and the correct driver should be loaded the next time (and all subsequent times). I've occasionally had this problem (and solution) with USB memory sticks.