Thanks everyone. I too would like to know why someone said not to use the camera's transfer ability; my camera came with a utility program & cable specifically for transferring photos. It has worked fine, knock on wood. As for the cards, I bought the same cards I always buy, but maybe they are making them differently now? not sure. Or maybe my card reader is malfunctioning. not sure. So I'll just keep transferring via EOS Utility for now. (which does not use up the battery that much, BTW--the transfer is fairly fast and the camera shuts itself off after it's done, if I have to let it go awhile/walk away from it)

fwiw; Sandisk has U3 Launchpad Removal Tool Removal instructions Can I remove U3 technology from my USB drive? Yes. To remove the U3 technology from the drive, simply go to the U3 Launchpad and, under Settings, select U3 Launchpad settings and click Uninstall. This will completely remove the U3 Launchpad from the drive. Can I restore U3 technology after removing it? Yes. SanDiskÂs U3 website features a U3 Launchpad Installer utility that you can use to re-install the U3 Launchpad on the Cruzer smart drive.

I also found a couple more options for you these are quotes A better solution to the problem is going to start >> Programs >> Toshiba >> Utilities >> Settings for Flash Cards From there you can change around a lot of things about the flash cards, primarily disabling the drop down menu by deselecting bring up flash cards with mouse. That way, you can keep the functionality of your fn keys... If you disable flash cards you lose your fn keys, I have no idea about resolution though... I didn't notice a difference. end quote quote Go to Start > Programs > Toshiba > Utilities > Settings for Flash Cards. Then deselect (un-check) the box that says "Bring up Flash Cards with Mouse". This hides them completely when they are collapsed and only brings up an appropriate one whenever you use a Fn key. For instance, when you hit Fn+F6 or F7, the Flash Card about brightness comes down (or up, depending on where you have the Flash Cards set to display), and shows you the slider for brightness, which can then also be manipulated with the mouse. In effect, this option makes the Flash Cards completely hidden when you don't want them, and only pop up when you do (by hitting the Fn key). end quote and this from a Toshiba repair person I am a certified Toshiba Repair tech. I work on them all day. Flashcards can go totally crazy and turn things off and on. Like say the the touchpad. Only way to reenable the touchpad is to use a usb mouse and actually click the icon on flashcards to enable the touchpad. Recently we have seen the units being set to use only external monitors. Just going back in and using flashcards does fix it if the OS is in good shape. If its not you will need to repair the OS/reinstall everything to just click on the stupid flashcards app. I'm in that spot right now. Seems the Flashcards app is corrupt(cant uninstall or reinstall - Runtime error) and I can't get the LCD to turn back on. I may have to just replace the hard drive and motherboard due to not having any restore media for the unit. Terrible...terrible application. end quote all from Toshiba FlashCards Annoying

Chris, Your relationship with your SD is a reflection of your relationship with your wife. Your SD issues are secondary issues. Your primary issues are with your wife. When you say you love your wife, what specifically do you find so lovable about her? Is there something there that's got you hooked & or stuck? It would serve you well to discover what's keeping you hooked & or stuck in a marriage that's no good for you. What's so lovable about a wife who allows for her husband to be mistreated, manipulated, disrespected and USED? What's so lovable about a woman who does not take personal parental responsibility for raising her own child to play by the rules of civil society & instead enables & fosters her child's character deficiency? How lovable is that? Marriage is 100% give & 0% take. But your GIVING 200% & your wife is TAKING 200%! I regret to say you are in a BAD NEWS marriage. There's nothing but heartbreak for you in this marriage. Unless your a masochist then why would you stay? Do you feel like your dying inside of you or like your being murdered from inside of you? If that's how you feel, then you've been reeled in by a Grade A Narcissist. She may play the 'helpless' feminine but you can rest assured she knows exactly what she's doing. Your buttons are being pushed. Your being played by a Master! I feel for you because I've been there & now again 2nd marriage around I'm back there. It's not easy to get out of a Narcissist's clutches. Sociopaths murder Truth, Psychopaths murder People, Narcissists murder Souls. aka Antisocial Personality Disorders These are the three severest & most dangerous personality disorders known to medical science. There's no therapy, no medicine & no cure for it. There are four outcomes for those of us who are the Victims of those who have Antisocial Personalities: the Lunatic Asylum, Prison, the Morgue or the most well formed outcome - RUN & DON"T STOPPING RUNNING UNTIL THERE"S NO WAY WE CAN EVER BE NEAR THEM AGAIN!