Step-by-Step method to transfer pictures, sounds, MP3's or videos to your computer using an inexpensive memory card by Eric Bernatchez, about.com.

Good music or camera phones generally feature one kind of memory expansion card slot. Frequent memory card formats include: TransFlash MicroSD, MiniSD, Sony MemoryStick but, the most popular is MicroSD, a very small memory card that requires a larger adapter to insert in a computer memory card reader (see illustration).

These expansion cards increase the amount of pictures, recordings, videos or music files you can store on your phone. But since they are removeable, they can also be used to actually transfer those files to your computer. It's especially true that many laptop computers come already equipped with a multi-card reader compatible with the most frequent memory card technologies.

Obviously, the first step to transfering files to your PC using a memory card is to insert a memory card in your cell phone. If your phone didn't come with a complimentary memory card, you can purchase one at your local electronics and computer store. However, bricks and mortar stores tend to greatly overprice accessories and it's not uncommon to find the same memory card two to three times cheaper at online stores compared to real life stores, despite shipping fees. So plan ahead, order online and save. Also refer to your user manual to make sure you buy the right kind of memory card for your cell phone. For example, "MiniSD" and "MicroSD" are not the same kind of cards.

For this example, we will use a cell phone equipped with a MicroSD memory card slot. Menu items may vary from phone to phone but the technique should be about the same for most other cell phones.

Before starting, make sure your cell phone accepts memory cards and that your laptop or desktop computer has a built-in or external memory card reader.

(Illustration: A Hama external Memory card reader, a few memory cards and adapters from Sandisk and, and the Nokia N80 cell phone.)

-- 11/30/2007 5:36:45 PM: post edited by linda.

First locate the memory card expansion slot on your cell phone. It is usually beneath a small door with the card format logo on it. But other cell phones, especially slimmer handsets, hide the memory card slot under the battery cover.

Memory cards only have one correct side. Never force or bend your memory card as they should be inserted without any effort other than a light push from the tip of your finger. Most cell phone memory card readers are "hot-swappable", which means that cards can be inserted and removed while the cell phone is turned on. However, before proceeding, check your owner's manual and make sure that this is the case for your specific cell phone and, if so, turn off your cell phone before inserting a memory card.

Insert the card printed face up. When it faces some resistance, use the tip of your nail and press slightly more firmly until it "clicks" and locks steadily. Close the protective door.

Your cell phone may or may not prompt you with a message. In most cases, no special message will be displayed but your phone will be ready for you to move files to the memory card.

(Illustration: The Nokia N80.)

The first step is to open the folders, in your cell phone, where the files that you want to transfer are located. It varies from cell phone to cell phone and, in some cases, files may be hard to find. However, here are the most frequent ways to find your media files:

• Some phones have a "My Stuff" or "My Media" menu item, which includes all your pictures, videos or sounds. (See my illustration)
• Other phones let you access your pictures or videos directly from the camera. Just press the camera button and select any menu item that reads "Gallery", "My pics" or something similar.
• Some carriers, such as Verizon Wireless, have a standard menu system for all their phones and media files can be found at odd places, such as within a special carrier-branded menu.

In the case of the Nokia 6300 shown here, I pressed "Menu", "Gallery", "Images" and selected an image I wanted to transfer. On a Verizon cell phone, I would have retrieved my media files by selecting the "Get it Now" menu and then specific sub-menus like "Pictures & Videos" then "My Pictures" or "My Videos". In most cases, you can also select multiple pictures by pressing the "Options" button and selecting "Mark" or "Mark all".

(Illustration: The Nokia 6300.)

Once in the right folder, select a picture, video, or sound file and press the "options" button/menu or any similarly named menu item. There should then be a "Move to", "Move to memory card" or "Move" menu item. In this case, the menu item was just "Move". On the next screen, I had to choose where I wanted to move the file so I selected the memory card (whose name is "NO NAME" since I neglected to name it). On other phones, selecting the "Move" option may have automatically copied the picture to my memory card.

Keep in mind that the "Move" option deletes files from the phone's memory. If you want to keep a copy of your picture on your cell phone, rather use the "Copy" function.

Repeat these steps for all the pictures, sounds and videos your want to transfer, then proceed to the final step. On some phones, you can also select multiple files at once and move them altogether to the memory card, which is faster.

(Illustration: The Nokia 6300.)

If you own a recent laptop computer, it should be already equipped with a multi-card reader (Top right picture). First, remove the memory card from your cell phone. In most cases, this is accomplished by simply pressing, then releasing the card. It will pop out of the card slot so you can pull it out.

Before attempting to insert a memory card in your laptop or memory card reader, keep in mind that some very small cards require an adapter (lower left picture) in order to be inserted in a computer slot (center picture). This is the case of the MicroSD format and most MicroSD cards come with an adapter. Insert the card into the adapter and then, the adapter in your computer's card reader.

Windows computers will generally beep and immediately recognize the memory card and open a special menu asking you what to do with the files found on the card. Select "Open Folder To View Files" and your files should be right there, ready to save in your computer, print or email. If no special menu automatically pops up, you may also find your memory card's content in "Windows Explorer" under a name that includes "storage device" such as "Secure Digital storage device".

For Macintosh computers, I am unfortunately not able to provide specific instructions at this time. Please let me know if you can help.

(Illustration: A Sandisk card and adapter and an Acer laptop computer.)