Why does my computer recognize some SD cards, but not others?

I have a Dell Inspiron 6000 with XP.

It recognizes one SD card just fine, but the other 2 I have, it doesn't.

Recognizes = SanDisk 2gb

Does not recognize = Optima 4gb, Sony 32gb

I am trying to temporarily move a 3.1gb .iso file onto a SD card so I can restore the computer to factory settings.
 
It has now begun to read the other ones seemingly at random. At other times, the start menu disappears for no reason. I need to reload the operating system, but i need to get this .iso file onto an SD first.

I'm trying to get the .iso for Windows 7 Home Premium x64 so I can try to reload onto this other computer that stopped working recently.
 
Burn the iso image to a dvd as it will be easier to install that way then an sd card.
 
dvd

Burn the iso image to a dvd as it will be easier to install that way then an sd card.

I am going to do that, but the DVD-RW doesn't seem to be working. That is why I am putting it temporarily on a SD so I can reload to factory settings, then hopefully the DVD-RW will work when I get it restored.
 
Copying the iso to an SD card will not work, you'd actually have to image the card. I'm not sure if even that would work, old computers (and XP) can be finicky when it comes to booting off flash cards/sticks.
 
I am not trying to boot from the SD card. That is just temporary so I can use someone else's DVD-RW to make the image disc, since my burner is not working.
 
Most likely it won't read anything over 2gb. It such an old machine.
This is the most likely reason.

SD cards are 2GB or less
SDHC Cards are 4GB-32GB
SDXC Cards are > 32GB

Most likely the card reader built-in to your machine only supported SD cards. The new external reader you got supports SD, SDHC & SDXC cards.
 
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