If the physical LED on the front panel lights up when you insert the card, it proves two critical things: the motherboard's internal USB header is supplying 5V power, and the card is completing a circuit against the pins.

However, if Windows 7 doesn't chime, doesn't populate a drive letter, and shows absolutely zero change in Device Manager (no yellow exclamation marks or fresh entries appearing when you plug it in), the hardware controller is failing to negotiate the data handshake.

Since we know the reader chip itself is healthy (because it handled the SD card perfectly), the issue is down to how the damaged card is sitting against those legacy Sony pins. Here is how to cross the finish line:

1. The Pin Depth Disconnect (The Most Likely Culprit)

A standard Memory Stick PRO card is $50\text{ mm}$ long. A Memory Stick PRO Duo card is only $31\text{ mm}$ long.

Because that HP slot is a combo "MS PRO/MS PRO Duo" slot, it relies on the card pushing deep enough to hit the secondary tier of pins at the back of the channel. Because your card has sheared and shaved plastic edges, it might be hanging up on the slot's internal casing just a millimeter short of the actual data lines.

• The Fix: Give the card a very gentle, firm extra nudge inward with the tip of a flathead screwdriver or your fingernail to ensure it is completely seated at the absolute bottom of the chamber.

2. Microscopic Lateral Misalignment

Because you had to shave off the broken plastic separator ribs, there are no longer any physical walls keeping the card's gold contacts perfectly aligned with the reader's internal leaf springs. If the card shifted even $0.5\text{ mm}$ to the side as you slid it in, the reader's data pins are sitting on dead plastic instead of the gold tracks.

• The Fix: Pull the card out. Slide it back in, but try biasing it slightly to the absolute left edge of the slot as it enters. If that fails, pull it out and try biasing it to the absolute right edge.

3. Residual Friction / Debris

Take a quick look at the gold contacts under a light. Is there any microscopic plastic dust left over from the razor trimming blocking the pads? Wipe them clean with a dry cloth or a bit of isopropyl alcohol if you have it on the bench.

The Ultimate 60-Second Pivot (If the slot refuses to play ball)

If you tweak the alignment and Windows 7 still refuses to recognize the hardware handshake, don't waste any more time fighting the HP chassis while they are waiting for those Ascot pictures.

Since you are in an office full of kit, grab any old digital camera that takes a normal SD card, plug it into a working PC via USB, and check your drawers for a MicroSD-to-SD card adapter shell.

If you can find a generic Memory Stick PRO Duo to SD Adapter (the plastic sleeve that transforms the small stick into an SD shape), you can pop the damaged card into that sleeve, slide it into any working modern laptop or external reader, and the data will pull instantly.

Give that card a slight alignment adjustment in the HP slot first-let's see if we can get those gold pads to strike oil!