HP iPAQ 211 does not support SDHC!!!

Tanker Bob · 07-06-09, 03:03 PM

Before you flame me, that's HP's official position according to their tech support.

My 211 read SDHC cards fine until a few weeks ago (see this thread). After trying everything I could here locally, including several hard resets, I called HP tech support today. After kindly informing me that my warranty had expired, he informed me that HP doesn't support SDHC on ANY iPAQ PDA. HP only supports SDHC on its Smartphones according to HP tech support. I told the tech that it worked fine until a few weeks ago. He replied that that may be true, but HP does not support SDHC on the 211, period, end of conversation. :realmad:

I believe that I'm through with HP. Capability w/o support isn't capability.

spunker88 · 07-06-09, 04:27 PM

SDHC compatibility is built into the os as a driver. Kind of like how flash drive support is built into windows 2000, xp, vista. If it worked at one point, then it should always work.

You could try a hard reset, which you said you did already.
Have you tried new/other cards.
Have you tried a smaller non-hc card.
This could be a hardware issue.

Tanker Bob · 07-06-09, 05:38 PM

Yep, I know about the driver and pointed that out to the tech. He simply repeated the mantra that HP doesn't support SDHC on the 211. I've hard reset twice, swapped cards, formatted cards, used SKTools to ensure that the drivers actually loaded and were active. Everything checks, but the 211 no longer reads SDHC cards. Regular SD cards, including a 4 GB card, work perfectly. This isn't an unknown problem. I've seen others on the web with the same problem, but no solutions. There must be some kind of bug or glitch in the driver with which HP doesn't want to deal.

I'm already looking at HTC Smartphones...

Julie · 07-06-09, 07:14 PM

Try removing the battery for a few seconds. This will reset the device's hardware and maybe fix the problem (I really don't know).

HP may not formally "support" SDHC cards, but that only means they have never tested them out and so they don't really know much about how the cards will work in the device. That does not mean the cards won't work in a device. For instance, HP officially supports 2 GB SDHC cards in my IPAQ 910c, but I am currently using a 16GB SDHC card in the device.

Tanker Bob · 07-06-09, 10:08 PM

Thanks for the suggestion, Julie. That's something that I hadn't tried. Unfortunately, it didn't work anyway, but it was worth a shot. I hear you on the HP support. I just went back to the 211's HP webpage. It specifically says "Compact Flash and SDIO (high-capacity)". I'm going to call HP back tomorrow and see what they say.

Was out looking at Smartphones tonight. Nothing really grabbed me, so I think that I'll hold out for an HTC Touch HD when they are released here in the States. I can't see taking a step back from VGA resolution, which still seems to be rare.

AKAJohnDoe · 07-06-09, 11:25 PM

Originally Posted by Tanker Bob

Was out looking at Smartphones tonight. Nothing really grabbed me, so I think that I'll hold out for an HTC Touch HD when they are released here in the States.

A few nice ones are supposed to be out by Autumn. I am watch for three of them right now, myself.

Theemed · 07-15-09, 04:56 AM

Don't know if you traded away your 211 yet, but I just found this post that MAY do things for you:
SDHC for HP 210/211

**breley** · 07-15-09, 07:36 AM

Tanker Bob, have you tried posting your question in HP's IT support forum? It's free and there's a section dedicated to iPaqs here in case someone on the forum had a similar problem/solution as yours. Rumor has it Julie might even lurk around there...:hide:

Tanker Bob · 07-15-09, 07:43 AM

No, but I called HP tech support on the phone. Their response was that they don't support SDHC on the iPAQ 200-series. I pointed out the navajo SDHC drivers on the device, the SDHC device drivers running in memory and the fact that the card worked for months, but they never strayed from the message of non-support for SDHC. I'll try the forums tonight, but I expect the same there. I've come to the conclusion that HP is great on advertising, but weak on delivery.

**breley** · 07-15-09, 07:50 AM

The ITRC/Biz support forums are comprised primarily of end users like you and me as opposed to HP support staff. There are moderators there, similar to Mobilitysite, but people that answer questions are typically just fellow consumers, though many possess tech backgrounds.

Julie · 07-15-09, 11:11 AM

Posting to HP's IPAQ forum may yield better results than what you got from HP's support line. Other folks who have the 211 and experience working with SDHC cards in their devices may share their experiences if they see you post (it's kind of hit or miss over there sometimes).

I believe your experience is unique. If it were true that the 211 does not support SDHC cards, I'd expect to see lots of posts about that issue in the HP IPAQ forum, and I haven't seen any posts like this one over there.

Tanker Bob · 07-15-09, 08:51 PM

OK, I posted on the HP forum. Thank you for the suggestion.

08-05-09, 01:07 AM

I think it may be your PDA or card problem
I never encounter problem with SDHC, and I even have microSDHC 16GB with adapter loaded, just works

09-03-09, 10:16 AM

Ming Kee--I don't think the problem lies with Tanker Bob's ipaq. This happens to me every six months or so. I'm beginning to wonder whether the card becomes invisible when it gets a certain percentage (as in pretty) full. I don't think this has ever happened to me with a mostly empty card.

Also, I just noticed the weirdest association. When a 16 GB SDHC card in my iPAQ 211 is mostly empty, I can connect for syncing just by plugging the USB cable into the iPAQ. When my sdhc card is half full or more, I have to connect the cable and reboot the ipaq before the PC and the IPAQ will shake hands with each other.

Just an observation.

Tanker Bob · 09-03-09, 07:31 PM

Sandra,

The original 32GB SDHC was about 1/2 full when it failed, but no changes were made to it for quite a while (weeks+) before it failed without warning. I've not had the sync problems that you have, but I use Linux and sync with XP through a virtual machine. I've been able to sync via USB and the main connector, but USB takes way longer to charge the 211.

This is all very frustrating. Two hard resets failed to solve the problem. Changing 32GB cards makes no difference. Reformatted, empty cards don't work. All the symptoms point to a hardware failure in the iPAQ that only affects SDHC and not regular SD cards.