Currupt SD Cards

[tekminxltd]

I have one 512MB SD and two 256MB SD cards, and none of them work anymore. I think it's partly due to my dual usage of them (Kodak Digital camera and Dell Axim X50v). But this is rediclious and it's getting expensive. When I put the SD in my card reader (PC) it dosen't see that there is a card there. So I can't format or do anything to it. When I put it in my Axim, it freezes completely and indefinitly in about 5 seconds after inserting the card. Is there ANY WAY I can rescue these cards? I mean this is pissing me off now. I thought I bought good cards. SanDisk brand, not any thirdparty brands, I thought I got the best, and now look. I read about a program called Pocket Mechanics, which I got and installed. But I can't run it when the card is in, cause it freezes. Is there a way to insert the card without having the axim read it? THEN run the software? Dosen't sound possible to me. I have a 1 GB CF card that's doing me good, cause I don't have anything else that reads it. If anyone can assist in this matter, it would be greatly appreaciated.

[DeeCee52]

First, some cards have a lifetime warranty. I have replaced 2 CF cards and one SD card based on that. It only cost the postage and time to get the card back to the manufacturer.

Do you have avantgo installed. I had a problem when I upgraded avantgo and placed the cache on the sd card. It somehow managed to put more data on the disk than it could hold, and that totaled the card.

I suspect that some card readers cause problems or I'm not patient enough with the closing of files. The copying of large amounts of data, even if they are small files can take a very long time, especially if you are using USB 1

Finally, some people have said that the formatting capabilities of the pocket mechanics are problematic. My experience with PM is that it takes a long time for it to do what it does and I may have caused more problems because I thought PM was hung up, when in fact it was trying to recover all the files on the card.

Good luck with your data.

[silkshadow]

I know, for a fact, that a cheap-ass card reader I got for free after rebates caused the death of two Sandisk SD cards. Sandisk RMA was awesome though. They fixed/replaced both of them. I think, in general, cheap card readers are the cause of most flash card death. After that experience, I spent $24 at Newegg for a portable reader that has not given me any problem in over a year.

[scottrwilliams]

This is happening to me as well. I have a 1G SanDisk SD card with a 475MB movie on it and three very short MPEG4's that were taken with my Casio Exilim Digital camera. I always switch back and forth from device to device and I think that might have been what cause the problem. It used to be slow to react when inserted in the camera but now it wont recognize it at all. Neither will my axim X50v or my good pc slot card reader in my Dell inspiron laptop. Where can I get that software? What do you guys suggest?

[DeeCee52]

This is happening to me as well. I have a 1G SanDisk SD card with a 475MB movie on it and three very short MPEG4's that were taken with my Casio Exilim Digital camera. I always switch back and forth from device to device and I think that might have been what cause the problem. It used to be slow to react when inserted in the camera but now it wont recognize it at all. Neither will my axim X50v or my good pc slot card reader in my Dell inspiron laptop. Where can I get that software? What do you guys suggest?

If you absolutely have to recover the files on that disk, the manufacturer's website may have some answers. I know that there are pc based image recovery programs. However, if you have backups of the files or are willing to lose them, I would try and get a new disk from under warranty. that way you know you are starting with a good card.

[dlangton]

I just had a problem with a 2GB Sandisk SD card. When I was copying a 870MB avi file to the thing from my desktop, it kind of crapped out on me. Sandisk was very nice and replaced it for free. Really great service, and free shipping.

[tekminxltd]

Thank's guys, you've been a big help. I dont know if my cards will sill be under warrenty as I have had them for a while, but only after using them alot did they die, but I will try anyway. I will post what happens here.

[tekminxltd]

UPDATE:

After calling SanDisk and explaing how no matter what I plug these cards (512 and 256) into to, the device denies its presence (or crashes) they said "Ok, no problem we will replace your cards" BOTH OF THEM! I will be recieving an email to which I print out and use the information to send both cards via FedEx. I will get replacement cards in 7-10 days. AWESOME! That's wonderful. I will never by a non SanDisk brand of SD/CF card.

[Tankman]

I just had a problem with a 2GB Sandisk SD card. When I was copying a 870MB avi file to the thing from my desktop, it kind of crapped out on me. Sandisk was very nice and replaced it for free. Really great service, and free shipping.

Been using SanDisk for a while now.

I haven't had any problems what so ever but, I have only used their 1GB SD and CF cards.

I want to go BIGGER, but wonder. Keep you posted 'cause going to 2GB memory cards.

[Stadsport]

I've got a 512mb SD card, and had a similar problem yesterday. My desktop said "This card needs to be formatted before it can be used," and "This card cannot be formatted at this time." Though, it still read fine in my X50v. I formatted it in Resco Explorer, and it still did it. Turns out I just needed to restart my computer. Didn't lose anything, though--everything was still on my desktop.

[leprechaun]

i had the same problem with my corsair 2 gb sd card and i they replaced it for free. I just had to contact them, pay for postage to send it to them and they sent it back to me

[raylo]

I just got a new ATP 2GB SD card and get the same error on my Toshiba Sattelite 5103 series laptop's built-in SD card reader. The computer is about 4 to 5 years old so I went to Toshiba to update the SD reader drivers. The most current was from 2002 so it was probbaly what I already had but I updated anyway. Then I rebooted the computer but still get the same behavior. I popped the SD card into the Axim and it seems to work OK, though. I copied a file from one folder to another and it appeared in the new folder. Popped the card back into the Toshiba... no joy.

What gives? Bad SD card? Old Toshiba SD reader/driver can't see more than 1GB? BTW, I have a 1gb Sandisk ultra that works fine.

I've got a 512mb SD card, and had a similar problem yesterday. My desktop said "This card needs to be formatted before it can be used," and "This card cannot be formatted at this time." Though, it still read fine in my X50v. I formatted it in Resco Explorer, and it still did it. Turns out I just needed to restart my computer. Didn't lose anything, though--everything was still on my desktop.

[raylo]

As another datapoint I tried the 2 GB SD card in my digital camera and it works fine. I was even able to do a format in the camera which, of course, erased the file I had copied onto it as a test and installed the camera's folder structure. It was still invisibe to the Toshiba laptop. So it seems the problem lies with my Toshiba laptop. Is it possible that SD drivers of this vintage (2002) would be limited to 1 GB? This is going to be a PITA if I can't copy files directly onto the SD card in the computer. USB 1.1 transfers via the Axim cradle are very long affairs when doing movie files.

I just got a new ATP 2GB SD card and get the same error on my Toshiba Sattelite 5103 series laptop's built-in SD card reader. The computer is about 4 to 5 years old so I went to Toshiba to update the SD reader drivers. The most current was from 2002 so it was probbaly what I already had but I updated anyway. Then I rebooted the computer but still get the same behavior. I popped the SD card into the Axim and it seems to work OK, though. I copied a file from one folder to another and it appeared in the new folder. Popped the card back into the Toshiba... no joy.

What gives? Bad SD card? Old Toshiba SD reader/driver can't see more than 1GB? BTW, I have a 1gb Sandisk ultra that works fine.

[Howard2k]

I've only ever had three faulty SD cards. All three of them were Scamdisk.