Formatting New CF/SD Card w/FAT32

axjax · 02-20-06, 07:20 PM

I formatted my new 2 Gig Lexar CF card today using a USB Card Reader hooked up to my W2K Desktop. I just said format the media using FAT32 and 30 seconds later, it was done. Or at least I think it's done? Smack me upside the head if I did it wrong

!

The card reads fine in the Axim X51v like it should, but what I was wondering was whether anything needs to be done to the PDA, like some sort of driver to get the most out of the card? If so, can someone point me in that direction. Hopefully any tips provided will be explained in "layman's" terms so the maximum amount of lurkers :D can benefit from reading this thread!

Otherwise, can I start to install programs and/or add data on this card? I'm hoping to install Mapopolis and my Northeast Corridor (MA, CT, RI, NY*, & NJ*) map group on the CF card and maybe a movie or some games. I'm hoping that my TT5 program and regional maps will fit on the 512Meg memory portion of the GS SD502 GPS that I should have by mid-week.

One last point... I'd like to thank all the great people that make up this Axim community. Coming from the iPaq and Casio world... this is truly amazing!

0gopogo · 02-21-06, 12:23 AM

No drivers needed. You're fine. Just note that a 2gig card might read/write faster if formatted with FAT16 instead of FAT32. Then again, depending on your card's model and brand you may not experierence any performance difference.

Mapopolis can be installed on memory cards without problems. This applies to the iGuidance and Garmin Que programs, too. Since I do not own TomTom I cannot comment on that one. The "Search" feature is your friend :).

axjax · 02-21-06, 10:55 AM

Whew! Thanks for the comeback.

ChoiceStriker · 02-23-06, 05:45 PM

Hello, I have a similar question to the OP, so I thought I'd tack it onto this thread rather than create a new one. My situation is almost identical - the card is a Lexar 2GB CF "Professional" model, which Lexar claims should be able to write at 80x (12 mb/s).

I bought the card with the intention of using it to hold mp3's. I've formatted the card in FAT (not FAT32), using a PCMCIA card reader in my laptop. As a test, I tried to transfer about 1.5 GB of music to the card, and it's taking forever (the computer estimates 20+ minutes). Is this normal? I expected it to be much faster. I don't think the computer is the problem (1.7 GHz Pentium M, 512 MB RAM), but is there a faster method to transfer large amounts of files like this? I've tried transferring to the card while the x51v is docked, but that was about the same.

Anyway, if this is normal, I'll live with it, but I was curious if anyone had a better way to optimize things. Thanks for your help.

AdamaDBrown · 02-23-06, 07:15 PM

It's doubtful that there would be any kind of performance difference FAT16 and FAT32.

The speed claims on cards tend to be a bit exaggerated, and in any event far higher than most devices and readers are capable of. To really get that speed, you usually have to have a high end digital camera. Fortunately, you usually don't need to transfer those kinds of file sizes very often.

0gopogo · 02-23-06, 09:50 PM

If you are trying to copy 1.5GB of many small files to the card then yes, that will be very slow. But even then the copy should be complete after 12 to 13 minutes. Your card reader may be slow.

Regarding X ratings: Lexar's 80x speed rating is valid only when the card is used in a device which supports Lexar's WA (Write Acceleration) technology. Your card reader very probably does not support WA. What the Lexar's speed rating with WA is is anyone's guess.

Even if you assume 60x that does not mean that you can get 60x out of it. Manufacturers appear to establish the ratings using benchmarks that result in nice numbers but have little to do with pratical use. Secondly, a card's X rating is often for the read speed. Write speeds are lower. With some cards they can be significantly lower. Third, cards can read/write large files fastest. Reading/Writing small files is much slower. Finally, as I said, you may just have a slow card reader.

At least in benchmarks the formatting options do matter. I have at least one card for which the benchmarks suggest that copying MP3 files to it in a card reader will be noticeable faster (20% - 300%) if the card is formatted in FAT16. I have not tested this yet.

Originally Posted by ChoiceStriker

Hello, I have a similar question to the OP, so I thought I'd tack it onto this thread rather than create a new one. My situation is almost identical - the card is a Lexar 2GB CF "Professional" model, which Lexar claims should be able to write at 80x (12 mb/s).

I bought the card with the intention of using it to hold mp3's. I've formatted the card in FAT (not FAT32), using a PCMCIA card reader in my laptop. As a test, I tried to transfer about 1.5 GB of music to the card, and it's taking forever (the computer estimates 20+ minutes). Is this normal? I expected it to be much faster. I don't think the computer is the problem (1.7 GHz Pentium M, 512 MB RAM), but is there a faster method to transfer large amounts of files like this? I've tried transferring to the card while the x51v is docked, but that was about the same.

Anyway, if this is normal, I'll live with it, but I was curious if anyone had a better way to optimize things. Thanks for your help.

ChoiceStriker · 02-23-06, 10:48 PM

Thanks for the responses, guys. I certainly didn't actually expect to get an 80x read speed, but I was still surprised that it would take so long to write to a PCMCIA card. The adapter I'm using is several years old, but it is a Lexar brand card so I thought it should still perform well.

In any case, maybe I'll try out a USB 2.0 card reader or look at newer PCMCIA adapters. And even if this is the actual speed I can expect, it's not totally unbearable; it will take a while to get sick of 2 GB of mp3's anyway, so the process isn't something annoying I'll have to put up with every day.

0gopogo · 02-23-06, 11:09 PM

Follow-up: I tested FAT16 vs FAT32 in practice copying 1100MB of MP3 files to 2GB 150x RiData card. Average file size is 6.4 MB. Adama is right, the differences between FAT16 and FAT32 are not big enough to matter.

As for the PCMCIA card reader, I'd get a better one. Those 1100MB of 171 MP3s took between 1:40 and 1:47 to copy to the RiData (10.7MB/s). 4GB Extreme III CF needs 1:27 (12.6MB/s). 80x Transcend CF needed 2:50 (5.4MB/s).

The card reader is a 12-in-1 SanDisk ImageMate with ESP.

Adrian Knack · 02-24-06, 03:14 AM

There is a SD-Card formatting tutorial (see my signature). But you huys have done it 100% correctly.

You are probably better off using FAT32 to minimise the wasted space on the SD-card. Speed wise maybe your USB reader is only working at USB1.1? I presume you all know that higher speed cards will make no difference when in the Axim - so don't be suprised if data copying is slow via te cradle.

Cheers

fry · 02-24-06, 03:17 AM

If you copy a lot of data to the CF, consider using a PCMCIA card reader. It is much faster than USB.

0gopogo · 02-24-06, 10:08 PM

He already does. Anyway, are there any PCMCIA card readers that support the SD 1.1 specification (card speeds 120x and better)? I do not know of any. Since the USB2 SanDisk ImageMate 12-in-1 with ESP does support these cards it is the reader that I recommend.

ChoiceStriker · 02-25-06, 10:52 PM

Ogopogo: Thank you for the input - your info has been very helpful. Just to be sure I'm understanding you correctly, you're saying those times you posted were for reading and writing with a USB 2.0 SanDisk ImageMate reader? Can you tell me the exact model number you have? I'd be interested to get that model myself based on your recommendation.

I bought and tried a new PCMCIA compact flash adapter today (a Dazzle), but I didn't have any luck. It was even slower than my five-year old Lexar. I don't know if maybe there's something wrong with the card slot in my laptop, but I think for now I've given up on the PCMCIA adapter idea. I figure with a USB adapter I can use the CF card like a portable drive anywhere, so it will be more versatile, too.

After the disappointing PCMCIA results, I tested a USB 2.0 reader (an iRocks 5300), and it transferred all the files in less than five minutes. So, that was encouraging. I might just end up getting one of those if I can't find the Sandisk reader you mentioned. Thanks again for your help!

0gopogo · 02-25-06, 11:43 PM

Yes, those times are in the SanDisk ImageMate 12-in-1 card reader I bought last year. This week I bought another of this kind for work, ordered it here. I repeated the test with the EIII card in both readers today. They both achieve the time already posted.

My older ImageMate has model number SDDR-89, the new one SDDR-89 V3. Amazon call it SDDR-89 A15

.

Pierac · 02-26-06, 10:43 PM

OK, I have got one for you guys... I formatted my 2gb scan disk card using my default Roxio software at Fat32 and the card came out with 900+ usable space and 900+ used. Sorry, can't remember the exact numbers. I was thinking, Oh crap. Did it repartition my card into 2 sections?? If so what's up with the used part. Then, I decided to reformat but this time using only the quick format option. (What could I lose?) for some reason I obtained more memory than even the raw was showing?? Raw was showing 1800+ available. However the quick format gave me 1900+. I believe it stated .4mb used?? What gives??

yourpaleddie · 02-27-06, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by Pierac

OK, I have got one for you guys... I formatted my 2gb scan disk card using my default Roxio software at Fat32 and the card came out with 900+ usable space and 900+ used. Sorry, can't remember the exact numbers. I was thinking, Oh crap. Did it repartition my card into 2 sections?? If so what's up with the used part. Then, I decided to reformat but this time using only the quick format option. (What could I lose?) for some reason I obtained more memory than even the raw was showing?? Raw was showing 1800+ available. However the quick format gave me 1900+. I believe it stated .4mb used?? What gives??

I had the same problem when I formatted my 2GB Sandisk card. Also the same story if I tried using the FAT (not FAT32) alternative. I was doing this on my XP Pro computer with a card reader. So I installed the card reader on my Windows 98 laptop and formatted the card on that computer. Now my Axim X30 sees the full memory of the card.

I don't know how you can get around this if you try to format the card in the Axim. I got my card reader and the SD card cheap from Compgeeks.com.