Unable to format SD card to full capacity

RichardCranium · 07-04-06, 02:05 AM

Hi all.

Continuation of my previous thread.
Got my X50V working ok but can't use full capacity on either my CF (2gb) or SD (4gb) cards. Tried sktools as someone suggested but format doesn't complete.
Formatted sd card on another computer via card reader but only able to get 1gb capacity. Formatted with FAT32. I use CF for videos and software and SD for mp3s.
Need suggestions ASAP!

TIA,

RC

Appendage · 07-04-06, 02:34 AM

How much capacity do you get on the other card?

You shouldn't get the full 2 or 4Gb. I only get 490MB on my 512MB card, and only 1950MB on my 2GB card, but it should be around there. Other than that, eh, I dunno.

lazyart · 07-04-06, 09:18 AM

Need a new card reader. Older ones (or really cheap ones) top out at about 1 gig.

RichardCranium · 07-04-06, 02:39 PM

I tried formatting both cards in my Gateway 7405GX card reader.
I wasn't able to format the the SD card and was only able to format the CF to half capacity. Both times with FAT32. Is my SD card broken?

jevans64 · 07-05-06, 01:13 AM

I doubt that Gateway uses a quality card reader. You could say the same for any OEM, they use the cheapest components.

See if your Gateway reader can be firmware updated.

Since you are having problems with both cards, I believe it is the reader since my Ax didn't "see" my 4GB SD until I formatted it in Windows.

What brand cards?

Does the PC "see" the cards?

See if your local PC retailer or big box retailer can check the format for you.

I didn't have any problems formatting my A-Data 4GB SD using the reader in my Dell 2405FPW, Transcend TS-RD13, or Y-E Data YD-8V07 ( after flashing ) readers.

RichardCranium · 07-05-06, 02:36 AM

Well,
I finally seem to have resolved the problem though I don't know how.
I reinstalled sktools this time to builtin storage.
The SD card wasn't recognized so I removed it and turned my axim on and off a few times. Then all of a sudden it recognized it and asked me if I wanted to format it.
I said yes, and it's now recognized as a 3.8 gb card. I still don't know if I'll be able to use it all for mp3s. I sure hope so. Also reinstalling TT Navigator5 to the default directory has it working immediately.

Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions.

BTW Jevan, you said you have a Dell 2405 and use it's card reader.
Is it powered by the supplied usb cable? Thanks again.

RC

jevans64 · 07-05-06, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by RichardCranium

BTW Jevan, you said you have a Dell 2405 and use it's card reader.
Is it powered by the supplied usb cable? Thanks again.

RC

I'm not sure whether the USB cable actually powers the reader, but it must be connected in order for the PC to "see" the reader. I would assume that the reader is part of a USB hub. That would explain why it is a bit slower than a new dedicated reader. I don't use that reader much since I already have the combo floppy / reader installed. The maximum transfer rate on my 4GB A-Data 150x is around 8MB/s though and is slower than the Transcend I have.

RichardCranium · 07-05-06, 11:42 PM

An update.
I still can't use the full capacity of my cards.
I only have 500mb /4gb on my sd and 800mb/2gb on my cf card.

bandit23 · 04-16-09, 12:50 PM

i was having problems with formatting my micro sd memory card to its full capacity until i downloaded a sd formatter for free at sdcard.org it worked perfectly

antontomov · 04-30-09, 05:48 AM

Try formatting with Pocket Mechanic, do a low-level format first then format using FAT32 / 1K cluster (or try 512 bytes or 2K cluster sizes if that does not work). You can download a fully functional 30 day trial version of Pocket Mechanic from our web site.