SD card formatting...

[Osiris]

My memory card is being extremely tweaky, folders and files are disappearing, sometimes I can't access the card, and now the Axim says the card doesn't exist...yet it can read files from it (sometimes).

My question is, how do I format the card and start over? I searched high and low for a built-in formatting utility and have found no such beast. Anybody have any ideas?

[Fritz]

DUDE IT IS ABSOLUTELY ABSURD THAT COINCIDENTLY, I NOTICED THE SAME PROBLEM YESTERDAY!

(phew, i had to get it out of me cuz I thought I was the only one with SD problems... and God-forbid, have to send my otherwise perfect Ax in for an RMA)

OK, here's a brief description of my encounter:
- I took my SD out of my DigiCam, downloaded the pix straight into my Ax: no problem
- Erased the files on Ax: no problem
- Copied a 6 meg lexicon on SD: still no problem
- Tried cutting and pasting the 6meg file back into Ax. At about 60% of moving, I got a dialogue titled "Action Failed":

"Cannot move file 'thisFile.ext'.
System cannot find the specified device.

Press yes to continue."
- Tried accessing lexicon via dictionary on SD: seems to be ok by checking random entries
- Eject and reinsert SD card: Used properties to check SD card capacity, file is occupying space, but no files found under Explorer / Resco
- Eject and reinsert SD card numerous times: No SD card detected in BattPack2003 nor MemInfo
- SoftReset: Files are found again in Resco, tried deleting file: Same dialogue box
- put the SD back into my DigiCam, formatted it using its builtin utility
- filled it with pictures
- repeat above process: same problems.
- then I tried using smaller files (<500k / file) in the Ax: no problems

This whole ordeal has been repeated 4 times with another SD card with a bigger file, same findings.

My conclusion:
1) The contacts for 'writing' are OK; but contacts for reading on certain 'sectors' of SD is malfunctioning
2) BUT, this is inconsistent with downloading all the pictures (which ranged in size from 50K to 5MB) flawlessly
3) BUT, file size shouldn't be an issue, since the lexicon at 6megs is relatively similiar in size to the 5MB pix

This whole ordeal was repeated using a different size SD-card, and a 12MB lexicon... with the same results!

[Osiris]

Fritz,

That is *EXACTLY* the problem that I'm having.
Weird.

So how do we format these SD cards?

[Talador]

Originally posted by Osiris@Jan 28 2003, 06:47 AM
So how do we format these SD cards?

Have you tried using a program called "Storage Tools"? There is a trial version you can get from handango, or just CLICK HERE to go there. It might help, might not.... Up to you.

--Talador

[Fritz]

OK, I'm currently fiddling with it:

- Seeing that using the format utility in DigiCam doesn't work, I plugged my DigiCam in -- and I'm formatting the SD card using Windows Explorer (using DigiCam as a 'cardReader') since it shows up as 'Removable Storage'
- Copied a 6MB zip file from desktop to Ax directly into SD folder
- Cut and paste that zip file back and forth from Ax to SD card internally
- Checked archive integrity using Resco
- Cut zip file back to desktop
- Checked file integrity using WinZip
- Eject SD, 'power-off' Ax, Insert SD, repeat above process twice
- So far no problems!

So try formatting using a card-reader or by the way of a digiCam.

I'm going to repeat this stuff with another card.

If all is good, then my problem is this:

Does it mean DigiCam formatted SD cards cannot be used interchangeably with the Ax reliably?? If that's the case, it really sucks! Because I really want to shoot a bunch of pictures and keep mp3's and data files on the same SD.

[toddack]

I downloaded Storage Tools and tried running the Scan/Repair and it gets through 90% or so and I get an error "Error in scan disk. Please run disk repair again" everytime.

Do you guys think that this is a problem with my SD card or the application.

[skywires]

I refuse to pay for a third-party formatting software for something that should be patched for free by either Dell or SD.

I have already spent enough time and money trying to "fix" and upgrade the Axim to what I was told it would do for me by Dell salespeople.

This SD memory card issue SUCKS!!

[ikehiker]

You bring back an 11-month old thread for your first post? :) This issue is largely solved. Even if you go to the third party app to format a non working card, it would be at best a temporary fix but if you have a Sandisk memory card that doesn't work, contact Sandisk and specifically let them know you have an Axim. They'll provide you with a new one that should work.