More SD problems (sorry)

[Guest mr.twad]

First off big thank you to everyone on this site. I have gone from never owning a smart phone a few months ago to having a sweet machine ROMed out, with loads of nice little tricks up my sleeve. That being said I'm at my wits end with my SD card.

Bought the 16GB version recommended in another post on Play.com, on first run it asked if I wanted to format and then unmounted.... Lame

I have tried formatting using windows and Mini tool partition Wizard neither have worked for long (once after using windows format it looked like it was going to work until I installed something to SD and then it unmounted again).

I have tried partitions with FAT32 (Main) and EXT2 (500MB). Does it matter the size of these??

I have also formatted then booted into Clockwork Mod and tried to partition it there which came up with an error: unable to partition SD card check log......

The SD card seems to work fine on the PC... Is this the case with other cards that haven't worked for people.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

[Guest IronDoc]

Not all the clockworks have working SD partitioning. You did put the fat32 partition first?

[Guest RussellS]

First off big thank you to everyone on this site. I have gone from never owning a smart phone a few months ago to having a sweet machine ROMed out, with loads of nice little tricks up my sleeve. That being said I'm at my wits end with my SD card.

Bought the 16GB version recommended in another post on Play.com, on first run it asked if I wanted to format and then unmounted.... Lame

I have tried formatting using windows and Mini tool partition Wizard neither have worked for long (once after using windows format it looked like it was going to work until I installed something to SD and then it unmounted again).

I have tried partitions with FAT32 (Main) and EXT2 (500MB). Does it matter the size of these??

I have also formatted then booted into Clockwork Mod and tried to partition it there which came up with an error: unable to partition SD card check log......

The SD card seems to work fine on the PC... Is this the case with other cards that haven't worked for people.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

I'm afraid that your experiences are typical of a lot of us. Can I ask which 16gb card did you get from Play.com. Was it this one or was it this one.

The first one I linked to is the Play.com class 4 own branded one and is the same one I got and I couldn't even get the phone to see the card let alone report it as damaged or report an error. The second one I linked to is the Sandisk class 2 one which I have ordered and will try out as others seem to have good success with this one. I'm still trying to establish if the San Francisco is just very picky about which cards it will work with or if there is maybe a batch of faulty phones that just will not work with any larger capacity SDHC cards.

I've searched through the thread "16GB SD cards that definately work" and I cannot find anyone who has had two 16gb cards where one doesn't work and the other does. I can only find people who have one card and it either works or it doesn't.

[Guest stanno]

I've searched through the thread "16GB SD cards that definately work" and I cannot find anyone who has had two 16gb cards where one doesn't work and the other does. I can only find people who have one card and it either works or it doesn't.

If you mean what I think you mean, then I had a MyMemory class4 card which didn't work, and now have a ScanDisc class2 card from Play.com which does work.

Maybe you meant two cards exactly the same, one working and one not.

[Guest RussellS]

If you mean what I think you mean, then I had a MyMemory class4 card which didn't work, and now have a ScanDisc class2 card from Play.com which does work.

Maybe you meant two cards exactly the same, one working and one not.

No, I meant exactly as you first thought and that is great news. So basically, from what you have said, it appears that the phone will work with a 16gb card but you need to get the correct 16gb card.

I have tried both the Mymemory.com and the Play.com 16gb class 4 cards and neither will work. I have now ordered the Sandisk class 2 one from Play.com as you have and I am now reasonably hopefull that this will work.

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that maybe it is the class 4 cards that the phone doesn't like.

Anyway, thanks for the info, it is very helpful.

[Guest mr.twad]

I'm afraid that your experiences are typical of a lot of us. Can I ask which 16gb card did you get from Play.com. Was it this one or was it this one.

The first one I linked to is the Play.com class 4 own branded one and is the same one I got and I couldn't even get the phone to see the card let alone report it as damaged or report an error. The second one I linked to is the Sandisk class 2 one which I have ordered and will try out as others seem to have good success with this one. I'm still trying to establish if the San Francisco is just very picky about which cards it will work with or if there is maybe a batch of faulty phones that just will not work with any larger capacity SDHC cards.

I've searched through the thread "16GB SD cards that definately work" and I cannot find anyone who has had two 16gb cards where one doesn't work and the other does. I can only find people who have one card and it either works or it doesn't.

So I did buy the Play.com branded one. I thought it was a link from the "cards that definitely work" thread with someone saying that it worked for them.

Were you able to get your money back or exchange for the other card?

Thanks again

[Guest IronDoc]

No, I meant exactly as you first thought and that is great news. So basically, from what you have said, it appears that the phone will work with a 16gb card but you need to get the correct 16gb card.

I have tried both the Mymemory.com and the Play.com 16gb class 4 cards and neither will work. I have now ordered the Sandisk class 2 one from Play.com as you have and I am now reasonably hopefull that this will work.

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that maybe it is the class 4 cards that the phone doesn't like.

Anyway, thanks for the info, it is very helpful.

I have a 16GB class 4 Kingston. Works fine.

[Guest RussellS]

I have a 16GB class 4 Kingston. Works fine.

I know there are a few people who have class 4 cards working fine but it appears to be very hit or miss. However, it appears that class 2 cards always seem to work. It may be that class 4 cards are right on the edge of the working tolerance of the phone and so some combinations work and some don't.

What I'm trying to do is narrow it down so that we can eventually say which cards (or class of card) are almost certain to work and which ones MAY work but may not.

There are quite a few others who have the class 4 Kingston card which doesn't work in their phone.

Maybe we are starting to narrow it down.

Edited January 11, 2011 by RussellS

[Guest twatter]

Sounds like it could be a format issue.....(Master Boot record (partition table issue), file system boot record)

You could try formatting the card with the following format tool....

RMPrepUSB Home Page

RMPrepUSB Download Page

Select

1) WinPEv2/WinPEv3/Vista

2) FAT32

3) Set Partition as non-bootable (as we don't need it)

To format select Prepare Drive, select okay for the next few questions

This will re-write the Master Boot Record, File system Boot Record, FAT and directory tables

I formatted my card and it still works...... If this fixes your issues please let us know

[Guest RussellS]

Sounds like it could be a format issue.....(Master Boot record (partition table issue), file system boot record)

You could try formatting the card with the following format tool....

RMPrepUSB Home Page

RMPrepUSB Download Page

Select

1) WinPEv2/WinPEv3/Vista

2) FAT32

3) Set Partition as non-bootable (as we don't need it)

To format select Prepare Drive, select okay for the next few questions

This will re-write the Master Boot Record, File system Boot Record, FAT and directory tables

I formatted my card and it still works...... If this fixes your issues please let us know

I don't think this is a format issue. In my case, I've tried fomatting the card in umpteen different ways all to no avail. In my case the phone doesn't even recognise that the card has been inserted let alone get as far as checking the format. Other people have intermittent success where the card appears to work but then disconnects randomly. When I tried an 8gb card from my sons Motorola Milestone, the phone recognised the card initially but then said the card had been unexpectedly removed.

I'll know better when I get the Sadisk class 2 card in a few days time. If that works faultlessly then it looks likely to be an issue with the class of the card.

[Guest Ralph Martin]

I've searched through the thread "16GB SD cards that definately work" and I cannot find anyone who has had two 16gb cards where one doesn't work and the other does. I can only find people who have one card and it either works or it doesn't.

I've had Kinsgton class 4 one, and a Kingston not-classed one, and neither worked...

[Guest Ralph Martin]

Sounds like it could be a format issue.....(Master Boot record (partition table issue), file system boot record)

Doubtful. I've formatted my cards with the official SD formatter, the phone formatter, the Mac's formatter, including writing new MBR. Nothing worked.

[Guest gambieter]

Doubtful. I've formatted my cards with the official SD formatter, the phone formatter, the Mac's formatter, including writing new MBR. Nothing worked.

I use a Transcend 8 Gb Class 6 card without any problem, so it won't be the class that's the problem.

[Guest RussellS]

I use a Transcend 8 Gb Class 6 card without any problem, so it won't be the class that's the problem.

No disrespect or anything but that is a bit of a sweeping statement that just because you have a class 6 card working fine then it isn't a class issue.

If we find, as I'm starting to suspect, that all class 2 cards work fine but only some class 4 & 6 cards work then it would indeed be a class issue.

We need to get to a situation where we can predict which cards will work and which ones MIGHT work and also any that definately don't work.

I think we have to be realistic about the fact that this is a cheap phone and corners have had to be cut to get down to that price. The screen isn't an area that has been compromised but maybe the hardware, including the SD card interface, is. If cheaper components have been used that have more relaxed tolerances then this could account for the problems with SD cards.

Edited January 12, 2011 by RussellS

[Guest RussellS]

If you mean what I think you mean, then I had a MyMemory class4 card which didn't work, and now have a ScanDisc class2 card from Play.com which does work.

Maybe you meant two cards exactly the same, one working and one not.

I have just received the Sandisk card from Play.com but although it is listed on the Play.com website as being class 2 the card that has actually turned up is a class 4 card.

Can you tell me if the card you received is in fact a class 2 or a class 4 card by the number in the circle on the card itself.