iPAQ 4155 Won't read my SD Cards Now...

[cmariotti]

I have the iPaq 4155... It has always worked with SD Cards (specifically the 512MB I bought for it). I recently purchased a new digital camera and also purchased a 2GB SD Card for it. I recently was on a 1 Month vacation... I took both cards with me to have enough storage for the camera. When I came back home, the iPaq had 'run out of battery power' and needed to be configured from scratch. However, when I insert the 512MB Card, it won't recognize it. I try the 2GB, same thing. Even the 32MB Card doesn't work. They worked before I left (the iPaq just sat on my desk for 1 month).

All of these cards were formatted using the camera while on vacation (Canon SD500). The IPaq still does not recognize them even if I format them using my Card Reader to Fat32 (Or even just FAT). The cards still work in my camera no problemo...

Any suggestions?

[Darius Wey]

The first suggestion is to try a soft-reset since the card may not be initialised. If that fails, try upgrading your device to ROM 1.10 (http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/HandheldiPAQ/us/download/21908.html), if you haven't done so already. If that still fails, let me know. :)

[cmariotti]

The first suggestion is to try a soft-reset since the card may not be initialised. If that fails, try upgrading your device to ROM 1.10 (http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/HandheldiPAQ/us/download/21908.html), if you haven't done so already. If that still fails, let me know. :)

The soft rest? I assume this is the little hole that resets the unit? If so, I've tried that. I've also tried holding it and the power button down... so the whole unit resets (wipes everything out installed on it).

As well, I have the 1.10 ROM installed (upgraded it months ago and tried it again last night). It is 1.10 ROM...

Any other suggestions?

[Darius Wey]

Interesting situation you're in. Ensure that the lock switch on the SD card is in the unlocked position. If that still fails, you may want to contact HP and enquire them about it. It sounds like the h4155's SD slot has gone a bit haywire.

[ctmagnus]

Do the cards still work on your desktop? I've heard of scenarios where cards have worked in cameras but not in other situations.

[Darius Wey]

Do the cards still work on your desktop? I've heard of scenarios where cards have worked in cameras but not in other situations.

He/she has been able to format them in the card reader, so the short answer is, "yes", it still works on the desktop.

[ctmagnus]

Hmm... If the person has access to a Win9x machine, I'd suggest formatting the card at a command prompt using the /u /autotest /c switches. That's about as thorough as you can get, short of deleting the filesystem on the card and recreating it. Or even doing a thorough scandisk on it in any version of windows. It's just that formatting a card in some cameras doesn't do a very good job, and newer versions of Windows tend to mask things from the user.

If cmariotti calls HP it will in all likelyhood cost him/her some money to get the unit fixed/replaced and I want to throw out all the options I can to get him/her up and running, within reason.

[cmariotti]

Thanks for everyone's suggestions... It is still not working.

I chatted HP and they won't talk to me without paying for it (let alone get it fixed if it's hardware). I am pretty sure I purchased and extended warranty from CompUSA (I went to the USA to buy it, from Canada). Now, I guess I have to find the darn receipt (or do they allow just a call and serial number?)

It is funny though... I'm not sure HP or other companies that do this type of thing know the repercussions of these short-change support decisions.

In the end, I will never buy HP again. Being a CIO, I've seen both Compaq and HP go down a slippery path to destruction... Not only do they screw their consumers but their dealings on a corporate level are horrible compared to other vendors like Dell... The simple fact that HP has NEVER and will NEVER provide an upgrade path to this iPAQ while Dell and other vendors do, leads me down the road of saying, don't touch HP ever again.

And so, I've decided to no longer purchase HP Servers or Desktops (a couple hundred grand a year). Not JUST because of my IPaq situation, but just because it is one of many bad tastes left in my mouth dealing with them and this is the cherry on top.

I know, if I put $1000 into an iPAQ and I was just a lowly consumer... and I got the you have to pay to talk to us from HP, I'd never buy anything from them again on that alone.

It is a shame, they really do make nice equipment, but the markets have changed, it is a smaller world and the customer is far more educated. I personally blame Carla.

Anyways, thanks everyone again for your assistance... The card doesn't even recognize in the iPAQ, so it's pointing to a hardware problem I think.

[Darius Wey]

It is funny though... I'm not sure HP or other companies that do this type of thing know the repercussions of these short-change support decisions. In the end, I will never buy HP again...

I've been stung by HP's questionable support policies in the past. That forced me to look elsewhere as well, and I tell you what, I've never looked back.

It's certainly not a suggestion to boycott HP products, but just wishful thinking that one day, HP might take the example of other manufacturers and provide a decent support network for its customers.