[b]Problem with SD SanDisk (256mb) Please Help![/b]

[realsprite]

Hi all, I just bought a 256mb SD Sandisk online and when I stuck it in my PC card reader (and in my Ipaq) it showed that it only has 239mb on it. Is this normal? Also, when the memory card was formatted it lost 1mb and now it only has 238mb capacity. Is that normal? and Is there a way to fix it so that I can use the full 256mb? Another problem is that when I use the memory in my PC memory card reader, it wont let me delete files in it and sometimes freezes my computer and when the computer is rebooted, my whole removable storage drives (card reader drives) disappears and it has to be reinstalled... which is really becoming a pain in the neck. I have a 128mb generic SD card and Ive had no problem at all... Does anyone else experience problems with 256mb Sandisk SD card? I know Im asking alot O questions at once, but any input will greatly be appeciated! Thanks you all, and Cheers!

[realsprite]

When I format the SD memory card for use in ipaq 1910, do I format it in FAT or FAT 32?

[blazingwolf]

Sandisk has a bad reputation around here for having bad cards.
First, it is normal for you not to have 256MB on the card that are available. Also, ther is nothing you can do to get it back to 256MB. The card has to have a file system on it. This is what happens when you format it. As for FAT or FAT 32. Choose FAT. Apparently PPC has trouble with FAT 32.
Try to reformat your card on your PC. Hopefully this will help your problems. If not, try to take the card back from place of purchase and get another 1. If you have to go through Sandisk it could take at least a month to get a new card.
Good luck to you.

[realsprite]

Yeah, I guess I should ship back the Sandisk and try to get a refund... (too bad I'll loose money on shipping and "credit card" charges :cry: ) Do you recommend any brand of SD card?

[realsprite]

Blazingwolf... when you say SanDisk has bad reputation, you you mean they are all incompatable with other hardware/software in general or they often manufacture bad cards that are defective?

[PetiteFlower]

It's not the file system that takes up most of the space, it's that hardware manufacturers cheat the math. Your SD card has 256000000 bytes. However according to your computer, a megabyte is not 1000000 bytes but actually 1048576 bytes (I stole the numbers from another thread 8O ). So basically in raw data space, you have about 244 REAL megabytes on the card. The rest is taken up by the formatting.

This is normal and will occur across ALL data storage forms and all brands. It's the same with the hard drive on your computer etc. There's nothing wrong with the card, it's totally normal :( You can't send it back for being normal. Any card by any brand would be the same.

Anyway as far as I can tell Sandisk doesn't really make bad cards, however they may have less then steller customer service if you DO get a bad one. They probably don't have a higher percentage of defective cards however since they are by far the most popular brand, they're going to have a higher NUMBER of defective cards, just because they have more cards in general.

I decided to take my chances to save the $20 or so :) Haven't had a hint of trouble with it.

[PetiteFlower]

Oh for your other question--are you sure it's not the card reader that's the problem? If you can read and write to your card fine when it's in the PPC then I'd suspect the card reader before the card itself. Maybe you just need to update the drivers for it.

[Pony99CA]

It's not the file system that takes up most of the space, it's that hardware manufacturers cheat the math. Your SD card has 256000000 bytes. However according to your computer, a megabyte is not 1000000 bytes but actually 1048576 bytes (I stole the numbers from another thread 8O ). So basically in raw data space, you have about 244 REAL megabytes on the card. The rest is taken up by the formatting.
Well, not quite "the rest". :-) In an SD card, there is also space taken up by the security stuff (the "Secure" in Secure Digital). MMC cards will have slightly more memory available on a given size card than SD will.

See HP's iPAQ Support pages (http://www3.compaq.com/support/reference_library/viewdocument.asp?countrycode=1000&prodid=2183&source=MH011002_CW01.xml&dt=3&docid=6262) for details.

Steve

[blazingwolf]

Blazingwolf... when you say SanDisk has bad reputation, you you mean they are all incompatable with other hardware/software in general or they often manufacture bad cards that are defective?

There have been quite a few threads about how the cards are defective. I have not heard anything about a hardware/software incompatability. I own several Sandisk cards, both SD and CF. I, as of yet, have not had any problems with them. :D Of course I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

PetiteFlower, I forgot about the bad math problem. Thanks for adding that.

[Brad Adrian]

Definitely check out your reader and make sure that it's not at fault. However, I'm very suspicious about the card itself. The way it keeps messing up your reader points to a bad card. If at all possible, exchange it for another one.

[realsprite]

I guess my reader could be bad.... I have twelve SD card shipment comming tomorrow so, I will test my reader on those new cards. Also, I noticed that from my 256mb Sandisk card, mpg video plays noticiblely choppier than identical video from my generic 128mb SD card. Is it possible that different SD cards can have different "output" rate/speed? (excuse my lack of technical terms... Im a PPC newbie).