Kingston SD Card Woes

[MLO]

I'm having the dreaded "files are missing but SD card reports space as being what it was when files are there." issue.

Basically, I have a Kingston 256MB SD card that had music, documents, books, whatever on it. Now I cannot see any of those files, but when I check the space...the amount of it is the same as though the files were there. The only folder there is the one for mail attachments.

I've seen bits and stuff about this issue, but I can't find where they were posted (I've done a couple of searches).

Can anyone help me with a solution? Do I need to format the card and forget about getting the files back?[/b]

[PetiteFlower]

If you have a card reader, check it on your PC. If you don't......get one, it's immensely helpful!

[MLO]

I don't have one, and I don't plan on getting one in the time that I need to know whether or not I can recover the files.

Should I even bother? Or should I format and start over?


MLO

[szamot]

well, if you had a card reader you could try to get at your files that way, if that fails you can always format and then recover the files. Either way it is much easier and much faster to go with the card reader. You can find a decent one on ebay for less than $10.00.

[maikii]

Uh-oh. I recently bought a 512 MB Kingston SD card, to replace the 256 MB Sandisk SD card that I lost, that popped out somewhere. (Previously, two 256 MB Sandisk SD cards had gone bad (one in PPC, one in camera), and had been replaced by Sandisk. One of the replacements was the one I lost.)

So, it's not just Sandisk SD cards that go bad, as many have complained about them? I suspect there is a problem with the SD format in general, and the reason we hear more complaints about those with the Sandisk brand, is that many more are sold with the Sandisk name on them, than any other brand. More are sold, more people have them, so more Sandisk-branded SD cards go wrong. I think that probably most SD cards are made by the same factories in Asia, and just have different brand labels put on them.

Concerned about the recent trend discussed here towards SD, at least by some manufacturers, as recently discussed here--for instance, the recent HP models only having one SD slot, no CF. Lesser expandibility with only one slot, more cost per MB for SD, lesser maximum size, they can pop out unexpectedly, and more seem to go bad. (I haven't read about (or experienced myself) CF cards going bad.)

[Zack Mahdavi]

I suspect there is a problem with the SD format in general, and the reason we hear more complaints about those with the Sandisk brand, is that many more are sold with the Sandisk name on them, than any other brand. More are sold, more people have them, so more Sandisk-branded SD cards go wrong. I think that probably most SD cards are made by the same factories in Asia, and just have different brand labels put on them.


maikii, I'm not sure about that. Check out http://sdprob.aximsite.com/theproblemlist.htm

The problem cards seem to be coming from China and Taiwan. Not a single person has reported a bad card that was Made in Japan. Either there was a problem that has been corrected in the Japan factories first, or the China and Taiwan factories have been producing subpar SD cards.

[maikii]

I suspect there is a problem with the SD format in general, and the reason we hear more complaints about those with the Sandisk brand, is that many more are sold with the Sandisk name on them, than any other brand. More are sold, more people have them, so more Sandisk-branded SD cards go wrong. I think that probably most SD cards are made by the same factories in Asia, and just have different brand labels put on them.


maikii, I'm not sure about that. Check out http://sdprob.aximsite.com/theproblemlist.htm

The problem cards seem to be coming from China and Taiwan. Not a single person has reported a bad card that was Made in Japan. Either there was a problem that has been corrected in the Japan factories first, or the China and Taiwan factories have been producing subpar SD cards.

But what percentage of SD cards are made in Japan? Is there any brand name that is exclusively made in Japan?

Is it correct that all the brand names use cards from the same factories?

[Zack Mahdavi]

But what percentage of SD cards are made in Japan? Is there any brand name that is exclusively made in Japan?

Is it correct that all the brand names use cards from the same factories?

Hmm.. I don't know the answers to any of those questions, but I'd really like to know as well! It reminds me of the classic "quality CD-R" debate: Always buy FujiFilm CD-Rs made in Japan, not Taiwan.

[PPCMD]

I have been using Lexar and theirs are made by Panasonic and my Lexar themselves. So these could be the Japanese built cards. I have only had one issue in the last 12 months.