Database Users

Micro Drive vs SD Card...simple test.

Hi all.
I have read many posts about different experiences and possible issues with hard drive. IMHO & from personal experience of using HDD in Smartphone etc..it is best to install ALL programs to either device memory or SD card. Use your MD solely for data storage and media (photos, movies and Music).
Personally, I would, like wu, install all GPS software to SD card, as it will ensure that the shock resistant technology won't even be needed for sensitive programs.
The HDD is a mechanical device peeps, it will inevitably put more of a strain on the battery.
Simple test for all you owners of the Athena:
1) Choose any movie and transfer a copy to your SD card and a copy to the Micro Drive.
2)Ensure your battery is fully charged at the mains then disconnect the mains and use TCPMP to bench-test the entire movie from MD....look at media properties afterwards and take a snapshot of all the details or note it down....now check battery consumption.
3) Recharge battery to max again and repeat the process using the SD card and record the results.
If you find the MD is performing better (I'd be happily surprised) then technology has moved on considerably in the last few months. If however SD card is performing better, power consumption wise, then you know for sure which will last you longer.
Whatever the result is I will still be setting my Ameo (when I get it ) as stated above, but it would be interesting to see from TCPMP what speeds the movie is benched at from both storage mediums.

mackaby007 said:
Hi all.
I have read many posts about different experiences and possible issues with hard drive. IMHO & from personal experience of using HDD in Smartphone etc..it is best to install ALL programs to either device memory or SD card. Use your MD solely for data storage and media (photos, movies and Music).
Personally, I would, like wu, install all GPS software to SD card, as it will ensure that the shock resistant technology won't even be needed for sensitive programs.
The HDD is a mechanical device peeps, it will inevitably put more of a strain on the battery.
Simple test for all you owners of the Athena:
1) Choose any movie and transfer a copy to your SD card and a copy to the Micro Drive.
2)Ensure your battery is fully charged at the mains then disconnect the mains and use TCPMP to bench-test the entire movie from MD....look at media properties afterwards and take a snapshot of all the details or note it down....now check battery consumption.
3) Recharge battery to max again and repeat the process using the SD card and record the results.
If you find the MD is performing better (I'd be happily surprised) then technology has moved on considerably in the last few months. If however SD card is performing better, power consumption wise, then you know for sure which will last you longer.
Whatever the result is I will still be setting my Ameo (when I get it ) as stated above, but it would be interesting to see from TCPMP what speeds the movie is benched at from both storage mediums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agress, that is a good way to test it. I have broken my SD card so i can't test it now, but personally i will install all the programs and navigation software on SD, and move the music, movie file to MD.
However i should let you guys also know, i have tested the writting and reading speed between these two using Pocket_Mechanic PRO, and the MD result is much higher than sd for some reason....

wu5262 said:
I agress, that is a good way to test it. I have broken my SD card so i can't test it now, but personally i will install all the programs and navigation software on SD, and move the music, movie file to MD.
However i should let you guys also know, i have tested the writting and reading speed between these two using Pocket_Mechanic PRO, and the MD result is much higher than sd for some reason....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting Wu. seems like MD hardware has made significant improvements.
My biggest concern is that if I install to MD and it by chance fails, I will have lost everything, but to SD, I don't foresee major problems.
I think when I get my Ameo, I will do a full setup between Device memory & MD and do a full backup with Spb Backup to SD card.
Then hard reset and do a full set-up to device memory & SD card, also with a full backup to sd card.
Save both back-up files to PC, just in case.
Then give each method a trial run for a week to see which, if any yields better results.
Hope you get your new SD card soon. So is the Athena SDHC compatible then? I think I read one of your posts somewhere that you had to rename the SD card to 'Storage Card' and then all worked well. Is that right Wu? And what is the largest available SDHC card on the market right now? Is it 8Gb?
I hope so. That would effectively give us in excess of 15Gb of storage space. Woohoo.....that's almost comparable to the Sony UMPC with 16Gb in-built Flash memory!!
Makes one wonder what is truly possible to do with the Athena.....dual boot O/S's? WM6 & Linux (when they get it functioning as reliably as WM O/S's).
This all getting quite exciting....possibilities possibilities.

mackaby007 said:
Interesting Wu. seems like MD hardware has made significant improvements.
My biggest concern is that if I install to MD and it by chance fails, I will have lost everything, but to SD, I don't foresee major problems.
I think when I get my Ameo, I will do a full setup between Device memory & MD and do a full backup with Spb Backup to SD card.
Then hard reset and do a full set-up to device memory & SD card, also with a full backup to sd card.
Save both back-up files to PC, just in case.
Then give each method a trial run for a week to see which, if any yields better results.
Hope you get your new SD card soon. So is the Athena SDHC compatible then? I think I read one of your posts somewhere that you had to rename the SD card to 'Storage Card' and then all worked well. Is that right Wu? And what is the largest available SDHC card on the market right now? Is it 8Gb?
I hope so. That would effectively give us in excess of 15Gb of storage space. Woohoo.....that's almost comparable to the Sony UMPC with 16Gb in-built Flash memory!!
Makes one wonder what is truly possible to do with the Athena.....dual boot O/S's? WM6 & Linux (when they get it functioning as reliably as WM O/S's).
This all getting quite exciting....possibilities possibilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes i am very exciting as well, Athena has got lots of possibilities.
Anyway, i think SDHC still not function very well,, or it could just be my card is fake ! so i go for the sandisk ultra 2 GB this time (non SDHC). The one i bought before is transcend SDHC 4G. don't know is there any bigger one, but i will suggest all Athena here but the normal mini-sd now, and wait a bit until there are more choice for SDHC. i think it's not very stable at this moment either to do with card or rom or machine.

wu5262 said:
Yes i am very exciting as well, Athena has got lots of possibilities.
Anyway, i think SDHC still not function very well,, or it could just be my card is fake ! so i go for the sandisk ultra 2 GB this time (non SDHC). The one i bought before is transcend SDHC 4G. don't know is there any bigger one, but i will suggest all Athena here but the normal mini-sd now, and wait a bit until there are more choice for SDHC. i think it's not very stable at this moment either to do with card or rom or machine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that Wu. Standard SD card it is then. They come up to at least 4 GB since last year, so a bigger version is imminent if not already on the market.

Oh am I sorry to report that I am having serious issues with this Micro Drive of the Athena.
SD wins hands down for me...like MD is snails pace in comparison.

mackaby007 said:
Oh am I sorry to report that I am having serious issues with this Micro Drive of the Athena.
SD wins hands down for me...like MD is snails pace in comparison.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also i notice one thing, even you got your Ameo later then i do, but my ROM version is newer for some reason
Here is mine: ROM 1.24.709.3
Strange....

wu5262 said:
Also i notice one thing, even you got your Ameo later then i do, but my ROM version is newer for some reason
Here is mine: ROM 1.24.709.3
Strange....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That may explain why I'm having problems then. Well I suppose it's not that negative after all then as it seems that the Ameo ROM may be suffering similar issues to the X7500 Rom. Still hope for the future then.

mackaby007 said:
That may explain why I'm having problems then. Well I suppose it's not that negative after all then as it seems that the Ameo ROM may be suffering similar issues to the X7500 Rom. Still hope for the future then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, actually you want to avoid the same problem that the Advantage have right now, basically, if you take Advantage on the road, you are likely to damage some sector on the Micro Drive when you come back, that's their ROM problem, as you can see, it's quite a big issue, so that must fix it before they release it.
I don't think Ameo has the same problem, but it so, it's bad because until you update the Rom, you probably damage the Micro Drive already.....

AHH NO! 2nd memory card gone

Ok, so when i first got the TD2 i bought a 16gb mem with it, but about 2 weeks in, it just wiped my memory card and made it useless, trying it on the computer, on the phone, even in a camera brought nothing up. I was hoping it was the memory card faulty. So i bought a new 16gb and it's gone and done it again. Just randomly, whilst using coreplayer to watch some blue, my phone froze. so i did a soft reset and now my mem card has disappeared. all my apps saved it it have gone, all my pics...just everything
what the hell is going on?
I use spb shell, luckily that was saved to my phone so i stil have it, but half the apps on it don't work now

I installed Advanced Config 3.3 and turned on SD-card powermanagement... shortly after that I lost one 8GB sandisk card ... Diamond2 could not see it anymore. My PC could not see it anymore.... Maybe it was the Advanced Config setting that somehow broke it or maybe it was coincidence?? ****ty thing is I didn't make a backup so lost a lot of nice pictures on it...

If you use activesync, you would need to configure WM device center to NOT replace items on the device. Switch that to replace items on desktop.
If its not that, then maybe shell is the culprit. Or advanced config.

tomtommy306 said:
If you use activesync, you would need to configure WM device center to NOT replace items on the device. Switch that to replace items on desktop.
If its not that, then maybe shell is the culprit. Or advanced config.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, it's not just deleted data. In my case the SD-card is really broken. I cannot open it in any device anymore.

I had this problem with my Xperia twice, and I'm far from convinced that the TD2 is any more stable.
I haven't tracked down what is causing it, but I have never had any problems with SD cards in all my years with PalmOS or Symbian devices. I think it is just a 'feature' of Windows Mobile because the system is unstable and prone to crashes which corrupt the cards.

Mr Anderson said:
I had this problem with my Xperia twice, and I'm far from convinced that the TD2 is any more stable.
I haven't tracked down what is causing it, but I have never had any problems with SD cards in all my years with PalmOS or Symbian devices. I think it is just a 'feature' of Windows Mobile because the system is unstable and prone to crashes which corrupt the cards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well corruption can usually be repared by a format or something like that but in my case the card isn't even recognized by the system anymore, it just won't show up.'

this has happened to me too. twice!

OffTopic
Mr Anderson said:
I think it is just a 'feature' of Windows Mobile because the system is unstable and prone to crashes which corrupt the cards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Talk about 'give a dog a bad name'. If you knew a little more you'd soon realise it has zip zero and sweet buggerall to do with WM, which is stable, flexible and reliable, though the UI is admittedly rather dated, and everything to do with HTC's implementation.
/OffTopic

Blizze said:
Nope, it's not just deleted data. In my case the SD-card is really broken. I cannot open it in any device anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep twice with me as well
once with normal TF3D and once with SPB shell
Just totally broken my card...tried using 2 usb readers and 2 computers with it...nothing
tried putting it into an sd card converter and putting into 2 cameras...nothing
Be warned people!
Back up your stuff! TD2 looks like it enjoys corrupting micro sd cards and making you pay for more
perhaps HTC has a contract with Sandisk or something
Keeps sandisk bringing in profits in this troubled time of recession

AFW said:
If you knew a little more you'd soon realise it has zip zero and sweet buggerall to do with WM, which is stable, flexible and reliable, though the UI is admittedly rather dated, and everything to do with HTC's implementation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Our opinions differ it seems, but unless someone finds the actual cause we will never know the truth.
My apologies for not knowing much - I am trying to learn WM after many years on other platforms. All I have to go on is my personal experiences with 4 WM devices (all originating from HTC), and those experiences are not great. WM has a bad name in my eyes, from direct personal experience. Maybe I am maligning it falsely if the true cause of the problems I experience lies elsewhere...I am willing to have an open mind.
I am several £££ out of pocket, having lost 2 16GB cards to these devices - a problem I have only ever suffered with HTC/WM. Given that HTC is the leading manufacturer of WM devices it does not reflect well on either them or the OS platform they are working with that they cannot create stable bug-free systems.

Are these genuine memory sticks?
I work in repairs and I have had a number of HTC devices along with others too that have had this issue.
It turned out that on average, 7/10 devices had fake memory sticks from reputable vendors who were duped.
1/10 were corrupt memory cards just from use/standard wear and tear or just corrupt out of factory.
and the last 1/10 was a faulty memory card reader on the device -

I had an original SANDISK 8GB micro-SD card in it. I now have a 6GB in it which still is OK for now... But backups will be made. I am going to get me another 8GB card and possible trade in the broken one (warranty)... these things should not brake this soon.. the card was 3 weeks old!! If the second one also breaks than maybe it's a D2 problem??
edit: I have to notice that it broke down I did turn on the SD-card powermanagement save option from Advanced Config.... maybe that's the cause??

I've had my 16gb card in the phone since April 15th when I got my unit...not one issue touch wood so touch its the phone ... if anything, it might be your specific unit but I would still bet on the card itself
As an example, I got a 32GB USB stick from Kingston - so not exactly a small make
Within a week, I lost 31.8GB and was left with 2mb.
Data has gone and is not retrievable. Kingston have now tested and diagnoised the memory is corrupt and unfixable so they are replacing it.
So it can happen

An advice: Whenever you do a operation such as backup or something, do not charge your phone!! That really hurt your SD card....

cedarlake888 said:
An advice: Whenever you do a operation such as backup or something, do not charge your phone!! That really hurt your SD card....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what do you mean? Like no charge when on activesync? I can't see
why that would hurt the card.

Did you guys format your mem cards before using them?

I have a stack of SanDisk MicroSD cards (256mb, 1gb, 2gb, 4gb hc, 8gb hc and 16Gb hc). My 16Gb and 4GB cards both had faults (the 16gb one wouldn't format and the 4gb one just didn't work and wasn't even recognised as being in my phone or card reader).
SanDisk have a 5 year warranty, so I registered all of my cards on their website, reported the fault and had them replaced. The whole process took about 4 weeks, but they sent me brand new 16gb and 4gb cards.
Sometimes flash media just fails...

maybe you all should get transcend.. they give you lifetime warranty...

Yep, but I lost my reciept ... and I need that to trade in.. But yesterday a bought a new one... maybe I use the new reciept to trade in the old.. cards are the same size en look the same.. so i'll probably get away with that.

Me too - lost the 8 GB card in my TD2 last week, it's completely unreadable now, can't be formatted, etc. Never happened to me before. Hope this isn't s.th. serious with the TD2...

Is my beloved Athena dying?

Over the past couple of months I have noticed a number of small issues with my Athena, and have resorted to soft-booting more and more often.
Recently I tried both MemMaid and Pocket Mechanic. The former found a number of registry issues, the latter several problems with microdrive. Several e-mails to the PM guys had me running a de-bug version of their scandisk program, but I never got it to sort out the microdrive.
So I hard re-set
MUCH better - at least for a week or two. Decided to put in a bigger SD card (8gb) which arrived yesterday. When I looked at the music folder on the microdrive, one folder was completely corrupted, so I copied only programs and data from md onto sd card, then reformatted the md
Just went to look at a program on the microdrive and Total Commander froze. Soft reboot and everything fine again. But now I am concerned the microdrive is on the way out.
The machine is 3-4 years old and is used every day. Syncs to both home and work e-mail/calendaring and contains my life, frankly. I do not want to change, but would appreciate any advice.
Should I just forget about the microdrive and keep everything on the sd card?
Thanks
Robert

It does sound like classic hard drive "beginning of the end".
I'd be tempted to just stick everything on an sd card and leave the Micro Drive alone.

Thanks, good advice.
If by any bad luch the machine is actually on its way out, what should I replace it with? Is the x7510 a better bet?
I have my car all set up for the Advantage and I love the 5" screen, so not really attraced to the HD2 at present

Similar issues w/ Microdrive
Yeah, I've been having trouble with my Athena (X7500) for a couple of months now.
In early January, my device got stuck in the bootup phase of any soft-reset; only way to fix the problem was a hard-reset to delete all of my memory. (I keep all of my important stuff backed up, so the only inconvenience is re-installing software and getting my data restored.)
About a month later in February, the device hard reset itself and blew away everything I had loaded. This time, my MicroDrive would not show up for about 2 hours while I tried to figure out how to fix it.
MD began working again, and everything is cool now, but I decided to use the MD for data only (and keep it backed up, of course) and install my programs to the SD card (8GB).
We'll see how it goes. I'm fortunate enough to have purchased a friend's old Athena "super-cheap" after he fell into a lake with it. I managed to get everything working except for the VGA/USB Host port. (The USB sync port works if you plug it in, then go to standby/powerup again.) I'll try taking the MD from this device if mine goes out.

Still having issues, even after moving everything from the microdrive and running just from memory + SD card.
Question: does the main memory degrade? Will a hard-reset do anything? will a re-flash acheive anything a hard-reset doesn't?
I am loath to part with this work-horse. And concerned about buying a second-hand one from e-bay without understanding a bit more
Appreciate any suggestions
Thanks

Internal storage is broken?

I'm very disappointed After two+ month of Focus usage, it was broke yesterday... Handset was not damaged or broken or overheat or frozen, nothing at all! Works perfect as well before (yesterday I've used this handset for development). It's just happened, at night time (and phone was not connected!)
The symptoms are: first I've found there is no picture on "Pictures", and Outlook calendar doesn't display any events. Second, the downloaded apps icons are disappear.
I suspected my SD card (8 Gb class 4 from Kingston) but seems like card is innocent. I've tried to make a hard reset of damn thing, tested all 3 possible methods but NOTHING helps! It's ridiculous, I never suspect it's possible in the modern world (it is XXI century, guys!)
After reset from "Settings->About" the handset imitate a "reset" but "About" shows total storage 15 Mb (!), 10 Mb available.
Why it just imitate reset? I can tell... After this pseudo-reset, I've removed SD card, and did hard reset using 3 buttons method (seems like damn M$ like 3 buttons stuff). Phone asked me twice (another M$ bull****) "Am I sure to format damn thing", I've said "Yes" (pressed "win" button twice), and after few seconds (it's not enough to format 8 Gb internal flash and restore firmware) it says "Done!" and reboot.
After reboot the "formatted" and "factory restored" phone displays all "formatted" contacts, applications, mail records etc...
"Settings"->"About" now displays total storage: 7.38 Gb, available 5.39
Also tried hard reset from "Diagnosis", same sh... thing.
Any suggestions?
UPDATE: Just called ATT for replacement. Will hope the new handset will pick-up my old SD card... Or I need to reformat it (using Nokia S60) first? Anyone have experience?

You had a typical sympton of SD card acting up. Nothing new there. I personally will not use ANY SD card at present. None of them are safe.
But I failed to see what's problem after you formated your phone. You will never see full 8GB of the storage. It is about 6.xxGB or so free after a fresh format without downloading any contacts or mails. Your numbers seems alright.

foxbat121 said:
You had a typical sympton of SD card acting up. Nothing new there. I personally will not use ANY SD card at present. None of them are safe.
But I failed to see what's problem after you formated your phone. You will never see full 8GB of the storage. It is about 6.xxGB or so free after a fresh format without downloading any contacts or mails. Your numbers seems alright.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Samsung 16 GB hasn't had any issues reported, though.

FishFaceMcGee said:
The Samsung 16 GB hasn't had any issues reported, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That could be also because not many ppl had the Samsung 16GB. They are not readily available to purchase.
A lot of ppl only encounter problems after couple months of flawless usage. And one day, it failed for no reason.
I think there is something wrong either in the hardware of Focus or Windows Phone 7 itself because Focus is the only phone had so much problem with microSD cards. I didn't read ppl who had their HD7 internal SD card replaced had any problem like Focus.
We also didn't see a single card being officially listed as compatible or certified for WP7. Something isn't right and Microsoft is not telling us why.
I'd strongly recommend against using any microSD card in Focus. Not until either MS or Samsung published their findings or recommendations.

foxbat121 said:
But I failed to see what's problem after you formated your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The real problem is: the handset internal storage was not formatted at all! I've tried to do hard reset with or without SD card - same shi.. result Most annoying thing is these stupid utilities reported "Done!", "OK" as fools but nothing is done (it means the software quality - programs didn't check the results!)
From my experience (as a developer) looks like the internal storage (nand?) is damaged and unstable. A few minutes after cold boot it working; I can run some apps etc. But after few minutes it become unstable. Apps show an exceptions on isolated storage file etc.
I'm very disappointed; didn't expect that "surprise" from Samsung and MS...
P.S. My "old" developers Samsung Taylor (what I received and worked since August 2010) still alive and works fine

I saw reports, as well as personally experience, that it takes a few tries to format the phone correctly. Samsung quality is nothing to write home about (I have so many Samsung hardware that half of them does not work right out of box). But I suspect this is also a Microsoft issue.
I doubt your internal storage is damaged. Keep doing the 3-button reformatting until it is probably done. You will know it is formatted when it reboots and asks for your Live ID.

foxbat121 said:
Keep doing the 3-button reformatting until it is probably done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... Very strange advice. Tell me please what are you doing (for example) if your car engine doesn't start? Keep trying to turn engine on after slamming car doors and kicking the wheels? Or you just call mechanic?
Who tell you "I finally reset WP7 after 142 tries"? Any prooflink? Or you just guessing?

sensboston said:
Hmm... Very strange advice. Tell me please what are you doing (for example) if your car engine doesn't start? Keep trying to turn engine on after slamming car doors and kicking the wheels? Or you just call mechanic?
Who tell you "I finally reset WP7 after 142 tries"? Any prooflink? Or you just guessing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally have to format two or three times when my SD card crapped out. Just a suggestion. It is common on all Focus when SD card craps out.
You will have to switch to a different brand to avoid this issue then. Besides, warranty replacement gives you refurb phones only. Do you really want to return yours (which has a normal case of can't format the phone like every other Focus does) in exchange for a used one returned for other reasons by someone else.
But again, that's your choice.
As for your car analogy, save it for yourself. If Samsung is a car company, I won't ever buy a car from them. Simple as that.

Of course I've tried many times but have no luck at all. Seems like internal storage is damaged or it's a huge software bug (MS or Samsung).
Who's telling you about "refurb phones only"? I've spoken with AT&T rep and he told me it will be a brand new phone, not a refurb.
About Samsung quality: are you one from Samsung haters? I do have a Samsung Galaxy Tab, a few Android handsets (at office, development phones), Samsung TV, landline phone from Samsung - quality is PERFECT, never had any issue...
P.S. Or you just trolling me?

The only times you will get brand new ones are:
1. You're within 30 days of purchase and you exchange at the place of your purchase
2. AT&T warranty runs out of refurbed phones.
It is a standard practice for all AT&T warranty replacements to be refurb phones. I personally done twice in the past 10 years of with AT&T.
About Samsung quality: are you one from Samsung haters? I do have a Samsung Galaxy Tab, a few Android handsets (at office, development phones),
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Call me what ever you want, I've owned 7 different Samsung Smartphones (from Windows Mobile phones to WP7 and Android), one Samsung BD player and one Samsung DVD player. My success rate to get a perfect Samsung product out of box so far is 50%.

foxbat121 said:
My success rate to get a perfect Samsung product out of box so far is 50%.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then why did you buy a Samsung Focus?

sensboston said:
Then why did you buy a Samsung Focus?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because I can't help it Same can be said with the Samsung Captivate I bought. I knew what I'm going to get into. But I still did it and now stuck with a phone that GPS never really works (but fortunate enough to not have the second critical issue, random shutdown). Basically, all Captivate produced from July to Nov 2010 are suspect to this randon shutdown hardware defects.

Damaged microSD Card...(this is how I recovered my Data)

.......right in the middle of a super demanding day, the message "damaged SD Card / Reformat" appeared on my Epic, when I least expected it (inopportune is the word)............ changing firmware is never without its more interesting moments, + this may or may not be a symptom (went froyo to gingerbread), however,........... am sharing this post to the Epic community, as i sense this to be an important enough issue...........no one really knows the specific cause of sd card corruption + failure: it's variable + always somewhat circumstantial (ie, saw it mentioned elsewhere that overheating from an overclocked cpu could cause damage as well)...................so, moving forward I simply want to contribute as a brief description, here, how i was able to recover (most) of the files from my 'damaged micro sd card:'
First, when i saw 'damaged sd card / format card' on the phone, when it became possible 4 me to do so many hours later, instead of 'formatting' I replaced the damaged card for a new one (pny 16gb sdhc class 10)...booted the phone everything was fine (15.91gb space available)........as expected, no files in the SD Card......................next:
(1) placed 'damaged' sd card into the reader that came w/ the device, and mounted to pc, selected the drive (followed by confirmation beep 'device detected' sound, then the language: 'd:\ not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable' came on the screen..........went to RUN and typed CMD........from new window, I typed Chkdsk d: /r and the PC began reading the contents of the damaged SD card (most of the android zip files etcetera were there, as were a number of files w/ no content) + next i typed 'exit' (no quotations, just the letters) to return to the windows desktop.......OK, so now the only files missing are the pix + video mov's (far as I can remember).
..........(2) next, to recover pix + video, from the pc desktop i opened ZARecovery (if you do not already have it go to Data Recovery Software, Solutions, Tutorials, Forum - ZAR Data Recovery and download the free recovery program from that site).
.............(3) from the ZARrecovery main page, selected sd card as device, selected 'next', selected 'root' folder for all files that ZAR was able to detect as recoverable, entered destination folder name (for transfer of recovered pix + video to PC....note: NEVER to sd card itself!), + lastly, selected 'start copying selected files'.........and that was it, closed ZAR + began viewing the content of the recovery folder to get an assessment of what had actually been recovered, and what had been lost.................fortunately 4 me, the loss was minimal, as I tend to create backups (Nandroids, every half year; pic, videos, email attachments = pretty regularly).
Hope this helps those of you that have been experiencing microSD Card damage (from whatever source).
Remember, + not to speak to the Choir, but can not to overstate this: BACKUP............. BACKUP............. BACKUP.............BACKUP

MODS STICKY THIS!!!!
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I see you took my advice, nice.
PLEASE STICKY!
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Thank you to the Mod that stickied this. Sonarchist...you have arrived!

sonarchist said:
.......fortunately 4 me, the loss was minimal, as I tend to create backups (Nandroids, every half year; pic, videos, email attachments = pretty regularly).
Hope this helps those of you that have been experiencing microSD Card damage (from whatever source).
Remember, + not to speak to the Choir, but can not to overstate this: BACKUP............. BACKUP............. BACKUP.............BACKUP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yikes! I make nandroids before I do anything I consider major like updating Superuser when the reviews are sketchy, or when I do something like apply a new patch, a new tweak, or anything that I think could give me trouble. As I have my phone tuned absolutely perfect, where I want to bring my phone back to normal with a minimum of work.
I guess I am lazy. I nandroid every 3 to 7 days.

mouseglider said:
I nandroid every 3 to 7 days.
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Click to collapse
.....you're awesome!.......my personal history, when I find stability, is to live w/ a perfect set-up for as long as i can surf that wave (hence: nandroid every 6 mo's)........but this is being idealistic.........for example, when testing a beta ROM, an average of at least 6-9 nandroids in the sd card thru several versions of the beta, and at least 3 in the Nandroid Folder in the pc (which is altogether another story: visualizing + creating a pc backup that is operative in a worse-case scenario.)

sonarchist said:
.....you're awesome!.......my personal history, when I find stability, is to live w/ a perfect set-up for as long as i can surf that wave (hence: nandroid every 6 mo's)........but this is being idealistic.........for example, when testing a beta ROM, an average of at least 6-9 nandroids in the sd card thru several versions of the beta, and at least 3 in the Nandroid Folder in the pc (which is altogether another story: visualizing + creating a pc backup that is operative in a worse-case scenario.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should add that one of the reason I nandroid so often, is that if I do it every 3 to 4 months (on my wife's epic because she travels) when she gets back, I have a ton of updates to catch up on - mine of course is always up to date.

mouseglider said:
I should add that one of the reason I nandroid so often, is that if I do it every 3 to 4 months (on my wife's epic because she travels) when she gets back, I have a ton of updates to catch up on - mine of course is always up to date.
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Haha! Same with me and my GFs...she never updates! So if your sd card crashes you will seriously need this tutorial since all your nandroids are there.

Awesome info. Thanks for sharing!

kennyglass123 said:
Haha! Same with me and my GFs...she never updates! So if your sd card crashes you will seriously need this tutorial since all your nandroids are there.
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Click to collapse
I am so paranoid about sd crashes and corruption because I have had my share when upgrading to the next bigger card (had a 2,4,8,16, and now 32gb in each epic) that I sync my epic cards to my PC on two separate drives for both my wife and myself (my PC has three physical (not virtual)l hard drives C, D, E) every 3 to 4 weeks. So for her, I am pretty safe except for those long updates in between her trips home. I feel pretty safe in case I do something stupid, which I do from time to time.
I actually tried to convince her to get an iPhone, because I think there would be less updates than Android, but she won't give up the physical KB. Not that I don't like updates, but I set her epic to be a 98% clone of mine, so we each have a lot of apps and each app is eventually updated and often!

mouseglider said:
I should add that one of the reason I nandroid so often, is that if I do it every 3 to 4 months (on my wife's epic because she travels) when she gets back, I have a ton of updates to catch up on - mine of course is always up to date.
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Click to collapse
NITDH.......you don't want that!........(nandroid-in-the-dog-house)....lol

.........arrival of the backup evangelists!
kennyglass123 said:
Thank you to the Mod that stickied this. Sonarchist...you have arrived!
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........a hi-5 to the Mods for Sticky'ing this: thanks guys!....... props to kennyglass123 + xopher.hunter for suggesting it to 'em.............nothing more stressful than going down that gopher hole attempting to recover data, it's no picnic!...........so am hopeful that we can salvage some valuable data + find ways to hinder that inevitable moment when the sd card reads 0%.............as they say, there's many more ways than 1 to skin a grape, or in this case, a corrupt microSD Card.

There is an undelete beta app on the market. Check it out.
Also, check out testdisk for when the partition table is fried.
Also, recuva. Pretty awesome, by the makers of ccleaner.
sent from my always aosp epic

mouseglider said:
I am so paranoid about sd crashes and corruption because I have had my share when upgrading to the next bigger card (had a 2,4,8,16, and now 32gb in each epic) that I sync my epic cards to my PC on two separate drives for both my wife and myself (my PC has three physical (not virtual)l hard drives C, D, E) every 3 to 4 weeks. So for her, I am pretty safe except for those long updates in between her trips home. I feel pretty safe in case I do something stupid, which I do from time to time.
I actually tried to convince her to get an iPhone, because I think there would be less updates than Android, but she won't give up the physical KB. Not that I don't like updates, but I set her epic to be a 98% clone of mine, so we each have a lot of apps and each app is eventually updated and often!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gr8 backup regimen..........'best practices' worthy.........given the 1,000 cumulative hrs leading to your perfect setup, worth all the special handling to keep devices singing!

props on the recovery

Mine took a dump today but it may be a total failure. I just got home and this is what the preliminary tests show. I would appreciate any input.
chkdsk
The type of the file system is RAW.
CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.
testdisk
Capacity incorrectly showed at 8225kb/8032kb (16gb card)
Analyze feature reports a Partition Rear Error
As a sidenote, the TitaniumBackup sync-to-Dropbox feature has probably saved my butt as far as apps/data goes. I highly suggest using it to protect against dead cards.

Sadly SD cards and USB sticks are very unreliable when it comes to data. They are easily damage and anything slight can cause them to be corrupted.
This is a great guide, glad you were able to restore your data!

Most data in flash type memory cards (excepting physical cracks in the microSD Card housing + damage to the memory chip itself) can be recovered w/ several DIY software programs available on the android market..........ugothkd shared a few of these, several posts up.........in the event that there is NO BACKUP available to you + having exhausted all personal DIY recovery avenues, there are still ways to step-up the process and very likely recover some of your data..........am quoting the following language from Recoverfab (maker of enterprise flash readers to the trade):
'In general, there are two reasons why the data on memory flash devices (cards, USB-sticks, SSD) becomes inaccessible.
Logical damage prevents access to the data/pictures on the drive, but the drive is still physically recognized by the computer operating system. In this case some specialized types of recovery software can help. Sometimes free recovery tools like Zero Assumption Recovery can also solve this problem.
Physical damage causes the drive to be unrecognized by the computer's operating system, making it impossible to access the contents of the flash-memory chip. This type of damage happens in more than 80% of all known cases. These are most frequently caused by electrical problems that lead to physical damage. Flash devices consist of a memory chip and a controller. The controller writes and reads the data from the memory chip. In most cases, recovery is possible from a flash device with a damaged controller and mostly undamaged memory chips.
Formatting is required? The controller of the memory card is not in the position to inform the PC operating system about the characteristics of the memory card. Therefore, the PC assumes that the memory card is not formatted and requests formatting. One might think that the memory card problems would be solved by formatting, but unfortunately it does not work due to the damaged controller. Instead, the computer will communicate that formatting is not possible. Such an error is a clear indicator that no kind of software (including special formatting or rescue software!!) will be able to access the memory card.
.....Recovery Process: If the flash storage device is not recognized in the computer or it is impossible to access the data on it, there is only one way to get the data: unsolder the memory chip from the printed circuit board and directly access the raw data with a programmable chip reader.' <end quote>
OK......that was a long quote!.....worth repeating, if only to begin to address the sort of things that can damage / corrupt SD Cards (+ also to give those of you that really want to recover your lost data super badly some HOPE).
Heat, liquid, dust, some of the things that WILL damage your SD Card (numerous other things can corrupt your data as well) .....then you hear cases of individuals that have NEVER HAD ANY DAMAGE WHATSOEVER...........some burnin' Q's: is the fragile nature of the card itself doomed to failure? ...If the card is going to fail eventually, what kind of data would you be willing to risk storing in there?...... if the data is that important to you, would you be willing to make a 'twin' copy? (twin SD Card could be swapped quickly in case of ER) ..... + lastly, has anyone here found a fail-safe or fairly sound way to run voluminous or frequent data transfers between your device's SD Card + pc?

sonarchist said:
Most data in flash type memory cards............. if the data is that important to you, would you be willing to make a 'twin' copy? (twin SD Card could be swapped quickly in case of ER) ..... + lastly, has anyone here found a fail-safe or fairly sound way to run voluminous or frequent data transfers between your device's SD Card + pc?
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Yup, I have a spare twin identical card Lexar 32gb class 10 waiting in the wings as a backup.
I use a program that can transfer and/or sync in many different ways my card to my PC, which I do every three or four weeks. It is called FolderMatch v3.44. I am sure there is a newer version out, but the one I have does the job
I simply plug my USB cable into my PC and the other end into my epic and simply choose synchronize, then chose make left folder (my PC) to be the same as the right folder (my epic) - depending on how many files you are syncing determines the speed of the sync. Works good for me!

quick99si said:
Mine took a dump today but it may be a total failure. I just got home and this is what the preliminary tests show. I would appreciate any input.
chkdsk
The type of the file system is RAW.
CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.
testdisk
Capacity incorrectly showed at 8225kb/8032kb (16gb card)
Analyze feature reports a Partition Rear Error
As a sidenote, the TitaniumBackup sync-to-Dropbox feature has probably saved my butt as far as apps/data goes. I highly suggest using it to protect against dead cards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ZAR has an 'unformat' option for Raw File Systems, you may want to explore if there is data remaining in your SD Card that you may want to recover (there's a brief tutorial posted on their website) ........ here's a glimpse:
"Unformat is the process of data recovery from a storage device (which can be a hard drive, a camera memory card, an USB pen drive) that was formatted.
The step-by-step tutorial below describes the procedure to recover data when the drive was accidentally formatted and you want to unformat the drive Windows reports "raw filesystem", or the drive is "not formatted" <end quote>
The above makes reference to a specific type of recovery (accidental format of a drive, as an example), but the application will recover from a number of file types + systems............worth checking it out.
*edit* as another example, 'accidental format of a drive' can also refer to split-second decisions we make when we guickly hit 'reformat sd card' on our device the very first time we ever encounter a 'corrupted external card / reformat?' type of message........in the moment, life goes on + it's only later that we begin to think of the lost data..................however, chances are pretty good that the data is recoverable (files are still inside the 'reformatted' sd card, only unreadable, ie RAW).