I purchased a new SanDisk 32GB microSDHC card for my Magic a few weeks ago. As of the beginning of this month, I started noticing some strange things happening like the card being set to read-only at random. I first noticed it from the camera app where it stated that I needed to insert an SD card before using it. I checked using Root Explorer, and strangely enough it was mounted as read-only. I mounted it back as R/W, and everything seemed fine...or so I thought.
A few days later, I was gonna send those pics that I took with the camera, but they were gone and nowhere to be found on my SD card. I got suspicious so I took a few test pics after (again) having to set the SD card with R/W permissions using Root Explorer. I checked the card, and the pics were there, but as soon as I tried to send them via MMS, the files disappeared. From here, I put the card in my PC's card reader and copied a random file to it. No issues with that, so I put the card back into my phone and that file was gone. Scratching my head some more, I put the card back into my PC and copied another random file. Then I refreshed the folder view within Explorer, and the file was not there. Seeing that I could read the files on the card, I feel that something strange was going on, so I made a backup to my PC. The files copied fine, and I can see the contents on my computer, so reading from the card isn't an issue. I, then, attempted to reformat it from the computer. Windows complained that it was unable to format the card, so I thought I'd go with something a little more refined when dealing with partitions. Using Paragon Partition Manager, I was unable to reformat without first deleting the partition already present, so I did just that. However, after deleting the partition, it gave an error saying that this drive cannot be formatted. Having gotten really frustrated with this issue, I decided to try out GParted on my laptop. I put the card in my card reader on that and ran GParted. It recognized the card, but showed that it was still partitioned...leaving me to believe that Partition Manager didn't actually delete the partition as it said it did. Didn't worry about that too much, and went ahead and deleted the partition through GParted and reformatted to FAT32 with no errors whatsoever during the process, and everything seemed to work fine. However, the used file space was exactly the same as it was before starting this process. I slapped the card back into my PC, and sure enough nothing has changed.
It now seems that the state of my card is somehow "frozen". I can read the files already existing on the card, but nothing can be written to it. The only thing that I did differently with this SD card, in comparison to any other card I've used, is using Swapper (org.azasoft.free.swapper) to create a swap file on my SD card that appeared to work fairly well until all this happened. Though maybe a 1GB swap file wasn't such a great idea, and most likely unnecessary anyways.
I've had a card die on me in the past, but just because it was old. Though, it was completely unusable...couldn't read or write from/to the card, respectively. So being able to read from the card is quite new to me, and I'm not sure if I've killed it, or if (possibly) there is a chance for revival. Normally, I wouldn't worry about it too much and just have the card replaced, but due to the highly sensitive data currently present on the card, that's completely out of the question at this point.
Any insight on this issue would be very highly appreciated.
I would see if you can get it replaced. If you can't, and their is sensitive info on it, completely destroy it (break it into several pieces, blend it, then use fire) and buy a new one.
Seems like you've done everything I could think of. So I'm not sure what to suggest to try and fix it. Maybe try to dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/whateveryoursdcardiscalled and then format?
you should really encrypt sensitive data so you don't have to worry about it when problems occur
tl;dr
However, it did seem like an issue I had with an SD card back when I was trying linux distros on USB sticks. My 16GB was turned into an 8GB one. That sucked LOTS. You know what fixed it?
My camera
Yeah, I put the SD on it and pressed Format. It automagically partitioned it and it's working correctly as we speak ... try other devices, such as handycams, cameras, mp4s, iPhone/iPod & such. They can do what Linux + gParted and Windows can't =)
Related
I had hero up and running with apps2sd and everything. Decided i wanted the launcher.apk on my phone after i had ran the optimization scripts which removed it, made a bad choice and tried to adb push it which corrupted the boot sequence somehow cause the phone was stuck at the g1 startup screen.
So no big deal, figured i'd start with a clean slate. I wiped, flashed ion back onto it, reformatted the sd card, then went to push the app_s folder back to system/sd/app_s. Everything was going smoothly until it said it ran out of space and only installed about 30 of the apps. So i loaded up Paragon and checked the sd card and it said it was blank. Then i used adb to check the sd card and it said the app_s folder was there, but it was still incomplete. I reformated but this time used paragon to do the file transfer of the app_s folder, which was successful, and then i checked it with adb and it says it's blank.
At this point im lost as what to do. Paragon shows the app_s folder on the sd card, but the phone won't find it. Im beginning to think my sd card maybe corrupted somehow. any ideas?
you might have to backup the files on your memory card..then repartition your SD card..not a 100 percent sure though, ask one of the more experienced developers in a Hero thread
Already repartitioned it... fat32 and the ext2
How old is your SD card?
Perform a complete reformat of the memory card using Windows.
alright been messing around and discovered that the phone isn't mounting the ext2 partition.
Gonna do a complete reformat of the sd card with windows as you said then give it another try.
And the sd card is barely a month old. its a class 6 8gb if that matters.
Please post in the right section, and try to search before starting a new thread.
People have been replacing their microSD cards not knowing that the problem is actually in the files and folders..
Ok here it is!
When i scroll through the hTC Sense tabs to music or photos, the applications try to load the thumbs from the Phone/microSD, that's when it suddenly freezes then the microSD vanishes..
I inserted the microSD into my PC and browsed the drive in "Thumbnail view" and guess what happened, it froze.. I figured since the idea was the same in hTC Sense when it tries to load any thumbs..
So i went to the microSD drive again and chose "detailed view" then went into each folder and changed to "thumbnail view" until i found two folders that kept freezing; "Program Files" and "My Music"..
In Program files the only folder that couldn't be deleted definitely had files that were behind the issue.. There was a music album too that froze, i deleted that too...
I backed up my files and formatted the microSD, i had to, because the folders behind the microSD disappearance cannot be deleted even with an "Unlocker"..
So far i'm playing around with my Leo and nothing is happening..
So by viewing the folders on the PC using Thumbnail view, you'll be able to identify the file or folder behind this annoying issue..
I had the same issue
I have (had) Sandisk microSD 16GB card. It was last week that it happened to me. Only backup of good files and re-formatting the card helped.
Today, I was copying 700MB file and suddenly it told me - cant write on a disk. I disconnected cable from the PC, rebooted Leo and SD card was no more present.
I put it into a card reader, tried to format it, but nothing is working. SD card is probably faulty.
So be aware, that that problem might be a first sign before your SD will break.
I think the fault is from some files somewhere in the microSD.. After going through the method i mentioned earlier, up until now my card is fine..
dosari666 said:
I think the fault is from some files somewhere in the microSD.. After going through the method i mentioned earlier, up until now my card is fine..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup right, but be aware. I dont think that normal SD card should perform like that. I am using stock 2GB SD now, and it is ok!
stgyro said:
yup right, but be aware. I dont think that normal SD card should perform like that. I am using stock 2GB SD now, and it is ok!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My 16GB microSD is Sandisk and its 100% compatible with this device.. The Leo is doing something when loading the files creating some system files i suppose..
dosari666 said:
My 16GB microSD is Sandisk and its 100% compatible with this device.. The Leo is doing something when loading the files creating some system files i suppose..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
guess what? windows could not load sandisk microSD 16GB and I was already preparing to return it to e-shop, but I tried live cd of ubuntu 9.10.
It can read the card, it formatted it and it is working again! :-D
stgyro said:
guess what? windows could not load sandisk microSD 16GB and I was already preparing to return it to e-shop, but I tried live cd of ubuntu 9.10.
It can read the card, it formatted it and it is working again! :-D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's great, so you didn't have to replace it?
But strange, i've always been using the 16GB with my HD and now HD2.. The issue just occurred a week ago..
A day has passed and everything seems fine..
I hope it stays that way..
ok
I got exactly the same problem with my 16G Sandiskin and HD
and found that the problem was a damaged file in my SD
connect your SD to your computer throw card reader, using total commander or whatever, begin coping all SD files and directory to your hard disk, until get a message can't copy "file name", this will be the damage file, unmount the SD and mount it again and delete this file and your SD will be ok
ps: may be you have more than one damage file, try the this method until you can copy all SD files to your hard drive
When you have a write or read problem with a particular file, it usually points to more than just a corrupt file. In my experience with 4 16GB Sandisk microSD, it is the beginning of a failing card. The safest bet is to copy out the good files, reformat in your HD2 and copy the files back. But if it happens too often, it may be time to invest in a new card as your data is of primary concern.
The strange thing is that this usually occurs with the bigger cards, 8GB and 16GB. I never had this issue in the past with smaller cards.
I back up my card weekly or when I have updated large number of files just to be sure I have a valid set in my PC in case the card fails.
kensong said:
When you have a write or read problem with a particular file, it usually points to more than just a corrupt file. In my experience with 4 16GB Sandisk microSD, it is the beginning of a failing card. The safest bet is to copy out the good files, reformat in your HD2 and copy the files back. But if it happens too often, it may be time to invest in a new card as your data is of primary concern.
The strange thing is that this usually occurs with the bigger cards, 8GB and 16GB. I never had this issue in the past with smaller cards.
I back up my card weekly or when I have updated large number of files just to be sure I have a valid set in my PC in case the card fails.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what you are talking about. Low format may help. I had the same issue with 2GB SD card 3 years ago (had to recover SD card to save few photos) and also on my DLSR with 4GB CF Card (linux helped to read the card). I don´t think it can be damaged so quickly as normal PC HDD, but when it happens often (damaged files on card), it may be a sign of something wrong with the card.
Unfortunately it happened again.. After a month of having everything under control i got the same problem.. The great news is I'm using windows 7 on my PC and when i plug my microSD card via usb reader, i get a choice of scanning and fixing the removable disk...
Now i'm happy without those annoying corrupted files..
So i read on droidxforums.com that i can that i could use my internal memory for my music by using root explorer to move it to a music directory within /system. and an app called Astro Player I tried just moving one album to the /system. when i opened Astroplayer it automatically read all the rest of my music. so i figured i would take my music off the SD completely. after deleting it it still showed up within Astro. however the Directory what gone from SD. soi wasnt sure if there were still some reminisce or something left.
So i figured i could copy all my important info to my pc and format the SD and format. I inserted the SD directly to my pc via an adapter and tried to format. It failed to complete. so i tried putting it into my phone and tring that way.
I now get a pop op that says i need to format before i can use it. I click to format and it tells me there is no disc.
did i just kill the sd card? is there any way of formatting and getting it back to normal?
any advice is appreciated. thank you so much.....
What are you trying to format it with on the pc? If you are on linux i would recommend giving gparted a try. It has always worked for me. Make sure you format it to FAT...
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
you likely formatted it to NTFS in windows, reformat it again to FAT, and make sure it's fully seated in the slot of your phone.
Formatting an SD card won't break it.
Problem Fixed!
No i was trying to format it Fat32 via windows. But i was trying to do a "quick format"
Formated without "quick format" selected. Took about an hour. but everything is back to normal.
Thanks for the help you guys.
Lucky SOB. I had the same issue, and it was a bad SD card. I had the same problem, basically; started copying my music to SD card on the phone, phone froze and xfer hung in Windows at about 15% of the card filled, did a battery pull and tried doing a full format (fat32 of course, which is the default for memory cards in any version of Windows, by the way; only way you get NTFS is if you manually select it, or the card was already NTFC) and it hung at about 15% of the way through. I pulled the 8GB micro SDHC card from my HTC Touch Pro, did a full format on my laptop no problems, put it in my Droid X and filled it, no problems. I'm waiting for a call from Costco as to when I can get the memory card swapped.
@ixobelle: formatting an SD card when it's bad can definitely "break" it (to be more precise, 'expose the broken parts')
Ok, so I'm going crazy now, but I just can't figure out what's wrong with my card.
I bought a new 32 gb card. I know, I know, you're gonna say it's a fake card, but it's not. I tested it with H2testw and it fill up the card with 32GB of random data.
So, here's what's happening.
1. The card came formatted, I just swapped it with the old card and the Tab recognized it without problems.
2. I took it out and copied backed up files from the old card onto it.
3. When I put back the card into the tab, only a few folders were visible and other data that was copied and visible via the card reader was no where to be seen on the tab.
4. Then I took it out and tried repeating the process - same thing.
5. I tried quick formatting the card through the PC, and tried everything once again. Now the results were different, but again not all folders were copied.
6. I tried formatting through the Tab. The format went fine. Then I tried copying files through the USB cable (mass storage option). That also went ok, but a few of the files could not be opened. Scanned it with disk check and automatic fix error option.
7. Back to PC, did a full format with a Panasonic sd card formatter. Ran H2testw. No problems. Put the card back, re-rooted the tab (since I started suspecting it could be somehow related to this).
8. The card is back in the Tab, but it's still showing some strange behavior, such as folders dissapearing or files not being readable.
Anyone have any idea what to do? I would also like to note that the card works fine when in my reader, I can copy files to it, open them directly from the card etc. No problems at all. But as soon as I put it in the tab it goes crazy.
P.s. The tab is rooted, firmware is out-of-the-box. I have app2sd, but I didn't put any of the apps on the old card, and all apps work normally with or without the sdcard.
I dunno. Bad card? Or maybe just incompatible with the Tab?
just wait android 2.3 to fix this program
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
the card is fake,
i had this a while ago, i could copy files over fine and the files showed in the file structure in windows explorer. BUT if i restarted the computer loads of the files went missing, i then found out the 32gb card was in actual fact an 8gb card but some trickery makes it look as if you have copied 32gb over. the best way to test it is to copy over say 25 films at 1gb each, see it copy over, restart your computer and then see how many are left after the restart, you will then see how big your card actually is!! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but i hope you can send your card back and get a full refund.
I have tried a genuine 32gb card from expansys which works correctly in my galaxy tab (JM6 firmware) and my x10i.
AFAIK only Sandisk and Kingston make 32GB microSD cards now.
I got my Kingston 32GB card from Newegg and it works great in my Tab.
Where did you buy your card?
I would not dare to buy SD card from eBay or from a store that has no good return policy.
Been experiencing issues with an SD card. this is an 8GB that I was using. I normally remove the SD card from my phone and attach it to the adapter toread from the laptop's SD card reader. one of the times I did this, Windows popped up saying I needed to format the device. I put the card back into my phone, and saw that the SD card came up blank.
I put the card back into my computer and ran PhotoRec to see if I could pull any data off of it...it spit out 3000 something text files all with 2 lines each of garbled characters. I tried using TestDisk (program that comes with PhotoRec), and it says there are no Partitions on the card. I tried to format using the command line formatter, but the filesystem now shows up as RAW. I tried using the official SD Formatter tool, and it says my device is Write Protected (when it is clearly not).
I'm about lost on what to do next, as nothing seems to be working. is there something I'm missing, or am I dealing with a completely dead card?
Try the thread in the stickies right above this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1355528
I already tried this, but thanks for the suggestion. The problem isn't with syncing data, but moreso with not being able to properly repartition the card
At least, that's what I believe the problem would be.
toastyc12 said:
I already tried this, but thanks for the suggestion. The problem isn't with syncing data, but moreso with not being able to properly repartition the card
At least, that's what I believe the problem would be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thought you might try his methods on recovering your data.
I understand. Recovering also wasn't a big issue, as I keep backups of my data every so often. My main major loss is the use of this card.