Working With Microsd Cards

[+dhbaird]

Perhaps someone can help me figure out what is going on.

 

I purchased a new microSD 1 gig San Disk card and uploaded all the maps I will ever use plus a few custom POI files and about 650 Cache waypoints.

 

All that works great. I can take the card out of the unit and put it into the adapter and the card reader and I can access the directories and copy and erase files as needed.

 

Then I took the original card that came with my unit and I wanted to erase the files and directories that were on it. Every time I try to access a directory on that card I get a "File or Directory Corrupt" message.

 

I can not re-format it in the card reader. I can not copy files to it. I am left with a card that is basically unusable.

 

I was hoping to create a back-up card of sorts with the maps that my wife uses plus eliminate all the cache waypoint on the unit so I can give her an easier way to navigate around on her business trip. I can not seem to do that with the card that came with the unit.

 

Anybody else have that difficulty? Is there a way to re-initialize the card while it is in the unit itself?

[-Oz-]

my adapter has a little tab for lock/not lock. Is that on the lock setting?

Edited April 11, 2006 by -Oz-

[Neo_Geo]

I tried my original 64MB card from my 60Cx, and had no problems with it. Not sure what to tell you. Have you tried putting the original card back in the GPSr and putting new maps in, sending custom POIs and logging tracks?

[+Olar]

This is from way out in left field but you never know. Try re-formatting the card in another device that uses SD cards like a camera or PDA. I don't think you can hurt anything by trying. If you can get it formatted then you should be able to get your card reader to access it. You may have to create a folder or two in order for Mapsource to see it but you can do that through the card reader.

 

Good luck, Olar

[Neo_Geo]

my card has a little tab for lock/not lock. Is that on the lock setting?

Are you SURE about that? I thought about that, but when I looked at my card, I couldn't find any movable tab. There is a small tab along the lower length of the card, but it doesn't look movable to me. I think that tab is there to help with proper placement and alignment of the card in its socket. Nothing looks movable on that card to me.

[-Oz-]

yeah, its not on the transflash card but on the SD adapter. That'd be the place to check.

 

Made the previous post more specific.

Edited April 11, 2006 by -Oz-

[Neo_Geo]

Ahhhh... Good point - I didn't check that. So now I just tried it with mine and I get a write-protect error when the adapter is in the locked position.

[+dhbaird]

my adapter has a little tab for lock/not lock. Is that on the lock setting?

 

No I found that little write protect tab myself... Works the same in both settings. Directory Corrupt message is what I get. Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

I will try putting the card back into the unit downloading a couple of maps again to the card along with a poi file and see.

 

What is wierd is that the card that came with the unit is a Sandisk too. I would have thought that the adapter would work with all Sandisk microSD's. Or maybe it is just a faulty card.

[+dhbaird]

This is from way out in left field but you never know. Try re-formatting the card in another device that uses SD cards like a camera or PDA. I don't think you can hurt anything by trying. If you can get it formatted then you should be able to get your card reader to access it. You may have to create a folder or two in order for Mapsource to see it but you can do that through the card reader.

 

Good luck, Olar

 

I can "reformat" it in the adapter while it is installed in my PDA. It creates a folder called Palm and a file on the root that is something like a volume label. When I try to access that directory in the card reader I get the same error message as before. My Palm formats in FAT not FAT32. I seem to remember that our Garmins like FAT32, is that correct?

[Neo_Geo]

I seem to remember that our Garmins like FAT32, is that correct?

I can't confirm it personally, but that is what I've heard.

[Neo_Geo]

I can confirm it now. I checked my original 64MB card, and it is indeed formatted FAT32.

[+dhbaird]

I can confirm it now. I checked my original 64MB card, and it is indeed formatted FAT32.

 

When I try to reformat the card from what the PDA did, I get a different error message. "failure to complete format" At that point the only way to get information back on it at all is to stick it back into the PDA and let it format the card back to FAT and put the /PALM directory on it.

 

When I do that I can use it in my sd based camera and in the PDA but still not able to access it in the card reader. I'm baffled. The 1 gig card works fine in the card reader.

[+Olar]

I can confirm it now. I checked my original 64MB card, and it is indeed formatted FAT32.

 

When I try to reformat the card from what the PDA did, I get a different error message. "failure to complete format" At that point the only way to get information back on it at all is to stick it back into the PDA and let it format the card back to FAT and put the /PALM directory on it.

 

When I do that I can use it in my sd based camera and in the PDA but still not able to access it in the card reader. I'm baffled. The 1 gig card works fine in the card reader.

By any chance have you tried it in another card reader? Could be a very slight mis-alignment of contacts that only your reader has a problem with. Ya never know!

 

Olar

[+rstickle]

I can confirm it now. I checked my original 64MB card, and it is indeed formatted FAT32.

 

I've got a 1 GB Sandisk card coming in tomorrow and was wondering, if needed, how does one go about reformatting to FAT32?

[+Olar]

I can confirm it now. I checked my original 64MB card, and it is indeed formatted FAT32.

 

I've got a 1 GB Sandisk card coming in tomorrow and was wondering, if needed, how does one go about reformatting to FAT32?

Using XP and with the card in the reader/writer open "My Computer" where you should see a list of "devices with removable storage". Right click on the reader drive and choose "format" from the dropdown menu. Choose "FAT32" and away you go.

 

I also read somewhere in here that you should create a file named "Garmin" on the card so that when you download maps via the card reader, Mapsource will see the card as a "GPS unit". You probably don't have to do that if you plan to download maps directly to your handheld.

 

Cheers, Olar

[+rstickle]

I can confirm it now. I checked my original 64MB card, and it is indeed formatted FAT32.

 

I've got a 1 GB Sandisk card coming in tomorrow and was wondering, if needed, how does one go about reformatting to FAT32?

Using XP and with the card in the reader/writer open "My Computer" where you should see a list of "devices with removable storage". Right click on the reader drive and choose "format" from the dropdown menu. Choose "FAT32" and away you go.

 

I also read somewhere in here that you should create a file named "Garmin" on the card so that when you download maps via the card reader, Mapsource will see the card as a "GPS unit". You probably don't have to do that if you plan to download maps directly to your handheld.

 

Cheers, Olar

 

Thanks, I was hoping it might be something that easy. I'm basically a Mac guy, but use my wife's PC for all the GPS stuff. When UPS delivers the card tomorrow I'll see how it goes.

 

Rick

[Neo_Geo]

The 512MB SanDisk card that I bought is formatted FAT16, and it works fine too. I don't think you'll have any problems with the 1.0GB.

 

One thing that might be overlooked by some people - is that USB storage devices need to be "STOPPED" before disconnecting the device from the system! Perhaps abruptly disconnecting the reader from the system without stopping the device first may be causing some corrution of data...

Edited April 14, 2006 by Neo_Geo

[-Oz-]

One thing that might be overlooked by some people - ( especially perhaps a Mac user ) - is that USB storage devices need to be "STOPPED" before disconnecting the device from the system! Perhaps abruptly disconnecting the reader from the system without stopping the device first may be causing some corrution of data...

 

I have never done this with windows xp. I thought it was a windows 2000 and below thing.

[Neo_Geo]

One thing that might be overlooked by some people - is that USB storage devices need to be "STOPPED" before disconnecting the device from the system! Perhaps abruptly disconnecting the reader from the system without stopping the device first may be causing some corrution of data...

I have never done this with windows xp. I thought it was a windows 2000 and below thing.

It's an XP thing too.

Edited April 14, 2006 by Neo_Geo

[+rstickle]

The 512MB SanDisk card that I bought is formatted FAT16, and it works fine too. I don't think you'll have any problems with the 1.0GB.

 

One thing that might be overlooked by some people - ( especially perhaps a Mac user ) - is that USB storage devices need to be "STOPPED" before disconnecting the device from the system! Perhaps abruptly disconnecting the reader from the system without stopping the device first may be causing some corrution of data...

 

Actually using Mac OS X you have to actually dismount the device before disconnecting. If you don't the computer gives you a "nasty" message, and your data is usually corrupted. I almost panicked the first time a PC user just pulled my memory stick out of his USB port!!

 

Rick

[+Enchanted Shadow]

One thing that might be overlooked by some people - is that USB storage devices need to be "STOPPED" before disconnecting the device from the system! Perhaps abruptly disconnecting the reader from the system without stopping the device first may be causing some corrution of data...

I have never done this with windows xp. I thought it was a windows 2000 and below thing.

It's an XP thing too.

 

Incorrect. This is NOT necessary for XP. The only caution is to not unplug the card while it's in the middle of data transfer.

[+Olar]

One thing that might be overlooked by some people - is that USB storage devices need to be "STOPPED" before disconnecting the device from the system! Perhaps abruptly disconnecting the reader from the system without stopping the device first may be causing some corrution of data...

I have never done this with windows xp. I thought it was a windows 2000 and below thing.

It's an XP thing too.

 

Incorrect. This is NOT necessary for XP. The only caution is to not unplug the card while it's in the middle of data transfer.

Any time I put a card in the reader XP will display a little green arrow icon in my activity tray and it wants me to click on it before removing the card. I figure it's there for a good reason and not just decoration so I oblige by using it. One time I forgot and yanked out a USB card reader. That act shut down my laptop faster than the hydro company can do it. I don't forget anymore.

 

Olar

[+Enchanted Shadow]

 

Any time I put a card in the reader XP will display a little green arrow icon in my activity tray and it wants me to click on it before removing the card. I figure it's there for a good reason and not just decoration so I oblige by using it. One time I forgot and yanked out a USB card reader. That act shut down my laptop faster than the hydro company can do it. I don't forget anymore.

 

Olar

 

 

It's not there for decoration, it's there as a precaution; also because Windows can't always tell the difference between hardware that's safe to just unplug, and hardware that you need to shut down first.

 

Windows XP does not require that you use the "Remove Hardware" icon for flash memory. If problems occur, that can be due to a corrupt windows installation, or due to third-party software that's interfering (i.e. anything that would cause your system to cache writes).

 

But just look at the user's guide for the memory card and/or reader in question - you'll see it says exactly what I did.

[Hertzog]

I get the impression from this thread that people have been able to use card readers to download maps to the card. In my case, when I insert the card into my computer's built-in reader Mapsource will see the card for the purposes of uploading from the card, but not for downloading. The card comes formatted FAT; would it work if I reformatted to FAT32? It's not a big deal, as I doubt if I will be changing mapsets very often, and I downloaded a set to my 1GB card in the 60CSx last night (1 3/4 hours). I'm mainly curious for future reference. I haven't played around with saving tracks on the card yet, but I left about 200MB free on it, so I may be trying this in the near future.

[-Oz-]

i believe for tracks you just drag them off the card in windows explorer. I dont think mapsource links to the saved tracks (since the gps can't see them anyway).

[kerecsen]

If you are formatting on an OS that gives you an option of cluster (allocation) size, make sure you select whatever the manufacturer originally used (typically 512), otherwise your card may slow to a crawl.

[+Enchanted Shadow]

 

I get the impression from this thread that people have been able to use card readers to download maps to the card. In my case, when I insert the card into my computer's built-in reader Mapsource will see the card for the purposes of uploading from the card, but not for downloading. The card comes formatted FAT; would it work if I reformatted to FAT32? It's not a big deal, as I doubt if I will be changing mapsets very often, and I downloaded a set to my 1GB card in the 60CSx last night (1 3/4 hours). I'm mainly curious for future reference. I haven't played around with saving tracks on the card yet, but I left about 200MB free on it, so I may be trying this in the near future.

 

 

FAT-16 or FAT-32 doesn't matter insofar as your computer's ability to read and write from the card. You need to narrow down whether the problem is with the card, the reader, your OS/Software set, or with mapsource.

 

Outside of mapsource, can you read and write to the card? If so, than you rule out most things in one fell swoop. And as far as Mapsource is concerned, are you running the latest version (6.10.2)? If not, you might want to uninstall and reinstall, as there have been changes insofar as MapSource's handling of flash cards.

 

Now, all that being said, I have seen - and enlightened Garmin's T/S - that certain bugs show up with a 1 GB card formatted as FAT-16, where the bugs dissappear after the card is formatted to FAT-32.

 

So, especially for the larger cards (although I would do it for all sizes), FAT-32 is a must.

[Hertzog]

 

FAT-16 or FAT-32 doesn't matter insofar as your computer's ability to read and write from the card. You need to narrow down whether the problem is with the card, the reader, your OS/Software set, or with mapsource.

 

Outside of mapsource, can you read and write to the card? If so, than you rule out most things in one fell swoop. And as far as Mapsource is concerned, are you running the latest version (6.10.2)? If not, you might want to uninstall and reinstall, as there have been changes insofar as MapSource's handling of flash cards.

 

Now, all that being said, I have seen - and enlightened Garmin's T/S - that certain bugs show up with a 1 GB card formatted as FAT-16, where the bugs dissappear after the card is formatted to FAT-32.

 

So, especially for the larger cards (although I would do it for all sizes), FAT-32 is a must.

 

After further experimenting, I noticed that the original 64MB card that came with the unit had a 0 byte "ignore_my_docs" file on it in addition to the Garmin folder (Mapsource did recognize this card for both uploading and downloading). I copied this file over to the 512MB card and it is now recognized both ways, so this seems to be the key. The 1GB card is in the unit and working fine, so I will just leave things as they are for now.

Edited April 16, 2006 by Hertzog