SD card gone bad?

General discussions not related to the Vibe, Matrix, or any other vehicle. (follow posting rules)
Post Reply
User avatar
808 Vibes
Posts: 3923
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 2:53 pm

SD card gone bad?

Post by 808 Vibes »

The other day I had an issue with something preventing the computer from booting up. I had a friend take it home and check it, and he said the SD card that came with it was interfering, advised me to take it out, and the computer's been running fine. To put the SD card somewhere where I wouldn't lose it, I put it in the Exilim's SD slot. Today the Exilim wouldn't even turn on until I took out that card. This was a blank HC SD card that came with the computer, and it worked fine before. So I'm wondering, do these things just suddenly turn bad?
~ ALIS VOLAT PROPRIIS ~
djkeev
Posts: 1357
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2009 8:51 pm

Post by djkeev »

There are issues with certain SD cards not operating in readers at all or after being in them for a period of time. While I've never heard of an SD preventing boot up in a computer a computer will read every drive connected to it as it boots up and if there is information on one of the connected drives that isn't good the process will hang there.Why it suddenly went bad? A bad reformat maybe? intentional or accidental, written as just a FAT and not a FAT 32? Have you tried reformatting it? Have you slipped the card in after you booted up and pulled up the drive and gotten information about its programming and formatting?What brand of computer are you running and its operating system? Laptop?See if your card in made in Japan or China. Japanese made ones seem to be better cards with fewer issues. Just continuing the recent China screws up everything they touch syndrome of late. Be careful, some cards are sold packaged and labeled "made in Japan" but the actual product says made in China! You can't always tell what you are purchasing because of how they are packaged. SD cards are pretty bullet proof but they do on occasion crap out. Different brands and qualities exist also and may or may not work with certain units while the same card will work with another.Make sure that the size of a newer card can be handled by your camera and computer. Larger cards often don't function in older machines.Personally I'm a fan of the smaller cards. I have a small carrying case to keep them in. This way if it should fail I've only lost a GIG or two and not everything in one fell swoop!I know the High Capacity SD's are an amazing thing but to me it's too much being crammed into a very small space and often problems arise whey you do such things. Call me cautious!I don't trust computers 100% with information. I back up and duplicate certain important things on multiple removable drives. I also print out a lot of important papers, just me and my irrational fears. As wonderful as the digital age is, it can crash and disappear in a heart beat!Good Luck, at least the card is empty and you haven't lost valuable information or photos!Purchase a new card and give it a go, it might just be one of those things that happens with computers!Get a smaller one to try, a gig or two. They are cheap and the newer HC SD readers recognize and read them just fine.Dave
(o ! /o) (o)=I=(o)
NUBlackshirts
Posts: 509
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 5:14 am

Re: (djkeev)

Post by NUBlackshirts »

SD memory cards do have a finite life span. But with proper care, they should last a really long time. There are some things you can do to help your SD card live longer... http://www.abcarticledirectory...67223
'04 Frosty GT <---Click here!Tein S-Tech springs; Tokico HP struts;Progress rear sway bar; DC Sports strut tower bar;Scion TC wheels; K&N Typhoon intake;GG Racing ground wires; JAW voltage stabilizer;FilterMAG SS-250; Militec-1; Sirius Satellite Radio
northvibe
Posts: 7641
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 2:25 pm

Post by northvibe »

Do you have windows vista on your laptop? or is it a desktop? Vista can use SD cards to boost its speed.. well thats the easy explanation. But yes SD cards can go bad, specially if they are cheap ones. Otherwise like NUBlack stated they do have a finite read/write number.If you need another one, check http://www.newegg.com or get it at a local retailer if they are on sale.
lovemyraffe
Posts: 4288
Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 3:08 am

Post by lovemyraffe »

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »Do you have windows vista on your laptop? or is it a desktop? Vista can use SD cards to boost its speed.. well thats the easy explanation.So I can put an SD in and it will make Vista run faster? Is that all there is to it, or is there something else you need to do?
March 2011 MOTMFebruary 2010 MOTM My GenVibe garage
BlueCrush
Posts: 8272
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:47 am
Location: Twin Cities, MN

Re: (lovemyraffe)

Post by BlueCrush »

I have an SD card that had 300+ pictures on it from Jamaica last month that are now bad due to a faulty SD card. We could view the pictures fine on the camera. Then when we got home I COPIED them to a laptop and they were deleted from the SD card. I know I copied them because I triple checked it to make sure. When I opwn the pics on the laptop, the top inch is fine then there is green lines going across it for the rest of the way down on EVERY picture. We are so pissed you can't even imagine! Now the SD card gives an error message when back in the camera and when I put it into any computer is says I need to format it. SD card don't require formatting before use, correct? I haven't had to format any other SD card and they all work fine. Luckily for us, there were 25 other people in our group in Jamaica and half of them had cameras, so we will still be able to get lots and lots of pics, but there were certain one's that we took that we really, really wanted and are now gone forever! Is there away to fix these bad digital pictures? I'll post one later so you can see what they loook like.
My Fleet:
'15 Ford Fusion AWD Titanium 2.0 Tutbo
'14 Lincoln MXZ AWD 2.0 Turbo
'14 Nissan Pathfinder AWD SL
'05 Pontiac Vibe AWD
northvibe
Posts: 7641
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 2:25 pm

Re: (lovemyraffe)

Post by northvibe »

Quote, originally posted by lovemyraffe »So I can put an SD in and it will make Vista run faster? Is that all there is to it, or is there something else you need to do?Its called Readyboosthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReadyBoostput the SD card in to pc and format it for readyboost and then windows vista and 7 will use it as "ram" technically.
lovemyraffe
Posts: 4288
Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 3:08 am

Post by lovemyraffe »

I might have to try this out
March 2011 MOTMFebruary 2010 MOTM My GenVibe garage
User avatar
808 Vibes
Posts: 3923
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 2:53 pm

Re: (lovemyraffe)

Post by 808 Vibes »

Thanks, everybody! Acer Aspire Ones don't have Vista O/S. My friend told me to put the card in the other card slot, then right click and check "Explore" on my documents to see what it said, but it said "insert disk", so he said it was probably a defective card. I didn't bring it today, so not sure where it's made, never heard of it, but sounds pretty cheap "Transcend" brand with some fugly rainbow graphics on it, so I'm assuming it is made in China I got another $5 Best Buy coupon for buying my dishwasher, so I'll be using it on a new SD card and tossing this one out.
~ ALIS VOLAT PROPRIIS ~
northvibe
Posts: 7641
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 2:25 pm

Post by northvibe »

oh transcend, yes its a very cheap brand....
User avatar
808 Vibes
Posts: 3923
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 2:53 pm

Re: (northvibe)

Post by 808 Vibes »

LOL. Figures. No wonder they put it in there for free
~ ALIS VOLAT PROPRIIS ~
GMJAP
Posts: 1820
Joined: Thu Sep 02, 2004 4:24 am

Re: (BlueCrush)

Post by GMJAP »

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »I have an SD card that had 300+ pictures on it from Jamaica last month that are now bad due to a faulty SD card. We could view the pictures fine on the camera. Then when we got home I COPIED them to a laptop and they were deleted from the SD card. I know I copied them because I triple checked it to make sure. When I opwn the pics on the laptop, the top inch is fine then there is green lines going across it for the rest of the way down on EVERY picture. We are so pissed you can't even imagine! Now the SD card gives an error message when back in the camera and when I put it into any computer is says I need to format it. SD card don't require formatting before use, correct? I haven't had to format any other SD card and they all work fine. Luckily for us, there were 25 other people in our group in Jamaica and half of them had cameras, so we will still be able to get lots and lots of pics, but there were certain one's that we took that we really, really wanted and are now gone forever! Is there away to fix these bad digital pictures? I'll post one later so you can see what they loook like.When items are deleted from a disk (including an SD Card) the directory is simply updated to no longer point to the file and to show the space it used to occupy as "free".The original files still remain in the disk until something new written to the disk overwrites them. There is disk recovery and deleted file recovery software that can recover most of these deleted files.I have not used any recently, however, so I can't give a recommendation but you can search around the Net. Get a start here:http://www.pcworld.com/downloa....html
2005 Platinum Base ManualSide & Curtain AirbagsABSPower PackageTinted Windows"Mods": 'old-style' center armrest, center +12v, wheelskins leather steering wheel, AC/Recirc blue backlight, beeps on keyless entry, dome light switch, AC insulation, PCD10 10-disc CD/MP3 changer, AAI-GM12 AUX audio input, K&N filter, "shark fin" antenna.
psiu
Posts: 279
Joined: Tue Nov 28, 2006 8:19 am

Post by psiu »

Transcend isn't that bad (knock on wood--4GB of DDR2 in machine I'm typing on).BlueCrush--here's of review of PhotoRescue by The Imaging Resource (on of the best digital camera and accessory review sites out there). Has the links and more--and it does offer a free trial so I think you can see what it will recover before paying.http://www.imaging-resource.com/SOFT/PHR/PHR.HTM
northvibe
Posts: 7641
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 2:25 pm

Post by northvibe »

oh BC i didnt read your post. but theres a handful of free recover utilities... recuvapc inspector file recoveryThen some more just for deleted items..Lifehacker.com had a good list.
Post Reply