NikonGear'23

Gear Talk => Other => Topic started by: charlie on July 12, 2016, 21:23:55

Title: SD card not recognized
Post by: charlie on July 12, 2016, 21:23:55
I have a Sandisk Extreme Pro SDHC1 32GB card that I have been using in a D800 without problems for a few years now. As of yesterday my D800 does not recognize that it is installed. It doesn't claim that it's a corrupted, just doesn't even see it and acts as though no memory card is installed. Sure memory cards fail, but what seems odd is that it still works properly in multiple memory card readers as well as the SD port on my Macbook.

I tried another SD card in the D800 and it is recognized so the D800 seems to be working properly. I also tried the SD card in question in a Lumix camera and it does not work in there either. Formatted it using my computer and still nothing.

Why would the card work in a reader but not in a camera?

Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Frank Fremerey on July 12, 2016, 21:28:31
all contacts clean and clear?
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: elsa hoffmann on July 12, 2016, 21:46:19
Good thing is stopped recognising it BEFORE storing photos on there..
In SA (I believe) you have a life time guarantee on the cards - hopefully you can get it swapped out.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: charlie on July 12, 2016, 22:22:39
All contacts are clean.

The photos remained on the card fully accessible from both a Mac & Windows machine via card reader, its just the camera can not see it.

I'll look into the lifetime guarantee here, thanks for the heads up.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Bjørn Rørslett on July 12, 2016, 22:34:33
SD cards are notoriously delicate and fragile. Perhaps it has been impacted in a way that broke or intermittently short-circuited something inside?

I have had a couple of similar experiences even with high-end cards and the dealer replaced the failing cards without any discussion.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Akira on July 12, 2016, 23:40:10
Some of my hardware (cameras, MacBook Air or PC) with SD card slots have failed to recognize perfectly working SD cards (regardless of the brands, Sundisk, Toshiba or Samsung).  After inserting/removing a couple of times, they recognized the card again and worked with them as if nothing had happened.

Have you tried inserting/removing the card?  It could be a temporary contact failure or a temporary software glitch.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Bjørn Rørslett on July 13, 2016, 00:09:26
Nikon just released a firmware update for D500 that dealt with stubborn or ill-behaving SD cards. OK, the camera in question here is D800, but it is only fair to assume other models might encounter similar issues.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Akira on July 13, 2016, 00:16:57
Nikon just released a firmware update for D500 that dealt with stubborn or ill-behaving SD cards. OK, the camera in question here is D800, but it is only fair to assume other models might encounter similar issues.

I have experienced similar problem with my D7000, but the procedure described in my previous post solved the problem.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: charlie on July 13, 2016, 00:41:04
I've removed and inserted it several times.
It is not only the D800 though, my little Lumix LX-5 does not recognize it either.

Two cameras do not recognize it has been installed.
3 memory card readers do recognize it on both Mac and PC. 

It would appear as though the Extreme Pro series of cards does have a lifetime warranty and I have submitted an RMA for it.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Akira on July 13, 2016, 01:39:37
I see.  Well there are some inscrutable glitches in the digital world...

If your data remain intact and you can have the card replaced under warranty, that's good.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Matthew Currie on July 13, 2016, 06:49:13
I have had one card do the same on the D3200.  Other cards work fine all the time, but this one claims periodically not to be formatted.  A couple of reinsertions always made it work again at least for a while, but I abandoned it as too dangerous to use in the camera.  It works fine with a computer card reader.  I'd suspect the camera of getting glitchy if it did it with any other cards but it never does.  A low grade mystery.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Frank Fremerey on July 13, 2016, 07:01:35
I currently have a Sandisk Ultra 48MB/s speed grade that seems to be write protected.

I can only read it in my smart phone, I cannot write it, format it, repartition it in ANY APPARATUS (neither camera, computer or smart phone, neither Windows, Linux or Android).

If the camera cannot read or write it ... What is the partition table, what is the files system?
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Bjørn Rørslett on July 13, 2016, 07:20:33
File system is a special version of exFAT (Linux speak) or FAT32 (Windows lingo).

Do a low-level formatting via a card reader as a last resort. If you can force the card to oblige.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Akira on July 13, 2016, 08:12:28
I currently have a Sandisk Ultra 48MB/s speed grade that seems to be write protected.

I can only read it in my smart phone, I cannot write it, format it, repartition it in ANY APPARATUS (neither camera, computer or smart phone, neither Windows, Linux or Android).

Frank, did you check the setting of the write protection switch on the SD card (although I suppose you already know about it)?
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Bjørn Rørslett on July 13, 2016, 08:16:04
Find the little sliding tab, push it to the non-locked position, and add a drop of superglue.

Sometimes the tab becomes loose so as to switch position on its own volition when the card is inserted into the camera.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Frank Fremerey on July 13, 2016, 09:00:19
Sorry. This is a Micro SD card. There is no slider.

And: No low level format possible. No formatting possible, not partitioning possible. Completely utterly f*u*c*k*e*d

http://www.kohl.de/webshop/8919/sandisk-ultra-microsdxc-64gb-fuer-helmkamera/actioncam?gclid=CN7k1vnu780CFeYK0wodMsQPRQ

Interesting is, that it is READABLE in my smartphone and no where else. WRITABLE or DELETABLE it is not.

I tried to figure out where I bought it. As far as my boooks go, I must have bought it from amazon. But the only card of that type I got from amazon was sent back and refunded.

It is the one mystery card that came from hell to fry my brains....
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: charlie on July 13, 2016, 09:05:49
Low grade mystery solved.
 
The tiny ridge that the arrow is pointing to on right side card presses down on a tiny sensor that lets the camera know the card has been inserted. It has broken off of the card on the left so the camera is unaware of its whereabouts. More proof of the fragility of these little cards I suppose.

With some fine tipped tweezers I was able to press down the little sensing tab inside the memory card slot of the D800 as well as the LX5 and both reacted as though a card had been inserted. Card readers do not have this "feature".
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: PedroS on July 13, 2016, 11:06:39
Thanks, good to know
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Bjørn Rørslett on July 13, 2016, 11:17:18
Frank: even if the micro SD card has no tab, probably the adapter for it has one.

Charlie: another case for SuperGlue judiciously applied.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Frank Fremerey on July 13, 2016, 12:43:11
The adapter has one.

But it does not make a difference.

when lock is on  the computer says: "write protection"

When lock is off the linux computer says "formatting" "formatting done"

And a second later "unformatted"

In Windows the Expolrer says the card has a capacity of 0.99 MB

In "Datenträgerverwaltung" it says the card is 59.56GB but does
not allow formatting.

In Android it looks as if I can execute all operations. Then, after
a few seconds or Reboot, all Data is there as if nothig had happened.

If I attach the phone to the computer I can extract all Data via
"Move" .. the card seems to be empty and is officially
announced to be empty.

suddenly all data pop up again

There are two other such cases on the web but no solution.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Bjørn Rørslett on July 13, 2016, 12:54:25
Aha, the infamous 32GB/FAT32 barrier. Quite bizarre actually as Windows can support FAT32 file systems up to 2 TB or something.  Windows performs the formatting as specified, then at the end of the writing refuses to complete the operation and says the card is not formatted at all ...

There are facilities (of Linux-origin if memory serves) for formatting devices with capacity > 32 GB. I used them frequently some years ago when cameras could have trouble dealing with 32 and 64 GB cards. In recent years the issue with such capacities apparently vanished into thin air.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Frank Fremerey on July 13, 2016, 14:25:49
In linux I can format the card to reiser fs or ext4 or whatever hafs+

You name it. I "can do it"

It says done and after next check shows the frozen previous state

cameras say the card cannot be formatted or the card is broken and has to be replaced.

My solution was to never buy Sandisk anymore and get another of these great 64GB
Samsung Pro+ with 95MB/s Speed grade that is actually delivered to promise.

This is the third Sandisk breaking on me in a year. I am done.

Before that the only card breaking was a Transcend 16GB CF.

I did never touch a Teanscend again. Lost pictures. Nono.

From 2005 till 2015 all my cards were Sandisk an all worked very reliably.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Bjørn Rørslett on July 13, 2016, 14:34:05
The digital cameras need FAT32 for the cards. They don't understand anything else.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Frank Fremerey on July 13, 2016, 15:26:11
I do not think so. ExFAT should be the choice for cards
above 32GB. And it sure should be for any sdxc.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Bjørn Rørslett on July 13, 2016, 15:43:11
It's just a matter of naming convention. exFat is the same as FAT32 as far as I know.

You can format say a 512 GB disk in Windows (with the third-party facilities) as FAT32 and have Linux recognise it as exFAT. At least that is what I remember from the last time I did this, a few years back in time.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Frank Fremerey on July 13, 2016, 16:04:24
If it works all is good. I tend to format all cards in the devices I use them in.

Crazy thing about the MicroSD is that she worked for a long time in all machines.

Then suddenly she entered the frozen state I cannot identify.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: Frank Fremerey on July 13, 2016, 16:17:39
One mystery solved. I bought the card at 14 May 2013 at
hardwareversand.de and paid 49.60 Euros for it. Gosh.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: charlie on July 13, 2016, 17:18:47
From what I understand FAT32 has an individual file size limit of 4GB, exFAT does not have this restriction which is why exFAT would be the better choice if you are using your memory card/thumb drive/hard drive to transport large files from a Mac to a PC, for example.
Title: Re: SD card not recognized
Post by: charlie on August 09, 2016, 01:47:04
Just to update, Sandisk replaced my card under the lifetime warranty even though it was physically damaged and even though they claim not to warranty physically damaged cards.

Thank you Sandisk/WD.