SD Card Issues

benn600 · 05-17-2007, 02:54 AM

It never fails when I get a new product...there is ALWAYS some little or even a bit larger issue that just bugs me like crazy. For a while, I didn't think there would be something with the Sony Reader...but then I started wanting to take advantage of its features.

I am a pretty avid music listener / photo taker. So, I obviously want to keep those items on my device. This led me to needing an SD card...no biggie, I have a 2 GB one I can use! That should be enough for my favorite music and photos.

Then I realized the easiest way to sync my content would be with my media management software, J River Media Center. Knowing it's abilities are great, it will automatically convert my FLAC audio to MP3 files. It can also downsize my photos a bit so they don't take so long to display.

But then I realized I need books! The Sony Connect software is nice but has a lot of issues that really make it a pain...such as not telling me where books are actually stored easily. My preferred method would be to keep a folder of books where I want and then have them automatically copied over. Well, it's no surprise that Media Center can do this for me. So I now have my special Books folder, top music, and specially selected photos syncing whenever I plug in my SD card (not via the reader).

I scanned all the cover art in by hand for my music and therefore, get amazingly clear and sharp cover art for every song I have. It is incredible how good it looks considering the displays limitations. The photos are also good, too, and I really like the zoom and pan feature!

Of course, I have to get to the bad part! When books are loaded to the SD card, they are much slower! Opening them takes a good 10-25 seconds! Plus, changing font sizes or making other changes can take a great deal of time as well. I'm not going for the SD card because it has more space for books. I want it because it's convenient. I can have it automatically sync everything. Since I will be getting a lot of free books, it works well...all I do is download new books to my special folder and MC will automatically copy them to my SD card when I sync.

Problem: I do not know of a way to auto sync the internal memory. Plus, this means that I will have to sync two separate items--the SD card and the Reader. This is not good! I liked it how one sync did it all because then if I was too lazy to sync for a song, syncing for a song AND a new book might be worth it.

Too bad it wouldn't automatically sync the SD card books to its internal memory just as a buffer...only to be updated each time the SD card is reinserted. I have no idea how to solve this dilemma and am not extremely happy about it, lol. I think for now I may just suffer with the long delay but it is really quite long! 25 seconds is a long time to wait when that could be part of a page of reading and a "oh, it's not worth the boot up wait ... I'll just sit quietly and wait."

HarryT · 05-17-2007, 03:07 AM

The delay should only be a one-time thing for a given book. When you load a book onto the Reader with "Connect", the PC indexes the book (ie tells the Reader where each page starts at small, medium, and large font sizes). If you transfer a book directly via the memory card, the Reader itself does the indexing the first time you open the book (or select a new font size) and, because it has a much slower CPU, it takes a while. Once it's done, though, there should be no more delays for that book, unless you remove and replace the SD card (which wipes the indexes).

I think most of us here have given up on the idea of having vast numbers of books on the Reader - it just doesn't work terribly way. Personally I've found it better to use my PC (or, to be more specific, an external USB hard disk) as my eBook "Library", and have no more than a dozen or so books - the ones that I'm reading now, and will read in the near future - on the Reader itself.

benn600 · 05-17-2007, 03:10 AM

Thanks for the response. It seems to run through the entire book each time I resize the text but once it's been resized, then it keeps that info cached. I like keeping lots of music on the device. I think it's interface is plenty usable for a small collection of around 100 or so songs plus some photos. In the worst case, it has to be ready to show off those features if someone wonders...but I can actually see myself using the audio portion to play audio books while I read.

Azayzel · 05-17-2007, 08:24 AM

Harry, I don't notice my Reader re-indexing a book when the SD card is removed unless it is actively on. I've been reading a book or two, turned off the device, removed SD-card, added more books to it, popped it back in, turned on device and the book I was reading is still loaded with no delay. I did notice when I first got it, that if I popped the card out while it was on, it would lose my bookmarks and reload the books.

RWood · 05-17-2007, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azayzel

Harry, I don't notice my Reader re-indexing a book when the SD card is removed unless it is actively on. I've been reading a book or two, turned off the device, removed SD-card, added more books to it, popped it back in, turned on device and the book I was reading is still loaded with no delay. I did notice when I first got it, that if I popped the card out while it was on, it would lose my bookmarks and reload the books.

I remember that one of the MobileRead editors who attended the Sony prerelease day mentioned that you are supposed to insert and remove the SD card/Memord Stick while the Reader is on.

benn600 · 05-17-2007, 10:19 AM

lol. Ha...so then you have all these problems to deal with. I like it when companies tell customers something they're supposed to do but with no reasoning or anything and it's likely that people will even worry about that. Most computer users have a hard enough time getting anything working.

HarryT · 05-17-2007, 01:01 PM

If you take the memory card out and put it back in again when the Reader is turned off, it often "hangs" when you turn it on again, and you have to do a soft reset to recover. As Wood says, always remove and replace the card with the Reader on - this goes against "common sense", but it's true!

benn600 · 05-17-2007, 01:48 PM

You're right. In fact, I keep experiencing hangs so I have to reset it. It may just be my behavior. In fact, I am finding it doesn't like VBR MP3 files very much. It could be something else but it seems like whenever I add them, it either hangs or doesn't even show them.

dhbailey · 05-18-2007, 07:36 AM

The mp3 file player on the reader is definitely not one of the more sophisticated aspect of the thing, so I'm not surprised that VBR files confuse it.

Azayzel · 05-18-2007, 10:23 AM

Hmm, thanks for the tips guys, but I've done it that way since I lost bookmarks when I changed it while it was on. Haven't had a single hang and would have to search this forum if I wanted to soft-reset the device. Guess I've been lucky (not to mention, I haven't upgraded the firmware either). I'll keep this in mind if it should happen to hang.

05-17-2007, 02:54 AM	#1
benn600 Enthusiast Posts: 41 Karma: 50 Join Date: May 2007	SD Card Issues It never fails when I get a new product...there is ALWAYS some little or even a bit larger issue that just bugs me like crazy. For a while, I didn't think there would be something with the Sony Reader...but then I started wanting to take advantage of its features. I am a pretty avid music listener / photo taker. So, I obviously want to keep those items on my device. This led me to needing an SD card...no biggie, I have a 2 GB one I can use! That should be enough for my favorite music and photos. Then I realized the easiest way to sync my content would be with my media management software, J River Media Center. Knowing it's abilities are great, it will automatically convert my FLAC audio to MP3 files. It can also downsize my photos a bit so they don't take so long to display. But then I realized I need books! The Sony Connect software is nice but has a lot of issues that really make it a pain...such as not telling me where books are actually stored easily. My preferred method would be to keep a folder of books where I want and then have them automatically copied over. Well, it's no surprise that Media Center can do this for me. So I now have my special Books folder, top music, and specially selected photos syncing whenever I plug in my SD card (not via the reader). I scanned all the cover art in by hand for my music and therefore, get amazingly clear and sharp cover art for every song I have. It is incredible how good it looks considering the displays limitations. The photos are also good, too, and I really like the zoom and pan feature! Of course, I have to get to the bad part! When books are loaded to the SD card, they are much slower! Opening them takes a good 10-25 seconds! Plus, changing font sizes or making other changes can take a great deal of time as well. I'm not going for the SD card because it has more space for books. I want it because it's convenient. I can have it automatically sync everything. Since I will be getting a lot of free books, it works well...all I do is download new books to my special folder and MC will automatically copy them to my SD card when I sync. Problem: I do not know of a way to auto sync the internal memory. Plus, this means that I will have to sync two separate items--the SD card and the Reader. This is not good! I liked it how one sync did it all because then if I was too lazy to sync for a song, syncing for a song AND a new book might be worth it. Too bad it wouldn't automatically sync the SD card books to its internal memory just as a buffer...only to be updated each time the SD card is reinserted. I have no idea how to solve this dilemma and am not extremely happy about it, lol. I think for now I may just suffer with the long delay but it is really quite long! 25 seconds is a long time to wait when that could be part of a page of reading and a "oh, it's not worth the boot up wait ... I'll just sit quietly and wait."

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05-17-2007, 03:07 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The delay should only be a one-time thing for a given book. When you load a book onto the Reader with "Connect", the PC indexes the book (ie tells the Reader where each page starts at small, medium, and large font sizes). If you transfer a book directly via the memory card, the Reader itself does the indexing the first time you open the book (or select a new font size) and, because it has a much slower CPU, it takes a while. Once it's done, though, there should be no more delays for that book, unless you remove and replace the SD card (which wipes the indexes). I think most of us here have given up on the idea of having vast numbers of books on the Reader - it just doesn't work terribly way. Personally I've found it better to use my PC (or, to be more specific, an external USB hard disk) as my eBook "Library", and have no more than a dozen or so books - the ones that I'm reading now, and will read in the near future - on the Reader itself.

05-17-2007, 03:10 AM	#3
benn600 Enthusiast Posts: 41 Karma: 50 Join Date: May 2007	Thanks for the response. It seems to run through the entire book each time I resize the text but once it's been resized, then it keeps that info cached. I like keeping lots of music on the device. I think it's interface is plenty usable for a small collection of around 100 or so songs plus some photos. In the worst case, it has to be ready to show off those features if someone wonders...but I can actually see myself using the audio portion to play audio books while I read.

05-17-2007, 08:24 AM	#4
Azayzel Cache Ninja! Posts: 643 Karma: 1002300 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tokyo, Japan Device: PRS-500, HTC Shift, iPod Touch, iPaq 4150, TC1100, Panasonic WordsGear	Harry, I don't notice my Reader re-indexing a book when the SD card is removed unless it is actively on. I've been reading a book or two, turned off the device, removed SD-card, added more books to it, popped it back in, turned on device and the book I was reading is still loaded with no delay. I did notice when I first got it, that if I popped the card out while it was on, it would lose my bookmarks and reload the books.

05-17-2007, 10:19 AM	#6
benn600 Enthusiast Posts: 41 Karma: 50 Join Date: May 2007	lol. Ha...so then you have all these problems to deal with. I like it when companies tell customers something they're supposed to do but with no reasoning or anything and it's likely that people will even worry about that. Most computer users have a hard enough time getting anything working.

05-17-2007, 01:01 PM	#7
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	If you take the memory card out and put it back in again when the Reader is turned off, it often "hangs" when you turn it on again, and you have to do a soft reset to recover. As Wood says, always remove and replace the card with the Reader on - this goes against "common sense", but it's true!

05-17-2007, 01:48 PM	#8
benn600 Enthusiast Posts: 41 Karma: 50 Join Date: May 2007	You're right. In fact, I keep experiencing hangs so I have to reset it. It may just be my behavior. In fact, I am finding it doesn't like VBR MP3 files very much. It could be something else but it seems like whenever I add them, it either hangs or doesn't even show them.

05-18-2007, 07:36 AM	#9
dhbailey Guru Posts: 604 Karma: 733 Join Date: Mar 2007 Device: HP iPAQ211 / PRS 500, 700 and 505	The mp3 file player on the reader is definitely not one of the more sophisticated aspect of the thing, so I'm not surprised that VBR files confuse it.

05-18-2007, 10:23 AM	#10
Azayzel Cache Ninja! Posts: 643 Karma: 1002300 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tokyo, Japan Device: PRS-500, HTC Shift, iPod Touch, iPaq 4150, TC1100, Panasonic WordsGear	Hmm, thanks for the tips guys, but I've done it that way since I lost bookmarks when I changed it while it was on. Haven't had a single hang and would have to search this forum if I wanted to soft-reset the device. Guess I've been lucky (not to mention, I haven't upgraded the firmware either). I'll keep this in mind if it should happen to hang.

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