Calibre can't communicate with SD card

[Solitaire1]

Just wanted to say thanks for posting this, it solved my problem. I was having the same problem with Calibre when loading files on an SD memory card (SD card) in my PRS-505. At a certain point, I'd get directory errors when loading ebooks on my SD card, the same ebooks that would load on my ereader's internal memory.

I formatted the SD card as a FAT32 but then Calibre was not able to see it. After reformatting the SD card as FAT, I set Calibre to send all of its files and folders for the SD card to a directory named "books." This resolved the directory creation issue and allowed me to use Calibre to load ebooks on the SD card with no further problems.

Again, thanks for posting.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I was unable to load books directly onto a FAT-32 card so I just Saved to Disk to an empty folder on my desktop then dragged the needed files to the card.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

Just wanted to say thanks for posting this, it solved my problem.

You're welcome.

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

I formatted the SD card as a FAT32 but then Calibre was not able to see it.

Calibre doesn't distinguish between Fat, Fat16, Fat32, NTFS etc... I guess you're saying your operating system couldn't see the card.

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

After reformatting the SD card as FAT, I set Calibre to send all of its files and folders for the SD card to a directory named "books." This resolved the directory creation issue and allowed me to use Calibre to load ebooks on the SD card with no further problems.

Nice workable solution, I'm glad you have it working.

[Solitaire1]

dwanthny wrote the following as part of a post:

Originally Posted by dwanthny

Calibre doesn't distinguish between Fat, Fat16, Fat32, NTFS etc... I guess you're saying your operating system couldn't see the card.

I was able to format the SD memory card (SD card) into FAT32 through Windows Explorer but I didn't check the SD card except when I inserted it into my ereader. When I tried to view the FAT32 SD card through my ereader in Calibre it didn't show up. It's possible that my ereader isn't able to read a FAT32-formatted SD card.

This is the first time this has been an issue for me. Usually, when working with data storage I rarely work directly with the root directory of any drive. I prefer to keep few items in any root directory, and put my own items into subfolder, so I hadn't previously run into the limitations of FAT.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

I was able to format the SD memory card (SD card) into FAT32 through Windows Explorer but I didn't check the SD card except when I inserted it into my ereader. When I tried to view the FAT32 SD card through my ereader in Calibre it didn't show up. It's possible that my ereader isn't able to read a FAT32-formatted SD card.

SD cards come in all flavors. Mine was just a simple 2gig card that I formatted via windows explorer while still in my device.

From Sony's firmware download page.
WARNING!! The Sony Reader must be fully charged before installing this update. Failure to fully charge the Reader before installing the firmware update may cause the Reader to be unresponsive or to require repair. This utility updates the Sony Reader (PRS-505) system software to version 1.1.00.18040 and provides the following benefits:

• Support for EPUB file format
• Support for Adobe® Digital Editions 1.5 or later and Adobe DRM-protected content
  Note: Requires installation of, and authorization with, Adobe Digital Editions 1.5 or later.
• Enables text within PDF eBooks to be "reflowed". This will enlarge the text and improve the readability of text-based PDFs
• Support for SDHC memory cards that have a capacity of more than 4 GB
• Delete eBooks directly on device
• General fixes to improve stability and performance

In theory the firmware should have allowed the PRS-505 to handle the SD card as Fat32, but sometimes reality slaps theory down hard.

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

This is the first time this has been an issue for me. Usually, when working with data storage I rarely work directly with the root directory of any drive. I prefer to keep few items in any root directory, and put my own items into subfolder, so I hadn't previously run into the limitations of FAT.

Your standard practice will keep you out of trouble every time.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

dwanthny wrote the following as part of a post:



I was able to format the SD memory card (SD card) into FAT32 through Windows Explorer but I didn't check the SD card except when I inserted it into my ereader. When I tried to view the FAT32 SD card through my ereader in Calibre it didn't show up. It's possible that my ereader isn't able to read a FAT32-formatted SD card.

This is the first time this has been an issue for me. Usually, when working with data storage I rarely work directly with the root directory of any drive. I prefer to keep few items in any root directory, and put my own items into subfolder, so I hadn't previously run into the limitations of FAT.

Have you ever (over time) placed, then deleted files/folders in the root directory?
IIRC the entries still are there, just marked inactive.

De-frag recovers this "lost space"
Norton Utilities (back before Symantec added the yellow color and odor to the product), had a "Diskedit that allowed bit level edits in the bowels of the fine system . That is when you could see what was really there.

[speakingtohe]

I recently bought 4 4 gig SD cards (4-pack) at Wal-mart for a friend for 16.99 CDN
They work fine on her PRS 600.
She is worried that her antique laptop is dying and wanted backups of her ebooks.
I put approximately 1100 books on each using XP and had no problem with the send to device from Calibre or Calibre reading from the device. (lots of room to spare on each card)
The downside is that it takes a while for the PRS 600 to start up with that many books, but she is happy.

I did not format the cards or notice what format they used but page turns did not seem slower.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by theducks

Have you ever (over time) placed, then deleted files/folders in the root directory?
IIRC the entries still are there, just marked inactive.

De-frag recovers this "lost space"
Norton Utilities (back before Symantec added the yellow color and odor to the product), had a "Diskedit that allowed bit level edits in the bowels of the fine system . That is when you could see what was really there.

I occasionally defrag my hard drives. This is to ensure that my system doesn't get bogged down by having to hunt down the scattered parts of my files and to ensure the integrity of those files.

If I remember correctly (from the MS-DOS days), when you delete a file it doesn't actually delete the file. Instead, the system alters the filename (I think it changed the first character to a "$") to hide it and to indicate that the space the file occupies is available for reuse. Overtime, the space will be overwritten with new data.

When an undelete option was added to MS-DOS (it had been previously available via other utilities) it became possible for the operating system to undelete a file by recalling the file and restoring its proper name as long as you didn't wait too long to do it. If you wait too long the file will be unable to be restored.