Having some problems with SanDisk Ultra II 4 GB Card

[Daedalus]

Hello all,

I'm having some problems with this card. After copying some data to it, from the PC through the Iliad, I ended up with some errors and lost some of the data transfered.

I am just reformatting the disk now but I wondered what the file system should be set to? Is it Fat32?

Can you think of anything else I might be doing wrong?

Grateful for any help.

D.

[Daedalus]

Well, I've got to say that I am getting very frustrated with this.

I tried to reformat the card and it failed. Now I can't read the card with the Iliad at all. I have no reader on my laptop so I am unable to try it in the PC.

Can anyone give some advice on this? Take pity on a newbie and help me out!

I would appreciate any advice, even if it is to get another type of memory card.

D.

[Daedalus]

Hello again,

Well, I have pretty much given up on the SanDisk CF Ultra II 4GB card.

I bought it assuming that I would be able to use it as a permanent storage base for my files, ebooks and documents.

I really want to get the most out of my Iliad after spending so much money on it (I am a postgraduate student and this is a huge present to myself!)

Is MMC memory perhaps more reliable? Can anybody recommend to me any specific card types that will work with the Iliad?

I am new to this technology and I assumed I would be able to just plug some memory in and get things working!

Cheers for any help in advance,

D.

[Shaggy]

I would get a card reader and access it that way until iRex finds/fixes the problem. I don't think card readers are very expensive. I got one for my wife recently that connects to her PC via USB and has slots for CF, SD, and about 4 or 5 others.

To answer your other question, yes it should be formatted as FAT32.

[Crisby]

I use a Sandisk Ultra II 4GB CF card in my iLiad and it works fine. I don't have a card reader - the CF stays in my iLiad all the time.

I had a problem with my CF card being unreliable at first, but then I realised I hadn't pushed it down firmly into its slot on the iLiad. Once this was done, I've had no problems with it.

I don't use my CF card for wireless PC to iLiad transfers as I found it was very slow (this is a known problem with CF cards and iLiads). Via USB connection to my PC, it works perfectly.

I didn't need to format the card - it worked straight after being in a camera - I just deleted the photos.

I hope you're able to solve the problem - CF cards are a very convenient, easy way to store a lot of books.

[Daedalus]

Originally Posted by Crisby

I use a Sandisk Ultra II 4GB CF card in my iLiad and it works fine. I don't have a card reader - the CF stays in my iLiad all the time.

I don't use my CF card for wireless PC to iLiad transfers as I found it was very slow (this is a known problem with CF cards and iLiads). Via USB connection to my PC, it works perfectly.

I didn't need to format the card - it worked straight after being in a camera - I just deleted the photos.

I hope you're able to solve the problem - CF cards are a very convenient, easy way to store a lot of books.

Crisby, thanks for this response.
I'm afraid I have now returned this Sandisk CF card because it is just totally dead now. I can't get the Iliad to do anything with it. Perhaps I just got a dud?

It's strange that you report no problems with USB transfer as it seems that the general consensus on here is that CF cards have problems coping with this. How exactly do you transfer data - do you paste and copy? Do you replace files or just add new ones? Do you transfer a lot of data at a time?

I really want to use a CF card as I download so many documents and ebooks that I could really do with the space. Right now I have found an SD card that seems to do the job so this will do temporarily. I might have to try another CF card at some point but I feel a bit put off after my problems this time around.

Perhaps trying a smaller CF card, e.g. 2GB, might be worth a try for a start?

C.

[Daedalus]

I should also mention that I have the Iliad Book Edition with the latest patch/update.

Seems doubtful but I wonder if that might make a difference?

C.

[Crisby]

I drag and drop files between my iLiad's CF card and my Windows XP PC, via the USB cable. I can connect my iLiad to my PC and download to my CF card by wireless, but file transfers are incredibly, painfully slow.

The PC recognises it as a CF card when I connect via USB, as I see the contents of the card on my iLiad's name with _CF after it in Explorer.

I suggest turning off the iLiad companion software when connecting to a PC and working on the iLiad's CF card, unless you want a whole backup from the CF card to your computer.

Wireless and BE iLiads have the same hardware/software/firmware, except for the wireless capability, cover colour and the 50 pre-loaded classic books.

My last transfer from PC to CF in my iLiad via USB cable was for about 50 books, totalling just over 50MB.

[lordmax]

HI

Originally Posted by Daedalus

Well, I've got to say that I am getting very frustrated with this.

I tried to reformat the card and it failed. Now I can't read the card with the Iliad at all. I have no reader on my laptop so I am unable to try it in the PC.

D.

Strange thinks happen.

I'm using a 4 Gb Card and it work fine.
I'd formatted it in two 2Gb partition.
Maybe you can try this

[sputnik]

I too have a 4Gb CF Ultra II card that works perfectly fine. At first I thought it won't work, but after pushing it more into its slot it did work. I plug it into my printer which has a built in card reader and then just copy/paste files on it. Never had problems with it in my Iliad v2.

[GavinK151]

Originally Posted by Daedalus

Well, I've got to say that I am getting very frustrated with this.

I tried to reformat the card and it failed. Now I can't read the card with the Iliad at all. I have no reader on my laptop so I am unable to try it in the PC.

Can anyone give some advice on this? Take pity on a newbie and help me out!

I would appreciate any advice, even if it is to get another type of memory card.

D.

Hi sorry not sure what you can do about your current card other than try and format it on someone elses laptop and try it again.

There is a great sticky thread at the top of this forum about cards that work - personally I have a AData 32 GB speedy CF card and its awesome.

Keep in mind though that if you get a big card liike this the Illiad will report it as having the wrong amount of free space even though the whole thing still works fine and all the space is useable...

[Dabon]

Hi GavinK151,


"Keep in mind though that if you get a big card liike this the Illiad will report it as having the wrong amount of free space even though the whole thing still works fine and all the space is useable..."


IMHO and from my experience, it is not that the iliad is showing the wrong amount of free space, but rather, I think that iliad specifications allows to show only 4000 MB of free space at a time. After you use all that 4000 MB of free space the iliad will redisplay another 4000 MB of free space, and so on till you use all your 32 GB card

Thanks,

Dabon.

[timezone]

Since you returned the card you won't be able to test an idea of mine but still maybe something you will need to deal with when you get the replacement. I really have no clue what I am about to suggest. I am just pointing out an idea. Someone else with more experience might know the real answer. I have worked with many cards without any issues and no matter the device I have never formated any of them.

The new sandisk cards have U3 technology in them. I have never owned one which is why I don't know how this reacts to different devices. If you don't know what U3 is, it allows the card to run programs specifically written for U3. The theory is you can carry programs on the USB set in the same manner as the desktop. This means you can connect anywhere with the USB drive and even though you are connecting to another PC the setup will look as if you are on your PC. Even with U3 technology it handles data files the same way as non U3 drives suggesting this is really not what contributed to your problem. Never the less if you get a new USB with the same issue check to see if it has U3 technology in it. There is an uninstall option for it. One would expect a format would also remove U3 technology but maybe it is in a protected area that is partitioned from where you would format the USB device. Even though U3 should not affect data files it might have issues with the iLiad.