SD card causes crashes

Published on January 24, 2009 By Cadalancea In Personal Computing

I got an 8 gig sd card for Christmas, and when I plugged it into the computer, it didn't recognize it, and when i clicked on the sd card drive, it caused Windows Explorer to crash, and only once i removed it did everything reappear. I thought the sd card was screwy, so i returned it. However, I now have a Lexar 4 gig sd card that causes the same problems. And not just on one computer, it causes the same problem on two different computers.

Oh, and i've also tried plugging it into a card reader that plugs into the usb port. Still same problem.

-There is no installer software or dirvers with either card

Anyone know anything that can help me? I love sd cards and i'd hate to move back to usb drives. I will give karma and cybercookies.

Comments (Page 1)

HG_Eliminator

on Jan 24, 2009

What OS?

Has the card been formated?

What type of Gadget is the card being used in? * camera,Phone, etc*

Are the drivers for the card readers installed?

Will the Card readers read other cards? or is It just your cards?

can or have the cards ever been read by another card reader or do they still work in the Gadgets they were bought for?

If the cards worked in like a camera. But then after inserting in to the PC card reader, no longer work when inserted back in to the camera, I would sumise it is either the card reader is bad and/or if on XP or older OS your not safely removing the card from the OS before removing the card from the reader. Not safely removing the hardware from the OS will damage the card in most cases, when you pull it out of the card reader, typically permanently ruining the card.

I had a Card reader that died once and it killed every card inserted in it. Once the card was inserted in to it, nothing would ever read the card again.. I suspect this could be the issue.

unfortunately you will need to use a card that has been verified that works on other machines to verify this. **i suggest using the cheapest card you have** If you insert it it to the Card reader in question and now it no longer works with any card reader, you know the card reader in question is bad.

If at the worst take it back to the store and see if they can check the card. some stores will test items.

Lantec

on Jan 24, 2009

I believe SD cards over 2gb are SDHC and SDHC is not compatible with all older equipment/readers.

Ativa has a great little USB 10 in 1 card reader I use to read compact flash into my laptop..........costs around $25

Sarissi

on Jan 25, 2009

There is SD, MiniSD, MicroSD, and MicroSDHC. I do know the MicroSD is available in 8GB (single card) from Sandisk (sansa.com). My Sandisk Sansa e260 uses Micro SD. My Sansa e140 uses SD. My Vivitar 5MP camera uses SD.

CarGuy1

on Jan 25, 2009

Lantec is correct. I had to purchase a new reader for my SDHC cards since they would not work in my older one.

Best Buy has one on sale for $12.95, if you live in the US.

HG_Eliminator

on Jan 25, 2009

I believe SD cards over 2gb are SDHC and SDHC is not compatible with all older equipment/readers.

Ativa has a great little USB 10 in 1 card reader I use to read compact flash into my laptop..........costs around $25

My 4 gig micro SD works ok on my older Card reader, I hadent heard some are having issue with them. Hopefully that will be the case here.

Cadalancea

on Jan 25, 2009

OS: Windows XP (My computers about four years old, just got a new hardrive)

Can't format the card because It won't rcognize it. Plus, i've never had to format a card before, and I've been using a 1 gig sd card for a while.

Card is only being used for storage, and also in a Pocket PC (Which it doesn't work in either)

I think the drivers are installed, because i have a 1 gig sd card that works fine. Been using it for over a year

As said b4, yep, it does read one other card. All others don't work

And i'm only using an SD card. Nothing special.

Does this help any?

MottiKhan

on Jan 25, 2009

Microsoft has a hotfix for XP and SDHC.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923293

You'll need to agree to the terms and request the hotfix. I was under the impression that SP3 fixed the issue though.

SD cards with storage capacity at or above 4GB are SDHC. SDHC is not backwards compatible with SD. There were also compatibility issues with some 2GB SD cards as well.

I doubt that your PocketPC will be compatible with the larger SD cards.

Cadalancea

on Jan 25, 2009

Oh really? I didn't know they were SDHC.

I'm gonna try that hotfix, see if it works.

Frogboy

on Jan 25, 2009

Many SD card readers can't handle the high speed cards and cause Windows to lock up until you pull them out. You need a new reader.

ALMonty

on Jan 25, 2009

I can confirm this: I bought a 4gig SDHC Extreme lll card for my camera. When I stick it in my XP HP desktop computer it locks it up when I pull it out everything is fine (as Frogboy says). If I put it in my Vista machine it works fine.

I just tried the HotFix posted above by MottiKahn and it told me that I had a newer version installed. I'm Running Service Pack 3 if that means anything.

ALMonty

on Jan 25, 2009

A high capacity SDHC card locks up or the SDHC card cannot be read

Many card readers were created before SDHC technology became available and are not capable of working with the new format. For example, a memory card reader that was made in 2002 is capable of reading a 1 GB Secure Digital (SD) card, but cannot read a 16 GB SDHC card.

The computer may also lock up when an SDHC card is inserted. To immediately fix the lock up, double-click the Safely Remove Hardware tray icon, select the USB card reader, and then click Stop. The card reader will not work until the computer is restarted. You can now safely remove the memory card and use the computer for other activities.

To use your higher capacity memory card without locking up the computer, do one of the following:

If you are using the card in a camera or other device, you can attach the device to the computer using a USB or FireWire cable. When connected, most devices appear in Windows as a Removable Disk and can be used in the same way as the card reader.
Purchase a USB memory card reading device that plugs into any open USB port. Make sure the USB device is capable of reading SDHC. These devices are fairly inexpensive and can be used in any computer that has a USB port.

Figure 2: SDCH to USB card reader adapter

HG_Eliminator

on Jan 26, 2009

cool.. I got to learn something new..

Cadalancea

on Jan 28, 2009

Ah well, i'm a tard. Turns out THEY ARE SDHC CARDS. Wow, i'm so smart i never even saw it on the PACKAGING IN BIG LETTERS. And my computer is too old to handle them.

Well, i've got my solution. I'll buy f 2gigs, instead of one 8 gig. I know i could just update my computer or get a converter, but one of the main reasons for the sd cards is for use on my ppc. I don't think i can update that.

Thanks to everyone who helped! And too all of you, i give and Thanks guys!

harpo99999

on Jan 28, 2009

try an external usb sdhc rader, should work in your ppc as well as you windows boxes

harpo

Solam

on Jan 30, 2009

I was wondering why my card reader did not work with my 4 gig card. Now I know. That reader is going in to the garbage,.

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