Sd Cards - Deifintive Advice Please :-p

[piphil]

Thanks to those of you who replied to my last post - I would have replied but for some reason I didn't get any reply notifications. I'm assuming my spam filter has blocked them, whilst letting through various emails about herbal *I AM STUPID SPAMMER* and hot lesbian pictures...

Anyway, to the point: I got my GP2X today, and guess what? None of my SD cards work. I have tried:

> Viking Interworks 512MB
> SanDisk 64MB
> Panasonic 16MB

All of these I formatted via my Belkin card reader to FAT32, apart from the Panasonic card which is presumably too small - I fomatted this to FAT.

With the cards inserted, the unit freezes. This happens either when you put in the card when it's already on, or when it's in the unit during boot (i.e. it doesn't boot, simply hangs at the green "loading" screen.

The unit came pre-installed with firmware v2.1.0 in case this matters.

I have taken a look at the GP2X wiki card compatability list, and the only one listed is the SanDisk card, which appears to have only been tested using the v2.0.0 firmware (http://wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/SD_card_compatibility). Out of interest, what does the (1)/(2) refer to in the column heading on this table?

I've had a look around the non-online shops, and most are charging extortionate amounts for SD cards (Tesco.com - £110 for a 2GB card - ouch!), but Amazon Marketplace has an offer of £6 for a Kingston 1GB card (I may buy 2!). This isn't tested with the v2.1.0 firmware though.

Has anyone got the Kingston 1GB card, and does it work?

Apart from this slight cock-up, I'm pretty impressed with the thing - I've loaded PicoDrive onto the NAND memory with a few Megadrive ROMS, and I've wizzed through Sonic 3 for a bit. Sonic 3 was the main reason I bought the GP32, but it ran far too slowly on it. The GP2X doesn't drop a frame, which is very impressive. And the save game function works - score!

Anyway, many thanks for any help.

 

[mrben]

Out of interest, what does the (1)/(2) refer to in the column heading on this table?

Here a table indicating compatibility according to different firmewares by indicating (1) If the console accepts the card and (2) if you can update the firmware with the card.

 

[piphil]

Out of interest, what does the (1)/(2) refer to in the column heading on this table?

Here a table indicating compatibility according to different firmewares by indicating (1) If the console accepts the card and (2) if you can update the firmware with the card.

Hell, if I read everything, life would be easy, right...?

 

[Tomator]

I'm using a Kingston 2GB card with no problem. Also a Sandisk 1GB card. So the Kingston should work, I think.

Buy.com had 1GB cards (Kingston and ACP-EP) for free after rebates.

 

[piphil]

I'm using a Kingston 2GB card with no problem. Also a Sandisk 1GB card. So the Kingston should work, I think.

Buy.com had 1GB cards (Kingston and ACP-EP) for free after rebates.

Cheers for that. I'm in the UK though - would the Buy.com thing work for me?

 

[Parkydr]

Re: UK, I bought the cheapest 2GB card that 7 Day Shop had, and it works fine.

 

[peter_m_gates]

I'm using a RiData 4GB and have tried a SanDisk 32MB both of which work fine.

 

[deepmenace]

4gb adata works fine but it is starting to fall apart. a bit of the plastic has snapped off and i can now see the liddle chips.

scary.

 

[id10t]

PNY 1Gb x 2
Toshiba 2Gb
Transend 1Gb
Patriot 1Gb x 2

all interchanging between my Panasonic camcorder, Pentax Optio,
Sandisk Mp3 player and Gp2x

only when I formatted one them to ext2 does it not appear browseable
from the gp2x explorer - need to shell test if its mounted ok.

ID

 

[piphil]

PNY 1Gb x 2
Toshiba 2Gb
Transend 1Gb
Patriot 1Gb x 2

all interchanging between my Panasonic camcorder, Pentax Optio,
Sandisk Mp3 player and Gp2x

only when I formatted one them to ext2 does it not appear browseable
from the gp2x explorer - need to shell test if its mounted ok.

ID

When you say "only when I formatted one them to ext2 does it not appear browseable" do you mean it simply didn't appear, or did you get the same freezing problem I have?

 

[id10t]

it didnt appear as a filesystem I could browse to from the explorer

I intend to telnet it and see if it appears in dmesg or a manual mount

 

[piphil]

it didnt appear as a filesystem I could browse to from the explorer

I intend to telnet it and see if it appears in dmesg or a manual mount

Please assume you're talking to an idiot here...is this Linux jargon...? :unsure:

 

[mrben]

it didnt appear as a filesystem I could browse to from the explorer

I intend to telnet it and see if it appears in dmesg or a manual mount

Please assume you're talking to an idiot here...is this Linux jargon...? :unsure:

It doesn't show in the file explorer on the GP2X. So he intends to use telnet (which is a tool for logging into a computer remotely) and try 2 things:

1. dmesg - this shows all of the boot and device messages from the computer (in this case the GP2X) including which drives have been "mounted" (ie recognised and made available)

2. Manually mounting - if the GP2X has failed to make it available itself automatically on bootup, it may be possible for him to "mount" the drive manually, which would then make it available to the explorer.

HTH

 

[id10t]

Sorry, I didn't intend to be "leet" - I hate that crap.

Yep, so your gp2x can be networked to your pc via the usb connection
by enabling networking in the settings menu.
I set my pc ip address on the extra network card that will appear for
the gp2x interface, to 192.168.0.1, and set the ip address of the gp2x
to 192.168.0.2. I can telnet to 192.168.0.2, logging in as root (no passwd).

df -k = will show you the filesystems
dmesg = can give useful information on most unix's but here i get
lots of warnings about
**>>Block 432 marked for retirement
**>>ecc error unfixed on chunk 2927:0
**>>ecc error unfixed on chunk 2927:1
**>>Block 91 marked for retirement

mount can tell you about filesystems

[root@gp2x /]$mount
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw)
/dev/root on / type yaffs (rw,sync,noatime)
none on /dev type devfs (rw)
none on /tmp type tmpfs (rw)
none on /proc type proc (rw)
/dev/mtdblock/4 on /mnt/yaffs type yaffs (rw,sync,noatime)
/dev/loop/7 on /mnt/nand type vfat (rw,sync,noatime)


root@gp2x /]$ls /mnt/nand
Games License Pictures Utilities mamegp2x skin vektar

is the nand memory

root@gp2x /]$ls /mnt/yaffs/
lost+found nand.img

is the bootable firmware image - don't mess with that

dmesg output as i insert a card
**>>ecc error unfixed on chunk 13865:1
**>>Block 433 marked for retirement
MMC/SD card ejected
del...1
del_mmcsd_device: umount /mnt/sd...-22
del...2
MMC/SD Card Detected
mmcsd/disc0/disc: p1
Register SD: 976MsB
mount...1
MSDOS FS: IO charset utf8
mount...2:

[root@gp2x /]$df -k
Filesystem 1k-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
rootfs 30704 22288 8416 73% /
/dev/root 30704 22288 8416 73% /
none 5120 0 5120 0% /tmp
/dev/mtdblock/4 32752 30832 1920 94% /mnt/yaffs
/dev/loop/7 30460 23995 6466 79% /mnt/nand
/dev/mmcsd/disc0/part1 997936 509660 488276 51% /mnt/sd

root@gp2x /]$ls /mnt/sd
Apps Data Emulators Games Roms

is the contents of the FAT formatted sd card I just inserted

[root@gp2x /]$mount
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw)
/dev/root on / type yaffs (rw,sync,noatime)
none on /dev type devfs (rw)
none on /tmp type tmpfs (rw)
none on /proc type proc (rw)
/dev/mtdblock/4 on /mnt/yaffs type yaffs (rw,sync,noatime)
/dev/loop/7 on /mnt/nand type vfat (rw,sync,noatime)
/dev/mmcsd/disc0/part1 on /mnt/sd type vfat (rw,sync,noatime)

mount now lists it.

ID

 

[id10t]

for completeness....

my ext2 experiment

eject the vfat card and stick in the ext2 formatted one
MMC/SD card ejected
del...1
del_mmcsd_device: umount /mnt/sd...0
del...2
MMC/SD Card Detected
mmcsd/disc0/disc: unknown partition table
Register SD: 954MsB
mount...1
MSDOS FS: IO charset utf8
VFS: Can't find a valid FAT filesystem on dev 3c:01.
FAT: freeing iocharset=utf8
mount...2:

doesn't appear by default

[root@gp2x /]$mount -t ext2 /dev/mmcsd/disc0/disc /mnt/sd

manual mount

[root@gp2x /]$df -k
Filesystem 1k-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
rootfs 30704 22288 8416 73% /
/dev/root 30704 22288 8416 73% /
none 5120 0 5120 0% /tmp
/dev/mtdblock/4 32752 30832 1920 94% /mnt/yaffs
/dev/loop/7 30460 23995 6466 79% /mnt/nand
/dev/mmcsd/disc0/disc 961528 393168 519516 43% /mnt/sd
[root@gp2x /]$ls /mnt/sd
gp2x-gpe gp2x-gpe.tar

 

[cHEM]

With the cards inserted, the unit freezes. This happens either when you put in the card when it's already on, or when it's in the unit during boot (i.e. it doesn't boot, simply hangs at the green "loading" screen.

The unit came pre-installed with firmware v2.1.0 in case this matters.

I have this exact same problem, and it seems at least 2 other people do too. I've queried it in the following posts, but have had very little response:

http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showt...33446&st=15

http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showtopic=33794

Out of curiosity, where did you purchase your GP2X?

I got mine from Play-Asia, and currently have a support call logged there, though it looks like I will have to return the unit. If there are so many of us with this issue, and have all bought it from the same place aroudn the same time, perhaps it is down to a bad batch or something?

 

[piphil]

for completeness....

my ext2 experiment

eject the vfat card and stick in the ext2 formatted one
MMC/SD card ejected
del...1
del_mmcsd_device: umount /mnt/sd...0
del...2
MMC/SD Card Detected
mmcsd/disc0/disc: unknown partition table
Register SD: 954MsB
mount...1
MSDOS FS: IO charset utf8
VFS: Can't find a valid FAT filesystem on dev 3c:01.
FAT: freeing iocharset=utf8
mount...2:

doesn't appear by default

[root@gp2x /]$mount -t ext2 /dev/mmcsd/disc0/disc /mnt/sd

manual mount

[root@gp2x /]$df -k
Filesystem 1k-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
rootfs 30704 22288 8416 73% /
/dev/root 30704 22288 8416 73% /
none 5120 0 5120 0% /tmp
/dev/mtdblock/4 32752 30832 1920 94% /mnt/yaffs
/dev/loop/7 30460 23995 6466 79% /mnt/nand
/dev/mmcsd/disc0/disc 961528 393168 519516 43% /mnt/sd
[root@gp2x /]$ls /mnt/sd
gp2x-gpe gp2x-gpe.tar

Thanks very much for that. I'll have a poke around tomorrow when I'm feeling a little less brain dead.

With the cards inserted, the unit freezes. This happens either when you put in the card when it's already on, or when it's in the unit during boot (i.e. it doesn't boot, simply hangs at the green "loading" screen.

The unit came pre-installed with firmware v2.1.0 in case this matters.

I have this exact same problem, and it seems at least 2 other people do too. I've queried it in the following posts, but have had very little response:

http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showt...33446&st=15

http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showtopic=33794

Out of curiosity, where did you purchase your GP2X?

I got mine from Play-Asia, and currently have a support call logged there, though it looks like I will have to return the unit. If there are so many of us with this issue, and have all bought it from the same place aroudn the same time, perhaps it is down to a bad batch or something?

I got it from GP2X.co.uk - seemed to be the official portal for UK stuff. I'm a tad annoyed as I've actually tried 3 different brands of SD card and all have the same effect. I'm looking for another SD card, but I would want assurances it would actually work - I was trusting PNY, but it seems that some people are having trouble with them as well.

What serial number does your unit have? Is there any way to tell if they're from a similiar batch? Most of the stuff on the back of the unit is in Korean, so I can't tell you much. If it happens to be a widespread problem, add me to your list of people with the same complaint.

 

[cHEM]

I got it from GP2X.co.uk - seemed to be the official portal for UK stuff. I'm a tad annoyed as I've actually tried 3 different brands of SD card and all have the same effect. I'm looking for another SD card, but I would want assurances it would actually work - I was trusting PNY, but it seems that some people are having trouble with them as well.

What serial number does your unit have? Is there any way to tell if they're from a similiar batch? Most of the stuff on the back of the unit is in Korean, so I can't tell you much. If it happens to be a widespread problem, add me to your list of people with the same complaint.

Yep, we're in exactly the same situation, 2 of the cards I tried were on the "will definately work" list, meaning I've possibly spent £40 that wasn't necessary. it is annoying.

I'll get back to you with the s/n tonight when I get home. I'm not saying it is defiantely a wide spread problem, it just seems that a lot of people have reported this issue over the past couple of pages of this forum-- though most of them seem to have disappeared now, whether they're working OK or have given up, I don't know.

keep me posted how you get on, and I'll do the same. Have you spoke to the guys at GP2X.co.uk?

 

[piphil]

I got it from GP2X.co.uk - seemed to be the official portal for UK stuff. I'm a tad annoyed as I've actually tried 3 different brands of SD card and all have the same effect. I'm looking for another SD card, but I would want assurances it would actually work - I was trusting PNY, but it seems that some people are having trouble with them as well.

What serial number does your unit have? Is there any way to tell if they're from a similiar batch? Most of the stuff on the back of the unit is in Korean, so I can't tell you much. If it happens to be a widespread problem, add me to your list of people with the same complaint.

Yep, we're in exactly the same situation, 2 of the cards I tried were on the "will definately work" list, meaning I've possibly spent £40 that wasn't necessary. it is annoying.

I'll get back to you with the s/n tonight when I get home. I'm not saying it is defiantely a wide spread problem, it just seems that a lot of people have reported this issue over the past couple of pages of this forum-- though most of them seem to have disappeared now, whether they're working OK or have given up, I don't know.

keep me posted how you get on, and I'll do the same. Have you spoke to the guys at GP2X.co.uk?

I have indeed spoken to someone at GP2X.co.uk. They say the cards they use are "Integral" SD Cards (which, conveniently, seem to be twice the price of the Kingstons...), and each GP2X is tested with an integral card before shipping. I'm waiting for someone from the "orders" part of the site to get back to me - I got this info from the "sales" email address, though apparently "orders" is the place to go for tech support.

I was suprised how quick they got back to me though - I emailed at about 7 pm last night and they got back to me within half an hour. Someone's working late!

And as for your extra SD cards - eBay them!

 

[cHEM]

I have indeed spoken to someone at GP2X.co.uk. They say the cards they use are "Integral" SD Cards (which, conveniently, seem to be twice the price of the Kingstons...), and each GP2X is tested with an integral card before shipping. I'm waiting for someone from the "orders" part of the site to get back to me - I got this info from the "sales" email address, though apparently "orders" is the place to go for tech support.

I was suprised how quick they got back to me though - I emailed at about 7 pm last night and they got back to me within half an hour. Someone's working late!

And as for your extra SD cards - eBay them!

maybe some kind soul out there would be willing to mail one of us a known working SD Card to try in our GP2X..? obviously, we would return it promptly and cover postage costs...?

Ebay: you underestimate my laziness!