[General Accessories] luiggi:
What PQI support suggests

I´ve had trouble with PQI miniSD cards, so I asked support from PQI on corrupted files, this is their answer in order to check if the card is damaged or not and includes several tips on using memory cards, it´s alittle bit long to read, but maybe it worths, so here it goes:

Some hints of using flash memory cards

1. Do NOT remove the memory card while it is operating, otherwise it may be

damaged.

2. Do NOT turn off the device, while the operation of writing /reading is

not completed.

3. When the battery power of system is low, do not write to the memory card to prevent loss of data.

4. Make sure the device (card reader/phone/camera/pda/camcorder) has finished reading/writing to the card before you take another shot/turn it off or the data will be corrupt/lost and the card will be damaged. You can tell by the device indicator light where it flashes when it is reading and writing to the card. Wait until the indicator light is off and stops flashing before you take another shot/turn the device off or remove the card/drive.

Before you continue, please make sure you have a reader that can read and write to 2GB card properly. DO NOT use in built-in reader on laptop and desktop, or old readers made 2 years or longer ago, because these readers can only use up to 1GB card. I recommend using it in external USB 2.0 reader that is made within 1 year ago.

If you do not have such reader, then connect the device (gps/camera/pda/camcorder) to the computer with USB cable and the card inserted and if works you should see new drive letters show up under My Computer.

Otherwise, if used in devices that do not support the 2GB card, the card will be damaged.

Please try the following troubleshooting guide first and see if it can solve the problem. Try one step at a time. If one works, then you can stop trying. You don't need to try all of them.

The following guide will erase all the data on the drive/card. So make sure you backup your data first before you try the steps below:

1. First, remove the card/drive from your computer.

Download the low level format tool below to your computer.

http://hddguru.com/download/software/HDDGURU-Low-Level-Format-Tool/LLFsetup.2.36.1181.exe

Install the program into your computer.

You should see a new icon called "Hard Disk Low Level Format Tool".

a. Insert the card/drive and run the program.

IMPORTANT!!! MAKE SURE YOU SELECT THE CORRECT DISK OR YOUR COMPUTER MAY NOT START LATER!!!

It should shows as BUS: USB. Select the BUS: USB. Also check the size and make sure.

If you don't see BUS: USB, that means the card is unreadable and need to be replaced. In this case, please STOP here and close the program and DO NOT continue below.

b. Then click Continue->Low Level Format->Format this Device.

c. Wait for a few minutes until it finish successfully with a message of asking you to partition and format it. (if you see formatting error, you can stop the formatting and the card needs to be replaced.)

d. Flash Card:

Put the card back to your device (camera/phone/pda/camcorder) and then use the format utility in the device to format the card.

Please let me know your test results. Thanks.

Reference: Program homepage

http://hddguru.com/content/en/software/2006.04.12-HDD-Low-Level-Format-Tool/

2. Please go to the site below:

http://www.sdcard.org/Downloads.aspx

Please try to download the software sdfv2000.exe (for windows only) and the manual for your reference.

Install the sdfv2000.exe in your computer, then insert the card into the card reader (if you do not have reader, you can try to connect your device to the computer with USB cable) and then run it:

a. Check the drive letter and also the size and make sure it is the correct card.

b. Click Option:

Format Type: Full Erase ON

Format Size Adjustment: ON

c. Click OK, then click Format. Wait until it finish.

d. You will be prompted to remove the card after it finish. Then go ahead and insert it in your (camera/pda/camcorder etc) and see.

16. T-mobile MDA (cannot format 2GB mini SD card)

Please install the software below to your phone (you can download the free trial):

http://www.pdatopsoft.com/PocketPC/StorageTools---Analyze,-Defragment,-Verify,-Repair-and-Format

Then use the Storage Tools software above to format the card and see.