Why can't I use SDHC on my N800 ???
 

I bought a N800 yesterday, but to my dissappointment, it won't accept any of my 8GB SDHC cards - not even my 4GB one. I even bought a new Sandisc for use with this and it won't read it - the tablet behaves as if there's no card in it.
On top of that, it rendered a Transcend 8GB card I used on it useless. Not even my PC couldn't fix it.
I already updated it's firmware to the latest version, but still no luck.
Is there something more I should have done, or with my great luck I just picked a defective unit?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

PS. Something i forgot to mention is that the tablet won't shut down when a memory card is in. The blue light blinks and although the screen is black, the backlight is on. When I remove the card, it goes off without problems.

Re: Why can't I use SDHC on my N800 ???
 

Mine has diablo and works okay with an 8GB one.
For your dead SD try http://www.sdcard.org/consumers/formatter/ if it doesn't work at first, tweak the settings.
Try formatting them in the N800, so they comply with the format.
Other than that, I'm lost, but maybe a more advanced user can help.
Good Luck, And Welcome

Re: Why can't I use SDHC on my N800 ???
 

You could try reformatting manually. Use cfdisk to delete the current partitions, then create new partitions and format them (fat16 for sd, fat32 for sdhc). After that you use "mkdosfs" to create the file system.

Re: Why can't I use SDHC on my N800 ???
 

Thanks for that, but the only thing that worked was formatting it in my Pentax K20D. No PC could read it (3 different PCs - 5 different card readers), not even my data tank could read it.
Anyway, the problem is not in possibly wasting a card, but in not being able to make one work in my tablet. I can't format one in my N800 because it doesn't seem to know there is one inserted.

Re: Why can't I use SDHC on my N800 ???
 

My N800 has no issues using a Crucial Class6 SDHC 8gb card. Maybe you got a bad SDHC card? I've found that not all SDHC cards are created equal.

Re: Why can't I use SDHC on my N800 ???
 

My N800 also has no issues with SDHC's I have an 8gb internal and a 16gb external.

Do you have a friend with an N800? Try the cards in his...

Was the N800 new or used? The issue might be with the tablet...I hope not... You didn't say if you tried a regular SD card...

Good luck!

Re: Why can't I use SDHC on my N800 ???
 

Clearly, it seems his N800 has technical problems, possibly linked to the SD card reading circuit. Physical damage to the N800 might be the problem here.

He's tried both SD & SDHC. He tried a Sandisk - I've used those to great effect. never had one die on me. No joy for him. I presently have two 16GB SDHCs in my N800 & I don't even have the latest incarnation of our OS.

Perhaps reinstalling the OS from scratch might at least eliminate beyond reasonable doubt the possibility that the OS itself is at fault.

Methinks the N800 has physical issues. i.e. Previous ham fisted owner forcing an SD card in the wrong way around or worse still, the wrong card. There's also the chance all these SDs & SDHCs were acquired via a dubious ebay seller & are faulty.

Physically inspect BOTH slot connectiions for possible damage if you can.

Hope this helps.


Thunderstorm.

Re: Why can't I use SDHC on my N800 ???
 

aye... All good points, Thunderstorm.

Re: Why can't I use SDHC on my N800 ???
 

I do a lot of photography and i have 9 SDHC cards, 6 of them are 8GB, 1 is 4GB and the remaining 2 are 2GB. Of them, my N800 reads only one of the two 2GB cards and not a single one of the remaining 8 (tried both slots). It also reads the ridiculously cheap 128 MB card that came with the device. All of my cards are branded (Sandisk, Kingston and Transcend), the cheapest one must be the 2GB card it actually reads - it's a PNY that was bundled as a gift with a graphics card I bought two years ago (an Nvidia Quadro).
Although I like the device too much, in fact all my posts are written on it, I don't trust it anymore. I guess I'll be bringing back to the shop after all.
Thanks to all people who posted here trying to help me.
Take care ;-)

Re: Why can't I use SDHC on my N800 ???
 

I have had cards fail, but few. Generally I format them rather than just delete items from them. I back up my files in case they do fail.

Re: Why can't I use SDHC on my N800 ???
 

ca95f,
You said you had updated the firmware. Please clarify exactly how you did this and what version of OS you actually have on your N800 at the moment. You're not still running OS 2007 perchance are you?

I'm running OS 2008, upgraded it immediately I bought my device - and I got mine brand new. It was practically the first thing I did.

You might want to read up the FAQs and see if you followed the right procedure for an OS 2008 and beyond upgrade.

Perhaps you have indeed done everything right, but I can't tell, so, my best advice is to double check everything over again.

If it reads some cards and not the others, then it is possible that the OS might be an older version (can't remember if OS 2007 will read SDs beyond 2GB, thought it would though). Then again, it is possible that the other cards have been somehow corrupted (modified?) in some unexplainable way by the cameras they've been in.

As a general rule, I do not mix SDs between Digital Camera's and Hand held PCs. I recall formatting problems once in the distant past too - with an Ipaq 5545 or something.

Check all of the above points meticulously and you might be able to fix the N800 by simply re-installing the OS from scratch. I've had several Windows Mobile Smartphone devices suddenly go berserk on me and the only cure was to re-install the Windows OS (or better still, upgrade it to the next version up for better stability) from scratch, wiping ALL previous data. Always worked.

A similar approach to the N800 will probably fix it good.
However, you must proceed with caution, double check yourself every inch of the way, and avoid haste when doing the OS upgrade.

Hope you succeed in getting it working properly again.
The N800 in my opinion is a rare well put together device (despite any perceived short comings), which already has a cult following. This was one of Nokia's finest hours in innovation.

I still look at mine in awe, 11 months after I got it.
It's my SAT NAV, MP3 player, FM Radio, Digital Picture Display, for receiving High Res pics from my phone via bluetooth, Weather Station, Portable Web browser, a nice "Toy" (with the Star Trek LCARS theme running on it, it helps me fulfill my fantasy of holding a true Star Trek PADD device in my hands - hence, a "Toy" albeit fully functional!). And every so often, I get to watch NASA TV on it, streamed via the internet. Nothing beats watching the Astronauts working on the ISS or a Space Shuttle in orbit. It has so many free programs, I can't use them all, yet I'm absolutely satisfied with it.

Sorry, got carried away.
Hope my advice helps you further ca95f.
My apologies if you've done it all already - g'night from London :)


Thunderstorm.

Re: Why can't I use SDHC on my N800 ???
 

ca95f, I have no idea. Mine, and seemingly everyone else's, works with almost all cards.

Re: Why can't I use SDHC on my N800 ???
 

Yep, check the software version. The latest OS2007 release as well as the OS2008 releases should work. The early OS2007 release didn't.

Re: Why can't I use SDHC on my N800 ???
 

You are using a Sandisk adapter with your SDHC card? If so, forget about it. You need a Mini SD adapter (a cheap one from eBay), and your card should work with no problems. I thought that the branded one would work (A Sandisk Mini sd reader), but I was told that it wouldn't.