REAL SOLUTIONS FOR SD CARD TROUBLES
I have a Droid 2 International, 18 months old, 32 gb sd card.
Here's how I solved my recurring memory card problems based on this common warning we get from all storage device manufacturers, be they hard drive or card manufactures, that being - Always properly unmount/ eject the disc media before shut down, otherwise the file directory may be corrupted. The droid/ android platform of devices appears to be extremely sensitive to improper unmounting of discs. Further - Everytime your phone/ device crashes and needs to be restarted because of a crash or freeze, that too counts and an improper unmounting of the sd card, potentially corrupting its directory. While you may be able to use the card and experience no problems for days, weeks, or months, eventually the card will stop working, and worse, it will drag down the performance of your phone, causing it to become very sluggish, crash, and eventually freeze. You won't get calls and your phone may crash, blocking important calls, and you will have no clue it happened unless you check the phone. Based on my observations, I advise the following :
1) Always properly eject your disc after connecting by USB cable to your computer. I routinely connect my phone to my computer, and mount it on my desk top. Before disconnecting AND/OR before shutting down the computer, properly eject the SD card from desktop/computer. This is not easy since you must follow many steps to mount and properly unmount. Therefore, I use bluetooth to transfer files whenever possible, removing the need to mount and unmount the disc from my computer. This is a slower process than a cable connection, but is ultimately safer at protecting the integrity of your sd card's directory.
2) Eject your disc before shutting down your computer, using the built in USB connection/ disconnect app built into android. You cannot just shut down your computer and expect your disc will be propery unmounted. I do this by changing the connection from USB drive on computer, to USB hook up for charge only. DO THIS ONLY AFTER EJECTING THE DRIVE IMAGE FROM YOUR COMPUTER, OTHERWISE you will get a warning of an improper disconnect from you computer or device, and this could potentially corrupt your card directory.
3) EVEN IF YOU HAVE NO PROBLEMS REFORMAT THE CARD ABOUT EVERY THREE MONTHS - Every time your phone crashes, your disc's directory is put at risk, and likely (5% chance at least based on my unscientific observation) the directory is damaged. Therefore, if you phone has crashed, and/or frozen, or otherwise become erratic, back up all of your files and reformat the SD Card. ONLY REFORMAT THE CARD USING YOUR PHONE'S/DEVICES INBUILT APPLICATION. Do not reformat the card with your computer's reformatting utility while the card is mounted as an external drive on your desk top. While you may be able to get away with reformatting the card as a mounted drive on your desktop, my experience has been that this technique leads, very quickly, to trouble.
4) Back up your disc and reformat it and reload your files every few months. In droid, crashes and freezes happen, and I've been unable to do anything to stop it on my device. The phone's processor has to deal with multiple wifi networks, erratic connections and connection levels, competing apps that interfere with each other, multiple calls, sync notices, bluetooth connectivity, etc. : it's microprocessor can only handle so much. Therefore it needs your help.
Good luck
I have a Droid 2 International, 18 months old, 32 gb sd card.
Here's how I solved my recurring memory card problems based on this common warning we get from all storage device manufacturers, be they hard drive or card manufactures, that being - Always properly unmount/ eject the disc media before shut down, otherwise the file directory may be corrupted. The droid/ android platform of devices appears to be extremely sensitive to improper unmounting of discs. Further - Everytime your phone/ device crashes and needs to be restarted because of a crash or freeze, that too counts and an improper unmounting of the sd card, potentially corrupting its directory. While you may be able to use the card and experience no problems for days, weeks, or months, eventually the card will stop working, and worse, it will drag down the performance of your phone, causing it to become very sluggish, crash, and eventually freeze. You won't get calls and your phone may crash, blocking important calls, and you will have no clue it happened unless you check the phone. Based on my observations, I advise the following :
1) Always properly eject your disc after connecting by USB cable to your computer. I routinely connect my phone to my computer, and mount it on my desk top. Before disconnecting AND/OR before shutting down the computer, properly eject the SD card from desktop/computer. This is not easy since you must follow many steps to mount and properly unmount. Therefore, I use bluetooth to transfer files whenever possible, removing the need to mount and unmount the disc from my computer. This is a slower process than a cable connection, but is ultimately safer at protecting the integrity of your sd card's directory.
2) Eject your disc before shutting down your computer, using the built in USB connection/ disconnect app built into android. You cannot just shut down your computer and expect your disc will be propery unmounted. I do this by changing the connection from USB drive on computer, to USB hook up for charge only. DO THIS ONLY AFTER EJECTING THE DRIVE IMAGE FROM YOUR COMPUTER, OTHERWISE you will get a warning of an improper disconnect from you computer or device, and this could potentially corrupt your card directory.
3) EVEN IF YOU HAVE NO PROBLEMS REFORMAT THE CARD ABOUT EVERY THREE MONTHS - Every time your phone crashes, your disc's directory is put at risk, and likely (5% chance at least based on my unscientific observation) the directory is damaged. Therefore, if you phone has crashed, and/or frozen, or otherwise become erratic, back up all of your files and reformat the SD Card. ONLY REFORMAT THE CARD USING YOUR PHONE'S/DEVICES INBUILT APPLICATION. Do not reformat the card with your computer's reformatting utility while the card is mounted as an external drive on your desk top. While you may be able to get away with reformatting the card as a mounted drive on your desktop, my experience has been that this technique leads, very quickly, to trouble.
4) Back up your disc and reformat it and reload your files every few months. In droid, crashes and freezes happen, and I've been unable to do anything to stop it on my device. The phone's processor has to deal with multiple wifi networks, erratic connections and connection levels, competing apps that interfere with each other, multiple calls, sync notices, bluetooth connectivity, etc. : it's microprocessor can only handle so much. Therefore it needs your help.
Good luck