SD card issues

StuMcBill

Hi,

I've got 2 sandisk micro SD cards (32 & 64gb) which I seem to be having issues with.

I have done a full format using sd formatter and freshly installed Retropie on both.

I then put the cards into my pis, connected them to WiFi and started the Retropie update process at which point I got input/output and EXT4 errors.

I'm using an official raspberry pi USB power supply so it shouldn't be any power issues.

Are my cards screwed? Should I get new ones?

Thanks
Stewart

ortsac

@stumcbill First off, check to see if your SD cards are compatible with the RPi here:
http://elinux.org/RPi_SD_cards
If they are not, get one that is.

Second, reformat the SD cards to full not quick. Then reimage Retropie without updating and see if it plays well as it is. It you are able to play any games then update.

Also, so that we will know about your set setup, respond to the request:

Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

StuMcBill

Thanks,

I'll have a look at the site and see if my cards are compatible. I didn't know there was so much variation in cards.

I did do a full format, reimaged, but then instantly tried to update, and it failed.

Pi Model or other hardware: Pi3
Power Supply used: Official
RetroPie Version Used (eg 3.6, 3.8.1, 4.1 - do not write latest): 4.2
Built From: Pre made SD Image on RetroPie website,
USB Devices connected: Keyboard

edmaul69

@stumcbill are you unzipping the image before having it flashed onto the sd card with a program like win32diskimager?

StuMcBill

@edmaul69 Yeah, the image is all unzipped and flashes fine using Apple-PiBaker on Mac.

Hex

I/O errors on sd cards are death sentences. There is nothing you can do but watch them slowly die. Best get new ones. If these are under warranty then you can get them replaced.

james_dean1986

May be nothing to do with this but I also have a SanDisk 32gb card, pi3b, and install retropi 4.2 and all works fine until I run the updates at which point it stops my pi reading the BIOS. Twice this has happened.
Will be doing another clean install this evening and not running the updates to see how that goes

StuMcBill

Ok,

I have fully formatted my cards (which show as compatible on the compatibility website) but I still get errors with them.

Can anyone recommend somewhere I can get a 32gb card in the UK which you have experience with. I've had a look at the compatibility site, but most of them I find are very slightly different model numbers to those listed- so would like some personal experience if possible?

Cheers
Stewart

edmaul69

@stumcbill where did you buy the cards? On Ebay people sell mostly all bootleg fake micro sd cards that arent even the size it is supposed to be. Once you put so much on them they start having issues.

StuMcBill

@edmaul69 said in SD card issues:

@stumcbill where did you buy the cards? On Ebay people sell mostly all bootleg fake micro sd cards that arent even the size it is supposed to be. Once you put so much on them they start having issues.

I've always bought my cards from mymemory.co.uk or amazon, so I'm pretty sure they are not fakes.

I've just seen a 32gb sandisk in Tesco which is a SDSQUNC-032G-GN6IA, but the compatibility site lists SDSQUNC-064G-GN6IA as not compatible, so I'm not sure about getting one, although the 32gb one is sdhc and the 64 is sdxc so maybe that makes a difference?

ortsac

@stumcbill Some questions:

What kind of SD card reader/writer are you using? SD card reader/writers are tailored for high capacity SD and others looks like they are working but when the card is read back elsewhere, it fails.
Which operating system are you using it on? Windows, Apple OS, Android, Linux, etc?
Which application are you using to format the card?
What type of formatting? NTFS, FAT32, etc? Retropie is good with FAT32, not with NTFS. I have Windows 10 and use SDFormatter and set to FAT32. Operating system and application tend to format the media to their particular defaults. Check your settings.
What program are you using to write the image on the card? I use Win32DiskImager and works wonders for me.

You could have a good compatible SD card but any of these could be setting you up for failure. Or simply your SD card is dud.

edmaul69

@stumcbill that compatibility list is not anything i would go by at all. It is old, outdated and has no way of being kept up to date. And just because one person had an issue with a card doesnt make it incompatible. And i got a 128gb samsung evo micro sd card from amazon that was fake. It wasnt even 16gb worth of data before it started corrupting the card.

StuMcBill

@ortsac said in SD card issues:

@stumcbill Some questions:

What kind of SD card reader/writer are you using? SD card reader/writers are tailored for high capacity SD and others looks like they are working but when the card is read back elsewhere, it fails.

Which operating system are you using it on? Windows, Apple OS, Android, Linux, etc?

Which application are you using to format the card?

What type of formatting? NTFS, FAT32, etc? Retropie is good with FAT32, not with NTFS. I have Windows 10 and use SDFormatter and set to FAT32. Operating system and application tend to format the media to their particular defaults. Check your settings.

What program are you using to write the image on the card? I use Win32DiskImager and works wonders for me.

You could have a good compatible SD card but any of these could be setting you up for failure. Or simply your SD card is dud.

It’s a combined port replicator designed for my MacBook Pro (usb c)
Mac OS
SDFormatter for Mac
FAT32
ApplePi-Baker

I might try doing it through windows and see how I get on!

ByteThis

I only own sandisk cards..tried others..all crap and no luck.Bought only from local electronic stores..nothing online.

edmaul69

@bytethis i only buy local big box stores due to bootlegs. I only buy samsung evo's now. Better than sandisks. Never had a single disk card corruption on 3 pi's and i kill the power all the time while testing.

ByteThis

@edmaul69 I have read many forums with peeps having good luck with samsungs, and bad luck...had a samsung..was junk..tossed it in the garbage. Everyone's personal tastes I guess.Glad they work great for you!

edmaul69

@bytethis the biggest problem is samsungs are the best and they are faked soo much more than any others. I actually had gotten a 128gb bootleg version off of amazon. I am willing to pay the local price to guarantee its legit. Sucks you had a bad card.