"corrupt" compact flash

[abigailmackey]

Hi,
I recently bought a SanDisk 128MB compactflash card for my Psion 5. It didn't work in my Psion - read "corrupt" and wouldn't let me do anything on it. (This same card worked in a different Palmtop.) I have tried an identical card in my Psion before and it worked fine. I have had the card replaced 3 times now all with the same problem. Has anyone else encountered this before? Is it related to the capacity of the card?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank-you!

[Beakynet]

Is this card 'Clean' i.e. does not have any files on it?

This sort of behaviour is normally due to a currpt directory entry which, as the Psion reads the complete directory causes the Psion the 'think' the card is corrupt. If you are restoring files from a backup then you should check all the directories before restoring and re-format the CF in the Psion first.

I have experienced this with a 256mg card but not a 128. Also SanDisk is normally good so the card should be compatable.

Hope this helps.
;)

[abigailmackey]

thanks for the reply.
yes, the card is clean. brand new in fact and all i tried to do was create a new word file on it. then i tried to format it but all i could do was rename it. everything else gave me the "corrupt" message.
I had heard that Sandisk had a good reputation which was my main reason for buying theirs. have you ever heard of "older" cards (still new) giving problems which are only encountered in certain devices? I wondered if perhaps I had received a slightly older model of the card....

[diem]

another thing you could try is a soft reset of the 5.

That said, SanDisk is not one of the most Psion-compatible brands. If the vendor offers another brand, I'd try a swap (avoid Dane-Elec though!).

[abigailmackey]

does anyone know which are the most psion compatible brands of compact flash for the series 5?
thanks

[diem]

Its an old old question this one. Check my FAQ for resources in this area (links to sites with such lists). For my part, I use Hitachi and Simple cards with no problems.

[abigailmackey]

Thank-you!