Smart Media Card Problem


WarmFluffyUK

The Big Wad Bolf.
Joined
Sep 4, 2004
Messages
3,384
Location
UK
Website
www.retrotech.one
HiDeHi guys,

I have a little problem with one of my smart media cards. It's about a week old, I had a lot of stuff on it and decided to clear it to be used for MP3s. I wish I hadn't done this but I used XP (with my SMC reader) to format the card as FAT (Not FAT32). I can use XP to read and write to it with no problems, but my GP32 will not see any files on it at all. Pacrom won't start as it just sits there trying to load forever. Win-ups opens up but will not show any files. and the Euro Firmware keeps telling me there's a problem with the card and keeps trying to recover it.

I have heard you can use the GP Manager to format the card, but how is this possible if I cannot get the GP32 into PC link mode?

Is there some software available so that the PC can format the card via my smart card reader?

Please help,
Clare.
:blink:
 
WarmFluffyUK posted on Sep 9 2004 at 02:24 AM said:
I used XP (with my SMC reader) to format the card as FAT (Not FAT32). I can use XP to read and write to it with no problems, but my GP32 will not see any files on it at all.

You used XP and a seperate card reader to format the SMC as FAT, right?

Call me crazy, but couldn't you just use XP and the card reader to reformat it as FAT32? I mean, if XP'll let you format it one way, it should let you format it again. Again, I may be crazy, but that makes sense to me.


-Fuzzy
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You could probably still format using pacrom. Try booting it without the smc inserted then insert it when you see the pacman picture (sometimes works when pacrom hangs at the start).
 
My guess is that Windows XP formats the SMC without any partition table as a raw device while the GP32 needs one. I had the same problem this week, formating it using GP File Manager solved it. If there's anyone who's _really_ interested in what's happening there, I'll go check it on Sunday.

Greetings,
SvOlli
 
im not sure how to fix ur problem but i find that gp manager is not very efficient so i use somthing called gpdrive and that works really well. u might want to try that! :rolleyes :)
 
Hia,

I just tried a few of your suggestions, and here's what I found:

1. Use GP Manager.
I can't as I cannot get the GP32 to get into PC link mode.

2. Try booting into pacrom with no SMC and insert it afterwards.
Pacrom stops at the pacman screen telling me there's no SMC card inserted.
I even tried booting with an OK SMC, then swapping them when pacrom is running, but that simply crashed the GP32.


3. Try formating it as FAT32 in XP
Tried that, and my GP32 still cannot read it.

4. Use gpdrive.
Is GPDrive software on the PC that allows you to format the SMC via the card reader? if not, then I'm at square one again as I can't get the GP32 into PC Link mode (See above).

Is there a way to totaly erase the SMC card back to factory default?

TTFN,
Clare.
 
WarmFluffyUK posted on Sep 9 2004 at 11:41 AM said:
Hia,

I just tried a few of your suggestions, and here's what I found:

1. Use GP Manager.
I can't as I cannot get the GP32 to get into PC link mode.

Try pressing select key and start keys when you switch on your gp32 - when using Aquafish's multifirmware - you'll get into the 'tapwave like' bios selection screen. Select pclink from within one of the bioses (not the one included in the euro firmware)

WarmFluffyUK posted on Sep 9 2004 at 11:41 AM said:
2. Try booting into pacrom with no SMC and insert it afterwards.
Pacrom stops at the pacman screen telling me there's no SMC card inserted.
I even tried booting with an OK SMC, then swapping them when pacrom is running, but that simply crashed the GP32.

Inserting or removing a smc card when the gp32 is switched on is a bad idea. Both the electronics of the gp32 and the smc card's do not particulary like this. Don't do it!

WarmFluffyUK posted on Sep 9 2004 at 11:41 AM said:
3. Try formating it as FAT32 in XP
Tried that, and my GP32 still cannot read it.

Format it as fat12 or fat16, there is an option hidden in the drive format dialog. I succeeded in properly formatting a smc card this way. Surely you must be able to do so to. It might be a specific thing caused by your cardreader though....
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Inserting or removing a smc card when the gp32 is switched on is a bad idea. Both the electronics of the gp32 and the smc card's do not particulary like this. Don't do it!
Inserting or removing smc's is perfectly save as long as no data is being written to the card because this will corrupt the fat. If it was so bad then why would the official mp3 player support hot swapping of cards? Do you turn your pc off before removing an smc from a reader?
 
Mark1970 posted on Sep 9 2004 at 12:57 PM said:
WarmFluffyUK posted on Sep 9 2004 at 11:41 AM said:
Hia,

I just tried a few of your suggestions, and here's what I found:

1. Use GP Manager.
I can't as I cannot get the GP32 to get into PC link mode.

Try pressing select key and start keys when you switch on your gp32 - when using Aquafish's multifirmware - you'll get into the 'tapwave like' bios selection screen. Select pclink from within one of the bioses (not the one included in the euro firmware)

WarmFluffyUK posted on Sep 9 2004 at 11:41 AM said:
2. Try booting into pacrom with no SMC and insert it afterwards.
Pacrom stops at the pacman screen telling me there's no SMC card inserted.
I even tried booting with an OK SMC, then swapping them when pacrom is running, but that simply crashed the GP32.

Inserting or removing a smc card when the gp32 is switched on is a bad idea. Both the electronics of the gp32 and the smc card's do not particulary like this. Don't do it!

WarmFluffyUK posted on Sep 9 2004 at 11:41 AM said:
3. Try formating it as FAT32 in XP
Tried that, and my GP32 still cannot read it.

Format it as fat12 or fat16, there is an option hidden in the drive format dialog. I succeeded in properly formatting a smc card this way. Surely you must be able to do so to. It might be a specific thing caused by your cardreader though....

Unfortunately, there isn't any hidden options in the XP format diolog box.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have found out (and read on here) that there needs to be a partition created on the SMC, simply formating it will delete the partition rendering the SMC useless to the GP32.

I also found a slap dash way of resurecting an SMC, find some drive image software, make an image of a working SMC, and restore the image to the problem SMC. I have found some software, but unfortunately it won't allow me to transfer the image to the troublesome SMC without registering it GRRRRRR. I only want to use it once so it's not worth me registering as a new SMC is cheaper!

Oh well..

Clare.
:(
 
Mark1970 posted on Sep 9 2004 at 12:57 PM said:
WarmFluffyUK posted on Sep 9 2004 at 11:41 AM said:
Hia,

I just tried a few of your suggestions, and here's what I found:

1. Use GP Manager.
I can't as I cannot get the GP32 to get into PC link mode.

Try pressing select key and start keys when you switch on your gp32 - when using Aquafish's multifirmware - you'll get into the 'tapwave like' bios selection screen. Select pclink from within one of the bioses (not the one included in the euro firmware)

WarmFluffyUK posted on Sep 9 2004 at 11:41 AM said:
2. Try booting into pacrom with no SMC and insert it afterwards.
Pacrom stops at the pacman screen telling me there's no SMC card inserted.
I even tried booting with an OK SMC, then swapping them when pacrom is running, but that simply crashed the GP32.

Inserting or removing a smc card when the gp32 is switched on is a bad idea. Both the electronics of the gp32 and the smc card's do not particulary like this. Don't do it!

WarmFluffyUK posted on Sep 9 2004 at 11:41 AM said:
3. Try formating it as FAT32 in XP
Tried that, and my GP32 still cannot read it.

Format it as fat12 or fat16, there is an option hidden in the drive format dialog. I succeeded in properly formatting a smc card this way. Surely you must be able to do so to. It might be a specific thing caused by your cardreader though....

I have gone to the Aquafish interface, but cannot find anything to do with a PC link option in there.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ok, do the following:

take your working SMC, and put slubmans comander on it. Furthermore, take a binary of an official FW with a version number lower than 1.5.7 (should have a yellow background and 3 icons to slect from, you can also try mr Spivs multifirmware). Boot up your GP32 with your working SMC, and start Slubmans comander. From slubmans comander you can start a binary FW that is located on your SMC. Do that, and once the FW has loaded, take out the SMC, and put your faulty SMC in. Now you can easily select PC-link (should work with an old FW, at least for me), and start up GPmanager to format your SMC.

I hope i explained it clera enough, if you don´t understand something, tell me.

downloads:

SlubmanCMDR
multifw2
 
WarmFluffyUK posted on Sep 9 2004 at 02:35 PM said:
I have found out (and read on here) that there needs to be a partition created on the SMC, simply formating it will delete the partition rendering the SMC useless to the GP32.
As I suspected.
continued said:
I also found a slap dash way of resurecting an SMC, find some drive image software, make an image of a working SMC, and restore the image to the problem SMC. I have found some software, but unfortunately it won't allow me to transfer the image to the troublesome SMC without registering it GRRRRRR. I only want to use it once so it's not worth me registering as a new SMC is cheaper!
You can go for Linux (e.g. from a Live CD system like knoppix (~700MB) or insert (~50MB)).

There you can use the command "dd" as it can create images and writes them back to the raw devices. Or as an alternative you can create a partition table with one FAT16 there and write a clean filesystem on it. If you want to try this and need help, please contact me per pm or email.

Greetings,
SvOlli
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Horscht posted on Sep 9 2004 at 01:48 PM said:
ok, do the following:

take your working SMC, and put slubmans comander on it. Furthermore, take a binary of an official FW with a version number lower than 1.5.7 (should have a yellow background and 3 icons to slect from, you can also try mr Spivs multifirmware). Boot up your GP32 with your working SMC, and start Slubmans comander. From slubmans comander you can start a binary FW that is located on your SMC. Do that, and once the FW has loaded, take out the SMC, and put your faulty SMC in. Now you can easily select PC-link (should work with an old FW, at least for me), and start up GPmanager to format your SMC.

I hope i explained it clera enough, if you don´t understand something, tell me.

downloads:

SlubmanCMDR
multifw2
I'm going to try other things before I flash the firmware again, I'm scared of doing that the first time, let alone again!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
SvOlli posted on Sep 9 2004 at 04:03 PM said:
WarmFluffyUK posted on Sep 9 2004 at 02:35 PM said:
I have found out (and read on here) that there needs to be a partition created on the SMC, simply formating it will delete the partition rendering the SMC useless to the GP32.
As I suspected.
continued said:
I also found a slap dash way of resurecting an SMC, find some drive image software, make an image of a working SMC, and restore the image to the problem SMC. I have found some software, but unfortunately it won't allow me to transfer the image to the troublesome SMC without registering it GRRRRRR. I only want to use it once so it's not worth me registering as a new SMC is cheaper!
You can go for Linux (e.g. from a Live CD system like knoppix (~700MB) or insert (~50MB)).

There you can use the command "dd" as it can create images and writes them back to the raw devices. Or as an alternative you can create a partition table with one FAT16 there and write a clean filesystem on it. If you want to try this and need help, please contact me per pm or email.

Greetings,
SvOlli

Hia,

I have my linux boot up and running, can you help me through this as I am still pretty new to this OS.

Pretty please,
Clare.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
nono, you don´t have to flash the firmware, you just have to launch it. It´s as simple as launching an fxe.
 
I once had that problem, too.
I just used "SMC Recovery" from Aquafish's Firmware V4.x and everything worked fine again.
 
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