Re: [NTLK] Lousy performance from a 20M card

From: Laurent Daudelin (laurent_daudelin_at_fanniemae.com)
Date: Thu Jan 10 2002 - 14:33:56 EST


On 10/01/02 13:44, "Dustin Long" <dlong_at_tamu.edu> wrote:

> I got one of the 20M "Viking" Linear Flash Cards in a recent eBay Dutch
> Auction. Since I've never really used external storage on my Newton
> before, I figure I'll ask this before contacting the seller:
>=20
> Is it normal for a card of this size/manufacturer to "freak out"? About
> every third time I wake up the Newt (an upgraded 2000 running 2.1
> (717260)) I get "There is a problem with the card: This card could not be
> formatted because it is write-protected." More troubling is that when th=
e
> card is in (and I assume it's when it's being accessed, like when trying
> to edit a note that's on the card or opening Extras when the card is
> inserted) the Newt will "hang". Right now I'm looking at an open Extras
> drawer to "Unfiled Icons," for example, but I can't change to another vie=
w
> or close the drawer. I would call this a "hard hang" that can only be
> remedied by ejecting the card and hitting the reset button.
>=20
> I know that the card has a write-protect button. I guess I'm wondering if
> the button could be broken (is this possible?) or if the card was damaged
> in the mail or something to that effect. No good using a card for storag=
e
> if I have to reinsert it and reset the newt every five minutes!
>=20
> Anyone else ever experience this? Is there a way to "low-level
> format" (i.e. zero-out) the card? Test it with a read-write program that'=
s
> looking for errors?

Dustin,

Funny that you're mentioning this, since I've got the very same card, also
from a dutch auction on eBay, and I would be willing to bet that it was sol=
d
by Stars Computers (or StarComps), and it was auction #1310004396.

Well, when I've got the card, I did first insert it in my 2100. The format
slip did appear saying that this card appeared new and asked to confirm
erasing it. I did tap the "Erase" button, but immediately got an exception
with error =AD10607 Flash card block is full. I then decided to give it a try
in my PowerBook. When doing so, the PowerBook would present me with the
initialize dialog in the Finder. But right after clicking OK, the PowerBook
would eject the card reporting that the card is damaged and cannot be used.

I then decided to email Star Computers to let them know. I sent them an
email on Tuesday, but I still have to hear from them. If I don't hear from
them tonight, I'll send them another email. If that doesn't work, I will
contact eBay and possibly leave a negative feedback. I wasn't (and still am
not) too concerned since quickly after I bid on this 20MB, I saw another
auction for 32MB cards. I bid on one and got it for around $40. That's the
one I've been using since a couple of weeks now and it's been working
flawlessly. The auction where I got it was from GEM Enterprise.

-Laurent.
--=20
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Laurent Daudelin Developer, Multifamily, ESO, Fannie Mae
mailto:Laurent_Daudelin_at_fanniemae.com Washington, DC, USA
********************** Usual disclaimers apply **********************
C++ /C'-pluhs-pluhs/ n.: Designed by Bjarne Stroustrup of AT&T Bell Labs as
a successor to C. Now one of the languages of choice, although many hackers
still grumble that it is the successor to either Algol 68 or Ada (depending
on generation), and a prime example of second-system effect. Almost anythin=
g
that can be done in any language can be done in C++, but it requires a
language lawyer to know what is and what is not legal-- the design is almos=
t
too large to hold in even hackers' heads. Much of the cruft results from
C++'s attempt to be backward compatible with C. Stroustrup himself has said
in his retrospective book "The Design and Evolution of C++" (p. 207),
"Within C++, there is a much smaller and cleaner language struggling to get
out." [Many hackers would now add "Yes, and it's called Java" --ESR]=20

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