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I've got a video camera that records directly to SD(HC) cards; I've also got an Ubuntu 9.04 laptop (netbook) with an SD reader. I have a 16GB SDHC class 6 card that I was using for data storage on the netbook; it mounts automatically and displays just fine. The 16GB card is formatted FAT32. The 16GB card mounts and displays all the data on the netbook with Ubuntu; it also works perfectly when I put it in my video camera; pictures and videos recorded on that card show up fine on the computer when I swap the card into the computer.

Here's the problem; I have another SDHC card, a 4GB card, that I'd like to be able to use to take video and pictures on and then just move the card itself over to the computer and view those photos and videos directly from the Ubuntu system, just like I'm doing with the 16GB card. I'm almost certain that this is an issue with the format of the 4GB card, but here's the problem; when I put the 4GB card in the Ubuntu system, it just can't see the 4GB card at all; mount doesn't seem to show it; I can't find it in the list of devices in gparted (not surprising since mount can't find it, but still), there's just no way to see it. What do I need to do to be able to see this 4GB SDHC card on Ubuntu so I can reformat it?

Paul Sonier
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2 Answers2

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Try checking dmesg after you plug in the card. It should give you some information, and at least tell you what device the card is. fdisk -l should also list partitions for you.

Chad P
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If there's currently nothing on the card, it might be worth giving the problem card a format in the video camera (provided it works in there).

Update:
When you plug the card in and run

sudo fdisk -l

what comes up as the last entry? Note that the sudo is important when it comes to fdisk command - without it fdisk returns nothing. There should be an entry like

Disk /dev/mmcblk0: 16 GB, 16499911680 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2006 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

       Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/mmcblk0p1               1        1738    13960453    6  FAT16

The first line lists device info (/dev/mmcblk0 is my sd card), lines like the last one list partitions.

Andy
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  • Yeah, the card works in the video camera, and yeah, I formatted it in the camera without much effect (card worked in camera before and after format; card was invisible to Ubuntu before and after format). – Paul Sonier May 23 '09 at 16:57
  • @McWaffllestix: do you get anything from the fdisk as described above? – Andy May 24 '09 at 19:56