X60 and SD Module

[Bruce Guttman]

I tried putting an SD module in my X60 and it recognized it but wasn't able to read. It claimed the module was not formatted and offered to format it as 512 bytes (?!?). Placed the same module in my X41 and it was recognized as the 16 GB that it's supposed to be.

I tried removing and reinstalling the driver and still no go.

I'll try a different (2GB) module when I can dig it up.

Any other suggestions?

[EOMtp]

If you are running Windows XP, then you need Microsoft Hotfix KB923293 in order to read SDHC cards properly.
Here is the download:
http://thehotfixshare.net/board/index.p ... owfile=999

Here is the description:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923293

[Bruce Guttman]

Thanks for your help, but it didn't seem to work.

I downloaded the Hotfix and tried to install it.

The Hotfix told me that my Service Pack was newer and refused to load.

So I'm still where I was.

[EOMtp]

The Hotfix told me that my Service Pack was newer and refused to load.

That's correct if you are running Windows XP Service Pack 3. I can tell you that the X60[s] SD card reader will recognize SDHC cards and read them properly ... and knowing that may be of use to you insofar as letting you know that whatever the pathology may be in your particular case, it is not a general issue and thus may be soluble.

Try reformatting the card in the SD reader, regardless of what erroneous capacity is indicated, and see what happens ...

[Bruce Guttman]

It flat out refused to format.

Maybe I need to dig inside the thing and have a look.

This isn't a catastrophe; the lappie is actually pretty good otherwise (1709 H6U with T7200 processor, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB HD, etc.). I'd really like to try to get it as good as I can.

[Bruce Guttman]

More information:

In order to eliminate software vs. hardware, I booted up Ubuntu 11.10 and ran in Evaluation Mode.

The system recognized the SD as 16 GB, but unformatted, unpartitioned, and unmounted. I tried to set up a partition and the system seemed OK. I tried mounting it and it mounted. I tried formatting the partition and got a "system busy" error.

Clearly something is horked about the hardware.

Could it be an oxidized contact? How would one clean contacts on the socket?

[RealBlackStuff]

You could try cleaning the contacts on the card with an eraser.

[Bruce Guttman]

Nice idea, RBS, but the SD card works fine in my X41. I don't think it's the SD card; it's the socket.

[rkawakami]

I also have an X60 that occasionally refuses to see an SD card that always works when inserted into my camera. When it does this, I rapidly eject and re-insert the card a couple of times (probably not good for the card and/or the SD slot ) and then it's identified. I too think that there's some dirt or corrosion on the contacts of the SD slot but have not bothered to try taking the system apart to see if I could get to the contacts.

Just a thought: What might work from an external standpoint is, with the system off, slide a nail file into the slot and see if you can lightly scrub the contacts. I don't have an X60 with me at the moment so I don't know if this is feasible or not. Another "tool" that could work would be a stainless steel dental pick. I'll try both tonight and report back.

[Bruce Guttman]

I managed to stick the shaft of a Q-Tip into the slot and found that it came out with a gray stain.

Wetted the Q-Tip shaft with some alcohol and tried to slosh it around a bit. The shaft still came out gray.

I found a thin emery board and went in with the fine side to the contacts.

While looking in, there seems to be no pad for one of them.

Still have the problem.

I have an X40 that I could cannibalize for parts, but the SD slot on the X60 is on the bottom side of the Planar which means I'd have to remove the laptop from the SD slot. More effort than I really want to expend at this point. Besides, the X40 SD is mounted on the top of the planar and may not be compatible.

I have a USB reader for 4 types of cards that I can use, so this is no biggie.

[rkawakami]

Sorry for dropping the ball on this... I forgot to look over one of my X6x systems that evening.

Took a newly arrived X61s and peered into the SD slot. Using a dental pick I extracted 3 small dust bunnies. You're right; there's not enough room to insert even a minimally covered cotton Q-tip deep into the slot to reach the contacts. I too got some dark grease (?) on just a shaft of a Q-tip. The "missing" 9th contact, if you are talking about the right side of the slot, is probably hidden behind the small tab that appears to trigger the locking mechanism (i.e., the push to insert and the second push to release the SD card).

[Bruce Guttman]

Well, I sorta managed to solve my problem.

The SD slot on the X60 still doesn't work.

But I got an X61 with almost the same specs (including the WWAN) and the SD slot works fine. Did a hard drive swap and updated a couple of drivers and all is hunky dory (until the noisy fan finally decides to give up the ghost).