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[rjnagle]

Perhaps we should create a thread for SD cards that work. I'm particularly interested in information about 4 gig and 8 gig SDHC cards that have been tested to work on XO. Thanks.



http://wiki.laptop.org/go/SD

The XO laptop has 1 MMC/SD/SDHC slot. 8-gigabyte memory cards work. As larger cards are created, they will also be tested (-gnu).

XO uses a custom microchip for SD card access, Camera and Flash Enabler, or CaFE. CaFE includes SDHC support. SDHC is compatible at a hardware level with SD. Pierre Ossman wrote the Linux driver support for SDHC. SD cards up to something like 256 GB should be supported. cafe is driven by the sdhci driver. cafe follows the standard host controller interface for SD controllers.

Here is how SD block addressing works: The address is 32 bits. In the CaFe chip, which is compatible with the standard "SDHCI" spec, the address goes in the 32-bit chip register at offset 8. For old SD cards (not the new SDHC - High Capacity careds), the address is a byte address, so the maximum size is 4 Gbytes. For the newer SDHC cards, the address is a block number, assuming 512 byte blocks, so the maximum size is 2 TBytes. None of this is CaFe-specific, BTW. It is standard SD.
[edit] Wikipedia

[cmonkey]

I would be surprised if there were any that didn't work.  Well, any that actually comply to SD or SDHC specifications that is.

[The Nose]

Toshiba 4GB SDHC memory card works. The part number is SDHC-4GTR. I picked one up at OfficeMax tonight for $35 (it had a $25 instant rebate). Set the XO screen at 90 degrees (i.e. vertical). Twisted one quarter turn counter-clockwise to access the slot. Tried putting the card in with label facing me--didn't go. Turned card around and it slipped in easily. I bet it will take fingernails if not pliers to remove it, but I plan to rarely remove it. Opened journal and saw an icon for the SD card. For the test, I dragged a photo to the card, double-clicked the card and opened the picture from there.

[thf]

Hi...

Four cards, all worked OK. Notes below.

PNY 8 GB SDHC-4
PNY 256 MB SD
Lexar Professional 4 GB SDHC-6 133x
SanDisk Ultra II 4 GB SDHC-4

PNY 8 GB SDHC-4 (inexpensive, bestbuy)
I bought this card to use with the XO (before I received the XO - anticipatory shopping !). It is very difficult to extract - doesn't "pop out" the way I expect SD cards to. It's the only card I have tried that has this problem.

I also tried "face-first" insertion, which didn't come close to working. Tried it with the card facing the back of the screen, went in easily. BUT, due to difficulty in extraction, I spent a fair amount of time thinking I'd done something seriously wrong... a bad feeling.

The card did not show up in the Journal (at the bottom left of the Journal screen). I removed it, formatted it FAT-32 on a Mac (it shipped unformatted), drag/dropped some files to it from the Mac desktop, inserted it in the XO. Showed up fine. Files are listed and available in the Journal.

Glad to see there's an "Unmount" choice available for SD media so one can swap cards in/out with the machine on.

Because this card is not the super-fast, photo/video type, it was less expensive.

PNY 256 MB SD  card (old) - was in my Palm, worked fine there. Did not show up in XO, put it in the Mac, noted that is was FAT-16 not FAT-32. I reformatted it as FAT-16 again (Mac won't format as FAT-32 due to size) and this time it worked fine. Maybe corrupt? Some sort of card error? Anyway, now mounts fine - my original thought that maybe the FAT-16 format was a problem turned out not to be correct.

Lexar Professional 4 GB SDHC-6 133x speed card - new - came preformatted FAT-32. Showed up right away.

SanDisk Ultra II 4 GB SDHC-4 worked fine, formatted FAT-32.

At this time, I'll leave the PNY 8 GB card in the XO more-or-less all the time. To transfer file between the XO and another computer, I'll use a USB card reader - seems much more convenient, much less wear and tear on both the XO and the cards (while being extracted, especially).

Tom

[Infamy]

If I properly read an article, Toshiba should be out with the 32GB SDHC cards by the end of January, somewhere in the $400 range. The 16GB ones are here, and are priced between $100-$150.

Cheers,

Infamy

[wirzcat]

Transend 8GB SDHC works.  Model number TS8GSDHC6

[Grig]

A-Data "Class 6 Turbo" 8gb SDHC card seems to work without complaint.  Got it from NewEgg for $35 or so.

[eden]

I am using a Lexar 4GB Class 2 SDHC card and I can read it and write to it just fine.

See the product page here: http://www.lexar.com/digfilm/sdhc.html

[jnk27]

 

A-Data "Class 6 Turbo" 16gb SDHC card seems to work too.  Got it from NewEgg, on sale now for $79.

John

[GregYohn]

Hi!

My Kodak 2 Gig SD card works fine!

[unrequited]

Kingston 4GB class 4 works perfectly, although I'm assuming all SDHC's work.

[goney3]

A-Data "Class 6 Turbo" 16gb SDHC card seems to work too.  Got it from NewEgg, on sale now for $79.

John

That is excellent news! I have been looking at those

[linuxspice]

My Patriot Memory (no relation to Patriot Communications) 8GB Class 6 SDHC card seems to work well so far, and it's speedy too!  I've seen this online in the US for US$35-40, though here in Canada it goes for significantly more than that (C$50, after a C$15 rebate)... *sigh*...

[kcdistiller]

I've got a KINGMAX 1gb card, and the XO will not recognize the card. It works fine in my Canon camera and Palm Pilot, but not in the XO. Anyone know how to "force" recognition?

[Gleth]

My SanDisk 2GB SD and OCZ class 6 8GB SDHC both work fine.