SD card not seen by PC, but read/write by logger shield is OK

[Smilinggoatfarm]

Hi, I have recently purchased a SD logger shield kit. It assembled quickly (thanks to the great photo manual). I formatted the SD card on my laptop (FAT16), no issues. Ran a test data collection, was able to see and copy LOGGER00.csv to the laptop no problems. Ran an over-night data collection, also no problems.
Ran one more test with the arduino hooked up to a 12v battery, also no problems. We were having a cold snap , so I wanted to record nightime temps in my small greenhouse, so I setup the logger in the greenhouse for 3 days and nights. I then powered down the arduino and removed the SD card to the laptop. The computer did not see the SD card at all, gave this message Windows cannot identify the device.
However, I was able to read and write to the card using the arduino and the SD library. Files are there and can be viewed with hyperterminal via serial.

What has gone wrong, I am confused. Is the card damaged in someway?

PS I also tried to read the card in my digital camera, no go.

Thanks in advance for a reply, and sorry for the long post, just trying to be thorough.

[adafruit_support_bill]

That is a strange case. Do you have a different computer to try it on?

[Smilinggoatfarm]

Yes I do have another older (2005) laptop. When I first got the card I tried to use that computer to format the SD initially, but it would not complete the process (to old perhaps? made before SDs had 2 G?). So I used my newer one with no problems during format.
The old laptop also does not even see the SD card now that the shield has written files to it, same story with newer one and the digital camera.

[adafruit_support_bill]

Formatting the card on your computer can be a problem, because most operating system format utilities do not adhere strictly to the SD standard. But usually that is more of a problem for the logger than the computer. In your case it sounds like the logger reads/writes it fine, but you can't read it on the computer you formatted it with.

The author of the library has some recommendations for formatting here: http://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=26856&p=137752&hilit=format#p137752

[Smilinggoatfarm]

I will try to format using SDfat. Hope this works.

Thanks for your prompt replies and help.

Love your products and your support.

[adafruit]

We now carry SDHC cards - older computers and adapters may not read them
non-HC SD cards are going extinct so you may want to get a new adapter!

[Smilinggoatfarm]

An update of progress so far. Using the SDfat library I formated the SD card that came with the logger shield kit. No luck being recognized by either XP or Vista laptops. So I went out today and bought a microSDHC (4G), and a USB plug in reader. SDfat formated the new SDHC, no problems. Logged some data, seen by Vista not by XP using new USB card reader. Good so far, however this is not dissimilar to initial success as I logged 4 tests when I first got the kit. These test logs were read by Vista, but after 3 day logging session no go. Hope this does not happen with new card.

Again thanks for your help.

[dr144208]

Was there ever a resolution? I have a similar issue as Smilinggoatfarm described, except that my OS is Windows 7.

To summarize: I formatted my SD card in the logger shield using the format sketch from SDFat. Then I logged some data and verified it was there using other SDFat sketches that read the directory and file contents out to the serial monitor. But when I put the card into a USB reader connected to two different Windows PCs, I get the "Card is not formatted" message.

Any advice? Thanks!

[adafruit_support_bill]

Interesting. The logger is usually more picky about the format than Windows. There are several SD card analysis/diagnostic tools available as free downloads. You might try one of those and see what it has to say about the format of the card.