SD card compatibility list

[Jman]

Interesting find, Jman. YOu recall that one of OEM cards didn't work at all. Well, that doesn't have the above file on it, but then, neither does my original 2box card - unless it's invisible to the Mac. Would you be able to send me a copy of the file and I'll try loading it manually on the OEM card to see if that makes it readable on the 2box.
thanks
Allan

Wow, sorry Allan, I didn't see this till today.
OK, here is the .metadata_never_index file
https://files.secureserver.net/0s9lesDNRsrDvP

[fishmonkey]

the file doesn't have any special content, in fact in most cases it is an empty file. it's the name that is important.

one way to recreate the file is this:

• insert the card into your Mac
• fire up a Terminal window (Terminal is in /Applications/Utilities)
• navigate to the root level of the card by typing: cd /Volumes/TheNameOfYourCardHere
• type the command: touch .metadata_never_index

the touch command will create an empty file with the specified name. note that that leading '.' on the filename is crucial (it makes a hidden file on OS X).

the presence of that file tells OS X not to do any Spotlight indexing or other metadata operations on the card.

if you are a Mac user who frequently uses Windows volumes, then BlueHarvest is a good tool for automatically keeping them free of special OS X files and folders...

http://www.zeroonetwenty.com/blueharvest/

[digitalDrummer]

Thanks Jman. I copied your file to the SD card root and - voila! I am now able to boot the 2box.
Fishmonkey, thanks for your instructions but I already had Jerry's file downloaded.
So, I now have one more workable SD card.

[Jman]

Thanks Jman. I copied your file to the SD card root and - voila! I am now able to boot the 2box.
Fishmonkey, thanks for your instructions but I already had Jerry's file downloaded.
So, I now have one more workable SD card.

Interesting indeed!

[fishmonkey]

the firmware of the 2Box module must be getting confused by some of the metadata files and folders that OS X generates by default. it should be straightforward for 2Box to tweak the firmware to simply ignore those...

[DocBrown]

Hi everybody. I made all the SD expansion and everything seems to work fine after several months. I have done it with a SanDisk Extreme 16GB SDHC class 10 (45MB/s) and this SD extension: http://dx.com/p/gps-sd-sdhc-card-reader-extension-cable-white-black-blue-48cm-218278

[Jamvais]

Hi all,

Here's my contribution. I made the SD card extension mod and used Transcend 16 GB UHS-I class 10 memory card and it works flawlessly. Here's a pic for you.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zj24yc4q2fgxx4u/2014-02-10%2010.45.42.jpg



Edit: For some reason the pic won't show up so I added a plain link

[dj_porter]

this one is not working at all! Verbatim 32GB SecureDigital SDHC Card (Class10)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301083294122?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

[Murgen]

this one is not working at all! Verbatim 32GB SecureDigital SDHC Card (Class10)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301083294122?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Heya dj porter. Both Burnin and I learned the hard way there are a lot of fake cards for sale on ebay. I tested one of those fakes and the performance was 50% of the real card. Of course I got my money back but Ebay is a dodgy source for cards.

[dj_porter]

To tell you the truth, the card came with the original package, I think the card is just not working with 2Box, it is possible to be a fake too, Chinese fakes are everyday better but it look legit...who knows...

PD: I think you are right, this seller have like 600 negative/neutral feedback and many are Counterfeit related...

[Gitarcisavas]

I had a few sd cards laying around, i decided to test them with 2box while I'm waiting my sd card extension cable for the sd card mode. Some of the cards didn't work with the unit. I found out that formatting a card on pc using FAT32 and setting "Allocation unit size" to 32 kbytes solved the problem and they work just fine. The default setting for "Allocation unit size" was 4096 bytes. The original card on 2box module was also 32 kbytes. Could anyone try this with their laggy or not working sd cards and see if that helps?

I have a question. Are 16gb cards are faster than 32gb cards of the same type? Or is it irrelevant?

Savas.

[Jman]

I had a few sd cards laying around, i decided to test them with 2box while I'm waiting my sd card extension cable for the sd card mode. Some of the cards didn't work with the unit. I found out that formatting a card on pc using FAT32 and setting "Allocation unit size" to 32 kbytes solved the problem and they work just fine. The default setting for "Allocation unit size" was 4096 bytes. The original card on 2box module was also 32 kbytes. Could anyone try this with their laggy or not working sd cards and see if that helps?

I have a question. Are 16gb cards are faster than 32gb cards of the same type? Or is it irrelevant?

Savas.

The info on the formatting and size of cluster is discussed in many threads on the forum. And if you are formatting a card I strongly suggest using this, not the standard format tool on your PC:
https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/  which has also been discussed in many threads.

I am not sure how much of this thread you have read, but it is not just the proper formatting that determines the best cards for the 2Box unit. It is also not the cards with the fastest read or write times. Also cards that "seem" to work well directly in the module slot do not always work well or work at all in the extender. Testing out the cards over a period of time with the extender installed is really the only sure way to determine if the cards work just fine. Lag time problems are not always evident, and usually become more evident when using larger size dsnds created from VST software.

Generally cards that work the best will Boot up in the module at start up faster. As far as 16GB or 32GB. In a series of compatible cards usually the 16GB or 32GB will both work, 16GB may be a tiny bit faster booting up, but you won't find any noticeable dif in performance, just less available space. 
J

[Gitarcisavas]

So the specs doesn't matter. I was about to purchase Toshiba Exceria Type 2 SDHC card, because it has 95mb/s read speed. Should I just pick any class 10 SDHC card? Toshiba SDHC cards with 30mb/s read speed is only half the price. I want to try something different and contribute to the list.

Savas.

[Murgen]

It is not just the transferspeed but also the response time. I'm not the expert here but undocumented on SD cards is this feature which is very important for our purpose. Transferspeeds >= 20 MBps up and down are okay but I have no record of response.

We use the card in another way then most people. And manufacturers overlook our purpose, as a result it is try and error for us.

[Jman]

So the specs doesn't matter. I was about to purchase Toshiba Exceria Type 2 SDHC card, because it has 95mb/s read speed. Should I just pick any class 10 SDHC card? Toshiba SDHC cards with 30mb/s read speed is only half the price. I want to try something different and contribute to the list.

Savas.

This thread from page one is filled with info on compatible cards.