Flash memory cards: SD, MS and MMC

wpcoe

Senior member
Nov 13, 2007
586
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I unexpectly just downsized my notebook's storage to a 60GB SSD, and need to supplement the storage. I travel a lot, and like to have most of my data with me.

The notebook in question is a five-year old Acer Travelmate which has a card reader that handles SD, MMC, Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro media. I know next-to-nothing about these cards.

I read here a suggestion to simply insert, and leave in, an SD card to have "built-in" extra storage. I like that idea, since it's not adding a piece of hardware to carry with me on trips, like an external HDD or yet another thumb drive to lose.

However, on doing research, it appears that an SD card is limited to 2GB maximum storage. Only SDHC cards are larger, but they are not compatible with my card reader. Am I correct so far?

Do I understand correctly that MMC, MMC Plus, and SecureMMC cards are all compatible with the standard SD reader like I have, but only go up to 4GB maximum size?

If the above is all correct, the only way I see to implement this scheme would be with MemoryStick Pro and get either 16GB for about $50 or 32GB for about $80.

I've had such a rush of hardware changes and failures in the past couple weeks that my head is spinning, and want to make sure I'm heading in the right direction with this strategy. Any feedback is welcome!
 

Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
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However, on doing research, it appears that an SD card is limited to 2GB maximum storage.
Only SDHC cards are larger, but they are not compatible with my card reader. Am I correct so far?

Any feedback is welcome!
Where did you read that SDHC cards are not compatible with your reader?
 

wpcoe

Senior member
Nov 13, 2007
586
2
81
My Acer Travelmate 3004WTMi was purchased in 2005. The original specs for the 4-in-1 card drive only specify SD, MMC, Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro, not SDHC. From the following excerpts it seems a firmware flash would be needed for the reader to accommodate SDHC. There have been no firmware updates that I can find. (In fact, I cannot find any *drivers* for the reader any more current than 2/10/2005.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_memory_cards
This chart indicates that SDHC's "entry date" was 2006:
sdhc_2006.gif



http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-sdhc-cards.htm
SDHC cards are designed for devices that are compatible with the SDHC 2.00 specification. Products designed exclusively to support previous SD specifications 1.0 and 1.1 will not be able to utilize SDHC cards.


http://www.sdcard.org/developers/tech/sdhc/
SDHC cards also work in standard SD slots with a firmware upgrade.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital
Changes to the interface of the established format have made some older devices designed for standard SD cards (≤4 GB) unable to handle newer formats such as SDHC (≥4 GB).


http://www.tech-faq.com/sdhc.html
Who Can Use SDHC Cards?

Devices that comply with the SDA V 2.00 specification can use these SDHC memory cards. Devices that support only versions 1.00 and 1.1 will not be able to use these cards. These cards are priced on the basis of their capacity and speed. The consumer will need to check that his or her device is compatible before using SDHC.
 

jjmIII

Diamond Member
Mar 13, 2001
8,399
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Honestly, it looks like you have your answers.
Maybe you should have used the $50-80 for a larger SSD instead of a MemoryStick Pro??
 

razel

Platinum Member
May 14, 2002
2,337
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101
Have you tried an SDHC card anyway? I have a 2005 Dell laptop that reads SDHC. It had no firmware updates for SDHC cards, but I do remember Windows and card reader manufacturer's having updates. Also with some SD readers, the SD card can stick out a bit.

Other solutions I can think of cost more or about the same per GIG as an SSD. The cheapest is 2.5" external USB HDD drive (.10 per GIG) next would be a super tiny-USB SD card reader ($5) with a cheap SDHC at $1.20 per GIG). After that you start to reach SSD prices per GIG.
 

wpcoe

Senior member
Nov 13, 2007
586
2
81
I don't know anybody who has an SDHC I can borrow, and will pass on buying one on the off chance it would work. If it doesn't work, I have no use for the card.

I'm trying to avoid dongles, external drives, etc to keep travel simple. I travel a lot and use the computer a lot when I travel.

Maybe you should have used the $50-80 for a larger SSD instead of a MemoryStick Pro??

If only it were that simple. I bought the SSD as a boot drive for my desktop computer, the plastic tab supporting the data pins and one of the ground pins broke off and it will no longer work with a standard SATA data cable, but does work in an external USB drive enclosure or when inserted in my notebook (FYI, there are two ground pins on the connector, and apparently one is enough for use) ... both situations where the drive is firmly locked into place and no movement against the pins. So, I figured I'd try to gerry-rig some sort of configuration and just leave it in the notebook.

Oh, well. Back to the drawing board. Thanks for the input!
 

wpcoe

Senior member
Nov 13, 2007
586
2
81
FWIW, this discussion is now moot for me. I found a way to transfer the damaged SSD back to my desktop computer and it works fine there now, so I'm back to using my large HHD in my notebook. No more notebook storage woes!