Help Me Choosing A Memory Card

[seed]

i have my z fir les than 4 month and it is my first pda so i am new to all king of memory as cf and sd card
first the the slot cf vs sd but i allready in this that in spped comparaison they  r not really defferent but that cf seem to be a litle bit cheaper ,but i also read that sd card life time is count in write operation is also true for the cf card wich last more time
but the real problem is that for the the same size there so much diference in the price of  sd card (depending of the brand ) and some said that the zaurus is not  able to use the card at full speed ( and as i dont plant to use it with any other divice) should i go for the go for cheaper is  there any brand or sd card model that is the best to buy
is a good idea to use an usb key and mass storage for the zaurus
thx

[PrOtOn]

I'm also very interested on this topic. I think my Zaurus is on the Office of my apt complex already. So tomorrow I will start playing around with it.
 However I will need to buy 2 storage cards (one for flashing and another for storing) and a wireless card.
 I was looking for some brand names and advices for the types of cards, such as wireless and storage at the same card (good or bad thing?)

 Thanks in advance.

[Omicron]

I'm also very interested on this topic. I think my Zaurus is on the Office of my apt complex already. So tomorrow I will start playing around with it.
 However I will need to buy 2 storage cards (one for flashing and another for storing) and a wireless card.
 I was looking for some brand names and advices for the types of cards, such as wireless and storage at the same card (good or bad thing?)

 Thanks in advance.
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My suggestion is to go for a 1GB SD card.  The SD is pretty much only usable for storage,  where as the CF can be used for WIFI, Bluetooth, Microdrives, Modem, etc etc.

As for brand, any Sandisk, Kingston, Kingmax, Lexar, or Dane-Elec should work well.  Lexar is probably conidered best, but I bought a very cheap Kingmax card and it has worked great for me.  

Definately check the "Hot Deals" forum over at FatWallet.com and search for "SD" and look for whomever is offering good rebates.  At any given time, there is always some manufacturer offering a rebate making a 1GB SD card anywhere from $50 to $75.   Actual stores to watch are Buy.com, Amazon, Newegg, ecost.com, and office supply stores like staples, officemax and office depot. (sometimes, even Dell has a good deal).

Good Luck.

[Miami_Bob]

The SD is good for installing apps & resident data without using up your internal storage memory. My San Disk 512 Mb stays permanently in my primary C860 as an extension to the system.

The SD slot can NOT be used for other devices such as 802.11 or the like so you will want to keep that CF slot freely available if possible.

The CF is necessary for NAND operations & transient data storage. You want to be able to swap it out on need for a wifi card or other devices.

I have several San Disk 512 Mb cards, Lexar 256 Mb & 1 Gb & even a Kodak 32 Mb (which shuttles data happily between my HP200LX & the C860 sisters). All work without problems and have been doing so for about a year give or take.

IMHO, go for the biggest capacity that your budget can stand! Never too rich, too handsome or too much storage space!

[PrOtOn]

Thanks to all, however I still have a couple of questions.
 1st: When I flash my Zaurus, do I need the CF card plugged to run the OS, or it goes to the Zaurus 64MB Hard Drive? If it goes to the Zaurus HD, then I think I will buy a 128MB CF card, instead of just a 32MB(for flashing), so I can use for storage too.
 2nd: How can I set the year on my Zaurus? I tried going to Settings>Date/Time>Date and changing the year to 2005 and then pressing Ok on the top of the screen, however it doesn't change the year. It's still showing 2002 no matter what I do.
 3rd: What can I sync my zaurus with my pc? It seems I can't do no matter what I try.

 Thanks in advance and now I'm off looking for CF and SD storage cards and a wireless card.
 
 Is Belkin a good brand for wireless card? and what is the difference for type I and type II cards?

 Thanks again.

 EDIT: I have accomplished the sync thing, sorry for being such an idiot. However the year thing I still not able to change it.
 And I got a SanDisk 128 CF card from ebay already ($15 with shipping) for flashing. Now I need only a wireless and a SD card for storage.

[Miami_Bob]

PrOtOn -

64 Mb HD? Ahhhh. You need to specify the details. Like what type of Z, which OS & version, etc.

The C860 does not have a HD so I don't know if your Z can flash from the HD or not.

If it were ME, however, I would NOT flash from HD since HD is internal. If the flash burps, you have an internal medium that you can't access. With the CF you can use a card reader & another computer to make the mods to fix the Z.

Now what precisely do you understand "flash" to mean? NAND back up & restore or updater.sh type based fresh install (or something else)?

The C860 needs over 138 Mb for each NAND file. So 32 or even 128 Mb CF are too small to hold even one.

[PrOtOn]

Hey Bob, thanks for the reply.
 I just got a 5500 Zaurus with the Sharp default ROM. And flahsing I thought it was like swapping the OS. Then I thought one you flashed your zaurus, the new OS would be in the HD instead of running off of the CF card (I can only flash my zaurus with a CF card).
 If the new OS doens't get stored in the internal HD, then it makes no sence if I have to leave the CF card in the adapter. How would I use wireless with a CF card in there?

 Taken from the Zaurus:
 Embedix Plus PDA
 Version: 1.0
 Incorporating

 Opera Browser
 Version: 5.0

 Insignia Jeode JVM
 Version: PDA Edition

 Qtopia for Embedix Plus PDA
 Version: 1.5.0
 Compiled by: Trolltech -
 www.trolltech.com
 Built on: Jun 21 2002

 Linux Kernel
 Version:
 2.4.6-rmk1-np2-embedix

 Compiled by: SHARP -
 developer.sharpsec.com

 ROM Version: 2.37

EDIT: I just updated my Zaurus 5500 with the ROM version: 3.10 from the Sharp website. Waitting for my CF card arrive to flash my zaurus with Open Zaurus. Ahhh also I got the year right this time.

[Miami_Bob]

Hey Bob, thanks for the reply.
 I just got a 5500 Zaurus with the Sharp default ROM. And flahsing I thought it was like swapping the OS. Then I thought one you flashed your zaurus, the new OS would be in the HD instead of running off of the CF card (I can only flash my zaurus with a CF card).
 If the new OS doens't get stored in the internal HD, then it makes no sence if I have to leave the CF card in the adapter. How would I use wireless with a CF card in there?

The OS is neither stored on the HD nor on the CF. The OS is stored in the flash RAM onboard the Z that is dedicated to that purpose. The HD, CF & SD are working storage. The Z do not boot from them without a LOT of work (& luck .... G).

Taken from the Zaurus:
 Embedix Plus PDA
 Version: 1.0
 Incorporating

 Opera Browser
 Version: 5.0

 Insignia Jeode JVM
 Version: PDA Edition

 Qtopia for Embedix Plus PDA
 Version: 1.5.0
 Compiled by: Trolltech -
 www.trolltech.com
 Built on: Jun 21 2002

 Linux Kernel
 Version:
 2.4.6-rmk1-np2-embedix

 Compiled by: SHARP -
 developer.sharpsec.com

 ROM Version: 2.37

From the system information app, I presume?

EDIT: I just updated my Zaurus 5500 with the ROM version: 3.10 from the Sharp website. Waitting for my CF card arrive to flash my zaurus with Open Zaurus. Ahhh also I got the year right this time.
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Have fun!

[V-Man]

Just my $0.02 worth, but I would stay away from SanDisk.  I have had two bad cards from them   (the only two I bought).  One quit working after less than a week, the other was DOA.  I heard that they fixed their quality control problems, but I have sworn them off.  I have several Sandisk CF cards that have worked very well.  You will need at least one 32M CF card for flashing ROMS.  I would get one 32M or bigger and dedicate that one just for flashing (some flashes don't take if there are other files on the card).  I would also buy the largest capacity CF and SD cards you can afford for program storage.  I have an SD card that lives in my Z (it never comes out).  I have programs, backups, and data on it.  I have several CF memory cards that I swap in and out of the Z depending on what I want.  I also use them to move data around to other devices (camera, various computers, etc).  I have a NetGear CF Wireless network card.  It is a requirement for me.  I have heard of some people having problems with Netgear (physical failures), so I stopped reccommending this card.  It has always worked for me without a single problem.  I have a 10/100BaseT wired CF network card that has not been used in years (since I got the wireless card).  Unless you have a specific need for one, I wouldn't get one (it is for sale though if you really want one  ).  I also have the camera card.  I hardly ever use it.  The quality sucks (my phone is slightly better).  I used to use it a lot before I got a camera phone.  I wouldn't reccommend it unless you can get a very good price (I paid $15, and that is about what it's worth) and have a definite need for one.

The first priorities (in my opinion) would be to
1.)  get one small CF memory card (32M or bigger) for flashing only
2.)  Get a large capacity SD card (I like Lexar) for installing programs, data, and backups in your Z.
3.)  Get a large capacity CF card (again I like Lexar) for removable storage type items.
4.)  Get a wireless CF network card (you will be amazed at the benefits ie internet just about anywhere).
5.)  Get more CF memory cards.

Good luck and let me know if I can be of any help.

[PrOtOn]

Thanks V-Man.
 I've received my 128 MB CF card already(specific for flashing).
 I've ordered a Symbol CF Wireless card, so it's on the way.
 I've ordered a 12 in 1 card reader/writer, so it's on the way.
 And I will buy my SD 1 MB card pretty soon, just looking for the best deal. I found one at Office Max (Lexar) for $65.

 Right now I'm stuck flashing my 5500 Zaurus. See my post on "Specific Models" under 5500 General Forums.

 Thanks again.

[seed]

did some one tried the 2.2GB plus MAGICSTOR MICRODRIVE it have great price but camera user report that the speed is not that great but isnt 6.5MB/s enought for the zaurus plus about the power , can a microdire user tell if it is really matter
i become crasy about all that memory ??

[lpetroni]

Currently I have a 256MB Sandisk CF and I'm thinking about a 1GB SD and a 2GB CF. Will be safe to buy one of these new "Extreme" / "Ultra" "MegaFast!" SD and CF cards. Are they compatible with my SL5500?

Thanks!

[Miami_Bob]

Some feed back on recent events with regards to choosing CF cards.

I have about half a dozen CF cards of different sizes & brands acquired in the past year & a half of using my C860s. Just recently I was trying to match the capacity of each card more accurately to the need for space of each functional "task group", so to speak.

Abruptly, I could not suspend then resume my C860s without the CF card(s) being unmounted & remounted. This also cause certain apps (Portabase in particular) to abend.

I did some tests and determined (I thought) that something appeared to have changed in my Sharp v1.2 setup which had been working stable for over a year.

Searched without getting useful hits (keywords problem). Posted without getting advice.

Since the glitch was a major PITA, I could not just ignore it. Suggestion from a friend for additional keywords located some useful hits. While trying to phrase the problem to ask another experienced individual's help, got a clue that lead to the explanation of the behavior (and a work about, if not a solution).

Two of my CF cards are 512 Mb San Disk cards. They appear almost completely identical except for minor rearrangement of text on the fronts. I thought that I had originally ruled out the problem being purely card related because I had been using one of those San Disk cards before this whole thing began. And found the problem happened with the San Disks after the glitch started.

QED - not CF card related. .... wrong.

Very careful tests on each & every CF card (since my message for help) turns out that ALL my CF cards cause the resume - remount glitch EXCEPT for *one* of those two "identical" San Disk 512's.

My earlier tests apparently were done on the other San Disk CF alone. And I assumed, in error, that the behavior was consistent between the two cards.

Every other CF card that I have causes the problem. Brand & capacity do not seem to matter. Sometimes not very obvious unless PortaBase is open, but repeatable once one is looking for the glitch.

I lucked out with my first "main" CF card & only found the landmine after I began rearranging the contents across several card.

So, even apparently "identical" cards of the same brand & capacity can have major differences in behavior. And I'm back again to using the one "good" San Disk 512 Mb CF for my 24/7/365 working file set.

[brashley46]

I've got a sandisk 128 MB MultiMediaCard, not an SD card, which I originally bought 2 years ago for use in my old Franklin eBookman. Occasionally the Zaurus File Transfer interface doesn't read it correctly; looks like it's trying to read it in Japanese    . (I'm running the 3.1.3 ROM at the moment, using ZFT and Qtopia interfaces to my Windows XP box.) And it won't write large files, particularly .mpg, to the card. Should I blow off the MMC and get a real SD card, or is it a peculiarity of the interface software?