PC3. problem with XD card

[jimmymio]

Just purchased an Olympus 1g M+ card for my PC361. I checked it with a card reader and it says the card is formatted to Fat-16. When I tried to use it in the Kurz it says it wasn't formatted. I tried formatting it but it seemed to go on endlessly. I tried the process again and after 20 minutes it still says formatting. This doesn't seem right. The card looks fine in the card reader.

Any ideas?

[Mike Warren]

There is a large degree of incompatibility with the PC3 and cards greater than something like 64MB. There were lots of people complaining about Olympus cards.

 

Make sure you have the latest firmware as there was some improvement made to XD support.

[MoodyBluesKeys]

Make sure the PC361 is running a recent OS. Next step would be to try using a PC to format the card. The PC3 series originally supported ONLY the original Type S XD cards. These were made in 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, and 512 MB sizes (I have a number of 64 and 128meg, several 256 meg, and I've personally never seen a 512 meg type S).

 

The recent OS versions kind of added support for a 1 GB type M card - the reason I say Kind Of is that card support seems to be spotty.

 

Best way now to find one of the older cards cheaply is to search out old digital cameras that have one of the Type S cards. Five years ago, the cards could be found easily on EBay and from several vendors. Not as easy now.

 

Kurzweil used the same technology they were using on the K2661, which has a SmartMedia card (even harder to find now). I first bought xd cards to use with an adapter for the 2661, which maxed out with a 128mb card. Then the licensees for the xd card refused to allow Kurzweil to buy into their system (on the grounds that they didn't make any cameras), so all changes had to be reverse-engineered. Probably the largest reason for discontinuing the original PC3 series after the PC3K came out.

 

Also, if you have never previously used the card reader in the PC361, there is some possibility that it might have a problem. My reader no longer works properly on the PC3, still OK on the PC3X and the PC361. I now backup and restore the PC3 using the USB cable and computer (with Windows, I have to not only delete one update file before there is room to load the other, I also have to dump the Recycle Bin so the file doesn't just become hidden). I could order a new board, but can't really cost justify doing so.

 

 

[Delaware Dave]

I have three of the m+ 1gb cards and they all work perfectly and none of them had to be formatted. I have heard some people having issues with 1gb cards. It could also be that you have a card reader issue on the PC3. To rule out the card reader try finding an xD card, type S, no larger than 256mb, and give it a try. If it works then the issue is the type m+ 1gb cards, if it doesn't work then your issue is the reader itself.

 

Unless you are storing songs on the card, for programs, setups, effects, etc. 256mb is more than you will ever need in a lifetime.

 

Here's one, i think ...

 

http://www.oempcworld.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=BQE&AttributeCode[1]=Computer&gdftrk=gdfV24137_a_7c1396_a_7c4971_a_7cBQE

 

[Dave Weiser]

Here is some helpful info at the Kurz website.

http://kurzweil.com/knowledgebase/pc3x/storage_mode/248/

 

If you're still stuck, contact Kurz support.

http://kurzweil.com/support/operational/

[Al Coda]

2 Olympus 1GB M+ cards in use here.

Never had a problem.

Meanwhile I formatted the cards several times on PC using WinXP, create my directories on PC and it works flawlessly.

Formatting on PC might be much faster.

I use a cheapo USB 7 in 1 cardreader for PC and the cards work fine w/ both the cardreader and the PC361´s drive.

 

Maybe some of these cards don´t work correctly because of manufacturing quality issues,- can be you´ve picked up a bad card.

 

A.C.