BCD536HP SD Acess error

[llwade]

brand new scanner. 1-day old. working great. screen black with error message. "SD Card Access Error".
How do i fix the problem?

 

[bravo14]

brand new scanner. 1-day old. working great. screen black with error message. "SD Card Access Error".
How do i fix the problem?

Check this first... Make sure radio is off take out card than reinsert it than turn on radio. If nothing happens than You'll need to reformat the card threw sentinel and clear settings. Did you have a power surge while radio is on? Or radio is on and took out the sd card?

 

[llwade]

not sure ..... the buttons are awfully small/close for my fat little fingers. Did notice the SD card was partially out of slot. I just got the radio yesterday and it was working fine. Had added several systems and had everything just the way I wanted it. .......... Do you have the 536? If so what do i need to do. I am hoping you are not going to tell me to order a new card with the systems installed on it. My screen is "DEAD"

 

[llwade]

is there anyway to use the scanner w/o the SD card? I dont have an adapter. I have to wait for a new card to arrive from Amazon ..... with the darn adapter. That being said, I really like the radio. I use AC536 software to progam the scanner. After learning on the BCD996XT and HP-1, this radio was a breeze and pleasure to program. When i use the Sentinal program, will it automatically put everything on the SD card I will need to get me up and running. I guarantee I will have a BU SD card to use the next time this happens. Just hope the original card is not damaged. I assume the SD card in the HP-1 will be a totally different configuration and would not be a route to get this radio up and running

 

[bravo14]

not sure ..... the buttons are awfully small/close for my fat little fingers. Did notice the SD card was partially out of slot. I just got the radio yesterday and it was working fine. Had added several systems and had everything just the way I wanted it. .......... Do you have the 536? If so what do i need to do. I am hoping you are not going to tell me to order a new card with the systems installed on it. My screen is "DEAD"

I do have the 536. Most people do get some new cards for backup sometimes they can last a day or 5 years. I had to replace mine like a year after I had mine. I use the 8 gig card class 10. The past 2 months I've been using 536pro for programing. I use a card reader that reads like 20+ plus cards. If you have a sd micro card usb reader you don't need the adapter for it.

 

[kb3isq]

I do have the 536. Most people do get some new cards for backup sometimes they can last a day or 5 years. I had to replace mine like a year after I had mine. I use the 8 gig card class 10. The past 2 months I've been using 536pro for programing. I use a card reader that reads like 20+ plus cards. If you have a sd micro card usb reader you don't need the adapter for it.

Why wait to order an sd card, go to Walmart and buy one or two

 

[NYRHKY94]

As stated by kb3isq, Walmart has exactly what you need without the wait. I just purchased a 2-pack of 16GB high performance MicroSD cards at my local Walmart for $18. It came with the adapter as well. I formatted one of the cards and followed the instructions posted on this site to get my 536 back up & running. The original 4GB card stopped working after about 2.5 years of use.

 

[llwade]

NYRHKY94..... You said you formatted the card and "followed the instructions posted on this site" where did you go on this site, to get those instructions? I have never done this before nor used Sentinel. I have just used the program ARC 536 to configure the scanner with the stations I wanted to listen to. Thank You for your time I appreciate your help

 

[fxdscon]

NYRHKY94..... You said you formatted the card and "followed the instructions posted on this site" where did you go on this site, to get those instructions? I have never done this before nor used Sentinel. I have just used the program ARC 536 to configure the scanner with the stations I wanted to listen to. Thank You for your time I appreciate your help

Connect the scanner to your computer with the SD card installed and choose the Mass Storage mode .

When connected to your computer, from the top menu in Sentinel, click "scanner", then "clear user data", then check the box that says "display all drives". If the SD card is showing up there, select it and finish the "clear user data" process and then "write" to the scanner from Sentinel to restore your data, disconnect the scanner from the computer and let it re-boot.

If the SD card doesn't show up in the step above, or if you still get the error message, try reformatting the card in the scanner using Windows, or with a card reader connected to your computer.... best to format using this program if errors continue:

www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/

and then go back to the "clear user data" step above. If the SD card still doesn't show up, or if you still get the error message, replace the card with a new one, and then start again at the the "clear user data" step above..

.

 

[garys]

Did you try just plugging the card back in and restarting the scanner? You will see that exact message if the scanner is powered on without an SD card in the slot.

It's still good advice to have a back up card, as they have a finite life span.

 

[llwade]

Guys, I must be missing something ........ I removed SD card and reinserted it into the scanner. I again turned on the 536 scanner. same message, " SD CARD WRITE ERROR". attached to computer with cable but cannot choose MASS STOREAGE. screen is black and can bearly read "SD CARD WRITE ERROR"

when the new SD card arrives tomorrow, what are the steps to getting this radio up and running. As I said before, I have never used SENTINEL, have only used ARC program to write favorites. again, Thank You for your time

 

[fxdscon]

when the new SD card arrives tomorrow, what are the steps to getting this radio up and running. As I said before, I have never used SENTINEL, have only used ARC program to write favorites. again, Thank You for your time

With the old card......

Try connecting the scanner to the computer before you turn the scanner on and then see if you can enter the mass storage mode when you turn the scanner on. If you can, then follow the directions I gave you above for the clear user data function.

Also, follow the steps I gave you above for the clear user data function when you get the new card. You may still need to turn the scanner off before connecting to your computer and then turn the scanner on to enter the mass storage mode.

Keep in mind.....

The scanner will not recognize the new SD card and it will not work until you use the clear user data function in Sentinel. A new, formatted card will still give you that error message until you use the clear user data function.

You must use Sentinel to do that.

.

 

[llwade]

results were the same. anxious to format new card and get this radio optional again. I do appreciate your input and time

 

[fxdscon]

results were the same. anxious to format new card and get this radio optional again. I do appreciate your input and time

New cards are already formatted when you receive them. You should be able to go right to the clear user data function. The clear user data function does not do any formatting on the card.... It puts the necessary files onto the card that has already been formatted to boot up the scanner. The card must be formatted before using the clear user data function.

Did you try to re-format the old card with the formatter program I gave you a link to before using the clear user data function ? Try that in the card reader that you ordered. You may still be able to recover that card.

Also, as a remote possibility, try a different USB cable if you continue to have problems with the new card.

Getting up and running after a corrupt card should be a very quick and easy process, just takes a couple of minutes.

.

 

[ofd8001]

Sounds to me like somewhere along the line you have inadvertently changed the contrast for the screen on your scanner.

Try pressing Menu>Display Options>Adjust Contrast and change the value to Contrast 10 (or thereabouts as you wish).

But you'll need a working SD card to get to the menu screen.

I agree with getting a new SD card from Walmart, Office Depot, Staples or just about any store of this nature. SD cards are pretty cheap and having spares is a good thing.

Also as noted above, you'll really need to learn at least a little bit of Sentinel for the 436/536. Its the only way you can prepare a new SD card, update firmware, update the full database and modify your profile settings. While ARC is a good piece of software, it only deals with Favorites Lists and doesn't do any of those other important tasks.

When you do get the new SD card, here are the steps to prepare it for use in your scanner: (It sounds worse than it is).

1. Insert SD card in computer card reader slot (may need an adapter card, which usually comes with the new SD card.
2. When the card is inserted a message appears on the computer screen showing which drive is associated with the card. Note the drive letter. (You may need to use Windows Explorer to determine which drive letter is associated with the SD card as this message appears only briefly. It should be apparent which drive letter is associated with the SD card.)
3. Start the SD Formatter Utility. Select the drive letter where the SD card is located.
4. Click the Format button on SD Formatter and answer OK, which shows up three times during the format process.
5. The third time is a message saying the formatting is complete. After clicking OK, Exit SD Formatter Utility.
6. Start Sentinel
7. Click Scanner>Clear User Data. A pop-up window appears. Check the “Display all drives” box. In the field you should see something like “X:\(Unknown)”. The “X” should be that drive letter associated with the SD card from previous steps. If not already highlighted, click on that X:\(Unknown), then press the OK button.
8. Another pop-up window appears, which is a confirmation that you want to Clear user data. Press OK. Yet another pop-up window appears saying “All information in your scanner will be erases if you proceed”. Click OK.
9. A progress window appears showing the progress of writing the necessary files to the SD card. When completed, a pop-up window appears saying “Finished Clearing User Data”. Click OK.
10. Click Scanner>Write to Scanner. Check the “Erase Favorites Lists on Scanner” and “Force Write Full Database” boxes, then click OK. A pop-up window appears asking you to confirm your actions, click OK. A progress bar window appears. When finished a “Finished writing to scanner” message appears. Click OK.
11. Unmount to SD card using Windows Explorer (eject the SD card), then remove the SD card from the card reader.
12. Re-insert the SD card in the scanner and turn the scanner on.

 

[ofd8001]

Fxdscon was writing at the same time I was and didn't see what he posted.

While new SD cards may be formatted, they will often contain "helpful" utilities that won't serve any purpose with your scanner, other than take up space. Also, its remotely possible that some of those "helpful" utilities may use file extensions that confuse your scanner as it looks at the card. So I will always re-formate a new card just to be sure I'm working with a clean slate.

 

[Ubbe]

You can often reformat SD cards when you have them in another device, a camera, a printer, a GPS navigator or whatever are at hand that will connect to a computer.

/Ubbe

 

[llwade]

THANK YOU TO ALL. The SD card came in the mail today and I am up and running. Scanner cant stop "yaking" A special thank you to OFD8001. Your detailed instruction sheet made it way too easy. got it right the First Time. Again, Thank You easch and every one of you. Without your input my scanner would be dead in the water.

 

[NYRHKY94]

Glad to hear you got your new radio up & running! Mine went 2 and 1/2 years before the original SD card went, however others have had it go bad in a much shorter time. As many of the guys here have recommended, it's good to have another spare SD card or two handy if you run into the same issue again (a matter of time LOL). Walmart has them at a very good price and no waiting for shipping.