SDS200 " SD Card Access Error " question

[Greg43545]

I turned on my SDS200 this morning and got the dreaded " SD Card Access Error " message.

It worked fine last night when I turned it off properly.

I removed the SD card and replaced it, hoping to do a ' reboot ' if you will, but got the same error message.

I tried to reformat it in Sentinel and, unless I wasn't doing it correctly, Sentinel didn't even recognize the scanner was connected to it.

I went here but it didn't seem to give me a solution either: SDS200 - SD Card Access Error

I Called Uniden customer support at 1-800-297-1023. Got Voicemail their office is closed. Does anyone know if they are closed because it's Saturday or because of the Coronavirus?

I'm really disappointed - Hell, it's so new that I just sent my payment into the credit card company YESTERDAY to pay off the thing.

I thought I could fix it in Sentinel but that didn't work.

Does anyone have a recommendation on how to get the scanner back up and running?

 

[belvdr]

Are you able to connect the card directly to a computer? If so then open sentinel and do a clear user data.

 

[Greg43545]

I don't have an SD Card reader and my PC doesn't either.

 

[hiegtx]

I don't have an SD Card reader and my PC doesn't either.

Do you have a digital camera that uses SD cards? If so, try formatting the card in the camera. That has worked for me when I was unable to format a corrupted card either in a PC, or using the SD card formatter. I save a couple of the adapters you get when buying the small SD card used by the scanners. The adapter lets you insert the mini card, and then you can use it in a camera, or other reader, that only accepts the full size SD.

 

[fxdscon]

I tried to reformat it in Sentinel and, unless I wasn't doing it correctly, Sentinel didn't even recognize the scanner was connected to it.

Sentinel does not perform any formatting on the SD card.

Sentinel won't recognize a corrupted or un-formatted card.

Put your scanner in "mass storage" mode... you may need to connect your scanner to your computer before turning the scanner on before you can get into mass storage.

Download and run this program to see if it will recognize your SD card in the scanner and format it. This is the formatter that Uniden recommends.

SD Memory Card Formatter for Windows/Mac | SD Association

www.sdcard.org

If that program doesn't recognize and format the card, you will probably need to replace the card.

If it does format the card without error, or if you get a new card, then use the Sentinel "clear user data" function (be sure you check the "display all drives" box) and follow the prompts.

 

[Greg43545]

I just called my local Walmart - they DO have SD cards, so I'm going there to buy a new one - AND a spare - thank you ALL for your help, I appreciate it !

 

[mikewazowski]

While you're there, see about an SD card reader.

 

[Greg43545]

While you're there, see about an SD card reader.

Sorry Mike, didn't see this post till I returned home. I'll do so on my next trip to Walmart

 

[Greg43545]

OK, I went to Walmart, the clerk advised the previous card was an 8 GB, so I purchased two 32 GB, one for now and one for a backup.

It's a SanDisk ImageMate Pro microSDHC UHS-1 Card 32 GB with speeds up to 100 MB/Read.


How do I replace and reformat this card for my SDS200? Is there a particular order in which steps must be taken?

 

[ofd8001]

Download and install SD Formatter Utility which is what Uniden recommends: SD Memory Card Formatter 5.0 for SD/SDHC/SDXC

1. Insert new card in card reader and launch SD Formatter. Follow instructions as they appear. Note the drive letter associated with the new SD card.
2. Launch Sentinel>Scanner>Clear User Data
3. Check the Display all Drives box, then click OK.
4. Then go to Scanner>Write to scanner

When completed, be sure to use Windows Explorer to dismount SD card from card reader and insert it into the scanner. Should be good to go.

Its a little scary at first to do this, but you will be fine. Clear User Data wipes the slate clear and installs fresh operating files for the scanner to work. Every now and then, I will reformat SD cards just to be sure I've erased any hidden data that might consume memory space, then do the Clear User Data. I do this with a card reader because it goes much faster.

 

[Greg43545]

I don't have a card reader

 

[hiegtx]

OK, I went to Walmart, the clerk advised the previous card was an 8 GB, so I purchased two 32 GB, one for now and one for a backup.

It's a SanDisk ImageMate Pro microSDHC UHS-1 Card 32 GB with speeds up to 100 MB/Read.


How do I replace and reformat this card for my SDS200? Is there a particular order in which steps must be taken?

This is the same basic info that ofd already posted, with a few screenshots. Without a card reader, start at the If you did not also get a card reader point below.

If you picked up a card reader as well, format the card first.

If using a card reader, after format, select Clear User Data from the drop-down Scanner Menu.


For a blank (new) card, be sure and check the "Display All Drives"

Select your card and click OK.

Once that is done, then select Write to Scanner. Either use the icon highlighted below, or choose that option from the Scanner drop-down menu.


The Clear User Data option set up the card to be used in your scanner. The Write to Scanner option downloaded your selected Favorites lists to the card, and the card is now ready for use in the scanner.

If you did not also get a card reader, then first install the card in your scanner.
Now, connect the scanner to your PC. When you connect the USB cable, you'll see two options:
Press .No for Serial Mode
or
Press E yes for Mass Storage. You need to select mass storage.

Once the scanner is in Mass Storage mode, select the Clear User Data option as indicated above. This prepares the card for use. You may have to select the "Display All Drives" to see a link for the blank card.
Once you've selected 'all drives', and the scanner is in Mass Storage Mode, then proceed with the Clear User Data choice.

Once the clear data is finished, then use Write to Scanner to load the needed information, including Favorites Lists, to the card.

Once the Write to Scanner process finishes, then eject the scanner from the Mass Storage Mode. You should see a smal icon in the lower right corner of your display, that says "Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media" when you hover your mouse pointer over it.
Click that icon, and select the drive letter that represents your scanner.
After a few seconds, you should get a brief pop-up message that you can now remove the item. You may also hear a 'thump' when Windows disconnects.
Remove the USB cable connecting the scanner & PC.
You should now be ready to go.

 

[fxdscon]

I don't have a card reader

New SD cards are usually formatted, but the scanner won't recognize it because there are no operating files on the card that the scanner needs to boot up... so you will get the SD card error on the screen.

With the new card in the scanner, put the scanner in "mass storage" mode (you may need to connect the scanner to the computer before turning the scanner on). Open Sentinel on your computer and from the top menu choose "scanner", then "clear user data".. when the next window opens, check the box that says "display all drives", be sure the SD card is selected there, and follow the prompts. After that finishes, write from Sentinel to the scanner to transfer your settings and programming. Disconnect the USB cable, and the scanner will re-boot.

 

[Greg43545]

OK, Mass Storage message did NOT come up, instead I got a message stating " SD Card File Error - Use Sentinel " Clear User Data " operation to initialize SD Card '.

To advise you what I did :

I shut the scanner off, connected the scanner to the computer,
opened up Sentinel ( Green for SDS200 )
turned scanner on,
clicked on " Scanner ",
clicked on " Clear User Data ",
Select MicroSD " popped up,
Clicked " Display All Drives "
But no scanner info appears in box and the " OK " button is greyed out.

Any suggestions what my next course of action should be?

 

[hiegtx]

You're not going to see a "scanner" listed before you do the "Clear User Data. Instead, you will only see a drive letter that represents your new card. That's what you select.

 

[Greg43545]

The " Select MicroSD " box - even with " Display All Drive " checked is completely empty.

No Scanner Info or Drive Letter,

 

[fxdscon]

The " Select MicroSD " box - even with " Display All Drive " checked is completely empty.

No Scanner Info or Drive Letter,

OK, try turning on the scanner before connecting to the computer... when sd card error appears, plug in the cable and see if it goes into mass storage.

.

 

[Greg43545]

OK, try turning on the scanner before connecting to the computer... when sd card error appears, plug in the cable and see if it goes into mass storage.

.

It DID, THANK YOU

 

[Greg43545]

OK, so far so good - Should I check " Force Write Full Database " ?

 

[fxdscon]

OK, so far so good - Should I check " Force Write Full Database " ?

Wouldn't hurt, but not normally necessary.