SP3 keeps forgetting micro-SD card then remembering it again

[garryknight]

Every now and again I hear a noise similar to the one you get when you unplug a USB device. Then, a second or so later, there's a similar noise and a File Manager window opens showing the D drive, which is a 128 GB Sandisk Extreme micro-SD card. It's as if the Surface Pro lost the card for a second then found it again.

When this happened just now, I also got a pop-up dialog saying, "We're unable to find the OneDrive folder because the drive is unavailable". The OneDrive folder is on the card but the OneDrive icon isn't in the system tray. I'm guessing that my OneDrive isn't being synced.

The Surface is running Windows 10 version 1511, build 10586.318 and it's the i7 8GB 128GB version. If I start an error check on the drive, I get the message "You don't need to scan this drive", so it looks as if the card is OK.

Could this be a power management issue, or something else?

 

[Vasrias]

I have the same problem with my 16 gb SanDisk card. I thought it is probably broken after years of use and just ordered a new 128gb one on amazon (I haven't received it yet). But now I'm curious if it isn't a problem of the card.

It's the exact same problem. Including the OneDrive message and the "scan the device" thing. But one additional thing is happening: After the card is recognized again, OneDrive is searching for changes in the folder and syncs ALL folders even though I have only one folder set to sync in the settings. This caused a big battery drain, which put my usage time on battery below 2 hours with a full charged battery.

 

[smbishop]

Happening to me as well. I don't have my onedrive folder on it though...

 

[Vasrias]

Oh and I am on build 14361, but had it on 14352 (or what the number was) as well.

 

[garryknight]

As a follow-up, I can't be sure this happened on the same day but when I opened an Excel .xlsx spreadsheet on my PC that syncs in Dropbox with my other devices, it had been corrupted and large parts of various sheets were missing. I managed to retrieve the complete file from my SP3 so I'm now wondering if it 'forgot' the micros-SD card while trying to sync that file. And, of course, this is why I don't keep originals in my Dropbox but in other folders which I manually sync to my Dropbox folder.

 

[anon(7901790)]

You may have a card going bad. It happens.

I was using a Sony card and this kept happening. I just replaced it a couple days ago with a Sandisk Extreme Plus 128GB and so far it's working great.

My SP3 seems to be running cooler and it's not as erratic either.

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[garryknight]

My card is new. About a couple of weeks old. Chkdsk tells me that the card is fine.

 

[anon(7901790)]

Update: I had this problem with my new card the other day.

So far, the remedy seems to be to shut down your SP3: Start>Power>Shutdown. When I turn it back on, it doesn't "forget" the microSD card.

Closing the lid and putting to sleep for a while seems to cause the problem.

My old card was going bad though. Since replacing it, I have noticed an improvement in my SP3's performance.

 

[Guzzler3]

Have you tried reformatting the MicroSD card?

Download the SDFormatter from https://members.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/ Just get the Windows version.

Remember to BACKUP ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING on the SDcard before you use this program. You have been warned!!!

The problem I have found is that sometimes the card gets "messed up" over time, or just didn't come from the manufacturer properly formatted. The above program tends to fix things.

It that doesn't work... Other things can be tried.

 

[anon(7901790)]

I don't think the issue is with the microSD card. I think it is with OneDrive. My OneDrive just told me that it couldn't find the OneDrive folder. I checked in Windows Explorer and it showed my microSD card was there and there and working.

 

[Vasrias]

Yeah, I got my new card today and have the same problem.

 

[garryknight]

I also get the OneDrive thing from time to time. But I think it's just coincidental that OneDrive is trying to sync while the card is 'lost'. I still think it's down to Windows micro-managing the power to the card. When you wake the Surface from sleep, it's going to take some time for the card to be accessible again, even if that's just micoseconds. If Windows looks for the card during that time, it will think that the drive is empty.

 

[anon(7901790)]

Good point. That would be why shutting down seems to work better. When starting back up, OneDrive doesn't start immediately, and the microSD card has time to power up and be recognized by Windows. The fix is when the device wakes up from sleep, OneDrive should pause for a period of time before checking the OneDrive folder. That would give the microSD card to power up and become readable by Windows.

 

[Vasrias]

But I have this during active usage of my SP3. Like while reading a pdf, suddenly the file explorer opens on the sd drive.

 

[garryknight]

Yes, me too, Vasrias. More often than the OneDrive error. Even when all it's doing is sitting there idle in the dock. Oh, and it happens when the SP3 is in the dock or out of it.

 

[anon(7901790)]

I'm starting to lean back towards it being a OneDrive issue. My OneDrive "lost" the connect to the card, this time while my SP3 was awake.


Aaaaaand it did it again this morning.

 

[anon(7901790)]

Aaaaand it did it again, just a few moments ago. :/

 

[Vasrias]

I tried to put my OneDrive folder on my main drive and have the card ejected since about 2 days. No problems so far. I put now my card back in now, but let the OneDrive folder on my sdd. I report back if I know something.

 

[anon(7901790)]

I did the same, but I'm keeping mine on the SSD for now. I wonder if it could be Bitlocker causing it to glitch...

Here are some of my theories as to why:

Hardware:

-Bad microSD card - Unlikely, since we all seem to have the same problem using different card makes and models.

-Bad microSD reader - A little less unlikely, but possible.

-Power getting to the reader - Possible, but why would it affect only the card reader and not the system as a whole?

Software:

-OneDrive - Possible, but since we all seem to have the same problem when synching to a microSD card, it would seem unlikely.

-Windows OS - Most likely, since the OS handles the actual file read/write with the microSD card reader and card. Possible driver issues?

-Windows OS - Power management not powering up the microSD card reader fast enough coming out of sleep mode. Unlikely, because I've and others have had it happen when not in sleep mode and being actively used.

-Bitlocker - Again highly likely. I've had issues with accessing my microSD card sometimes. It shows up as "unlocked" but when I double click the drive, it says, it was unlocked and won't open the drive. I've had to eject and reinsert the card to get it work.

 

[Vasrias]

But I have Bitlocker deactivated on my microSD card. I guess it's an W10 and OneDrive problem. I don't know since when it is possible to save your OneDrive folder on a microSD card (in FB Hub are lots of requests to make that possible), but it seems this implementation is buggy and needs debugging.