A few questions about SDHC cards

[Tye]

Firstly is my HTC Hero compatible with an SDHC card?

Is it true that they speed up the phone in someway, in this case, will it reduce or get rid of the lag of the Hero?

Has anyone successfully installed a SDHC card into their Hero and has it had any beneficial effect on the overall speed?

Cheers in advance.

 

[Slug]

Yup, the Hero is SDHC-compatible.

The faster the transfer rate, the quicker data will read from/write to the card. Music/video files will benefit especially from a faster card, while camera operation may also see an improvement as images are written to the card faster. A fast card also makes it feasible to move apps onto it to free up RAM in the phone itself, although the procedure seems far from straight-forward.

First thing I did when I got my Hero home was swap the supplied 2GB card for an 8GB Class 4 that I'd been using in my N95, so I can't say if there was any improvement. However today I received a 16GB Class 6 and there is a slight but noticeable improvement in video playback; the file I tested used to occasionally 'stutter' but now plays smooth as silk. The overall system isn't any quicker (yet), but my plan is to experiment with a swap partition on part of the SD card which should see an improvement.

In summary: my advice is to use the fastest SDHC card you can afford/find of the required capacity. That's where the bulk of your data is going to end up, so it makes sense to be able to get to it as quickly as possible.

 

[UnderWhat?]

Moving apps to SD doesn't make you have more RAM, it frees up ROM (Int Mem Space).

Also how did you install Apps To SD on your phone? a ROM?

 

[Slug]

Moving apps to SD doesn't make you have more RAM, it frees up ROM (Int Mem Space).

Apologies for getting my terminology confused.

Also how did you install Apps To SD on your phone? a ROM?

I didn't, I said that it's feasible. Doing so is well beyond my level of experience right now, though.

 

[franners]

I put in a 8GB class 6 card, copying all files over manually. Works fine except for the album application which shows the count (79) but not the images. Rebooted etc and still same. Any ideas?

 

[justjimjpc]

I put in a 8GB class 6 card, copying all files over manually. Works fine except for the album application which shows the count (79) but not the images. Rebooted etc and still same. Any ideas?

Format the SDCard to FAT32 not just FAT ... (move your files before formatting)

 

[Mike6453]

I purchased a SanDisk 16GB microSDHC card for my Sprint HTC Hero. I installed it in my phone and was able to access it via my PC (which runs windows 7). I added a file and named it My Music. I was running late for an appointment so I did not load any data or music. When I got home I left the phone on through the night. The next morning there was an icon in my phones notification window that said I had a blank SD card. When I click on the message it asks if I want to format the card to which I reply yes. The message goes away but the icon remains and the pattern repeats itself. I have upgraded my phone to the latest OS available and if it helps to identify it the SDHC card has a capital "C" in the upper rh corner with a 2 inside of it.

I removed the card from the phone and using an adapter I've tried to read it directly from my PC with no luck. My PC also says I need to format the disk however when I try to do this it gives me an error message saying it can't format it.

I would think the card is somehow defective, but it seemed to work fine when first installed. It wasn't until the next morning that it became unreadable. Has anyone experienced this? Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can check or do to correct this? I travel a lot and really look forward to the extra storage so that I can carry my podcasts with me.

 

[andretoscano]

Hi.

Not sure why your card is behaving that way. But if you're not able to format it via phone or PC, then it's probably a defective unit. Try to format it with a card reader, if you have one. Just take the phone out of the equation and see what you can come up with.

The "C" with the "2" inside is the speed class rating for your card.

Class 2 (that's what you have) runs about 2 MB/s
Class 4 as a speed rate of 4 MB/s
Class 6 runs ideally for 6 MB/s

Needless to say, Class 6 is what you should go for. The higher the speed rating, the quicker you'll move media around (audio, video, pictures, etc.).

Hey, since you'll probably be asking your vendor for a new card, try to trade it in for a Class 6 one and kill two birds with one stone!
Good luck.

 

[ajuarbe]

So I want to go ahead and buy a SDHC class 6 and while I am at it will probably just get the 32GB since as I understand that is the most the Hero can take. Now I am sure I am not going to use anywhere near that amount of memory, but what the hell I am going to use gift cards and such I will get for Christmas.

Does anyone recommend a certain brand? Also I know as of right now apps cannot be stored on it, but besides music, videos etc.... what else can be stored on it?

 

[andretoscano]

From what I read around here - and from personal experience - Sandisk is the brand to go for. I don't think they're manufacturing 32 GB cards yet. You'll probably have to do with "just" the 16 GB one.

And "yes, you can" install apps in your SD Card.
I haven't felt the need to do it yet, but search around this forum. There's a couple of apps that allow you to do that. And if you have a Class 6 fast card, you probably won't feel much of a difference in terms of loading the application, storing stuff, etc.

Good luck.