Question 10.1" Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet MicroSD Cards Keep Getting Corrupt. What Do I Do About The Corrupt Cards?

raptormoonx

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May 19, 2014
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(I don't know exactly where to post this. I apologize if in the wrong place.)

Hello!

My mother just purchased a 10.1" Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet. In the specs it says:

Storage
  • 32GB on-board memory
  • Add up to 256GB with an optional microSD card*

I'm sure this is possible, but we have yet to be able to do so. We tried two different microSD cards:

SanDisk Ultra 128GB microSDXC UHS-1 w/Adapter
MiniMIcro 256GB microSDXC Class 10

I tried to format both cards as internal storage. The 128GB card just said "corrupt" after a few minutes of trying to format. The 256GB card shut the tablet down and I couldn't turn it back on until I removed the card. That card is also, now, corrupt. I tried contacted B&N about the problem and they claim the cards should work no problem. After digging through the manual, I discovered that it says that microSDHC cards up to 32gb are supposed to work and microSDXC cards up to 64GB are supposed to work. Also UHS is not supported. I have no idea what kind of card I can use with the tablet and they haven't been much, if any, help. This is driving me crazy.

Part 2: Is there anything I can do to fix the corrupted cards? I tried getting them to read on a 10 y/o computer with Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, but it doesn't seem like the computer even recognizes they're inserted. If not, I'll be out about $75.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, if possible. Thank you.
 

popatim

Titan
Moderator
You would need a card reader that could work with SDXC cards to read them on a PC.

UHS is an indication of performance. SDXC is the technology of the card itself. So a device supporting SDXC supports UHS as well.

Can you take the cards back for a refund?
If the tablet is new, I would exchange that as well.
 

raptormoonx

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I tried to access the cards on an old computer (that does support the SDXC standard). The 256GB did nothing, while the 128GB connected, but there was no way to access it. The 128GB card was in my mom's old NOOK and worked fine. The 256GB was from my old cell phone, so I can't really return them. I wonder, though. Her old NOOK had Android 5.1 Lollipop on it and this new one has Android 8.1.2 Oreo. Could the OS be the reason why the cards are becoming corrupted when you format them as internal storage? We have Barnes & Noble's phone number for this and I'll let her make the call. If I do it, I'd probably scream at them for false advertising. (attached is the page in the manual that talks about compatible MicroSD cards).

Screenshot: https://photos.app.goo.gl/a8jU8n7UM9FsaPGB9
 

popatim

Titan
Moderator
SD cards used as Internal storage are encrypted so you can't see what is on them with another device. The drawback of having huge 'Internal Storage' space is the lack of ability to recover anything from the SD card if the device stop working.

Updating 8.1 had an issue with updating while the Internal Storage sd card was installed. I thought that was fixed though.

You may try formatting with aomei partition assistant. It can usually work thru write protected sd cards.
 

raptormoonx

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I will try that when I get the chance. I still don't understand why this particular tablet cannot use those types of cards, or exactly what corrupted them. She's looking into returning the tablet and buying a more expensive one. She does love the NOOK tablets, though.