Model 16 reports "Invalid Card. Change Card" after roughly two weeks of use

Scott Mueller

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Model 16
I've been using a Sandisk SDSDXXY-256G-GN4IN, purchased two weeks ago, and am now getting the "Invalid Card. Change Card" error. I was able to record to and playback from this drive until today.
This card is on the compatible devices list, the first item on the list, actually, so I expect that it should function properly. I am able to access the card successfully from other devices. Various formatting options do not help. It is not possible to format the card on the device proper, as this yields "Invalid Card. Change Card" after inserting the card in the slot on the board. Clicking the jog wheel to acknowledge "init MBR" does not help- it continues to display "Invalid Card. Change Card".
Furthermore, there's no way to acknowledge this error and then navigate the system menus to perform on-board card initialization as any attempt to insert the card yields the same "Invalid Card. Change Card" error.

Does anyone know of a way to extract device logs to aid in further troubleshooting of this issue?
Firmware rev. is 1.32.0038
 
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Do you have access to a computer with an SD slot? If so, pop the card in. And use computer’s file manager to get to your tracks.

unless the card is really messed up you should be able to get your work out and copied into a folder on your computer

no question about it - these machines want GOOD SD cards. They are pretty bulletproof except in the case of a fluky SD card, OR a card that has reached about 80% of its capacity.

you didn’t by any chance record a very long session that has maxed out the card?
 
I do have access to a computer. Unfortunately, clicking the jog wheel to format the MBR removed those tracks, for which I had only recorded maybe about ten minutes worth of audio.

Again, this card is almost two weeks old. I can't find a fault with it on any computers available that can read it. I've tried formatting it clean, I've even removed all partitions to see if I could get the Model 16 unit to perform the mbr initialization on its own without any luck.

Does anyone know how to format these cards in such a way for them to be recognized to be formattable by the Model 16? Do I need to write zeros over the MBR to force the Model 16 to able to format it properly? Does anyone know how to troubleshoot this issue further?
 
I wiped out all partition information on the card and there is no difference in behavior. Another thing to note is that I only had a short recording session to test out the recording/playback capabilities to/from the SD card. I normally stream directly to my Mac and record in a DAW, but I was planning on using that SD card recording capability in a few weeks.
 
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I just purchased another card (same model), removed it from its packaging, and plugged it into the Model 16. It asked to format the card, and I clicked the jog wheel to indicate yes. Here's what happened:
First time: The operation took maybe 10 seconds, and then failed with the "Card Error" message. I ejected the card and tried again.
Second time: The operation took 5 minutes, failed with the same error. I ejected the card and tried again.
Third time: The operation took maybe 15 minutes. "Card Error. Change Card". I ejected the card and tried again.
Fourth time: The display read "Format error. Format Card. Are you sure?" I clicked enter. The operation took maybe 20 minutes.
Each successive time: Same as the fourth time.

It sure feels like there's some timeout in the formatting operation that isn't allowing the format of these larger cards to complete.
 
Are you positive that you do not have a counterfeit card? If you bought the same card from the same supplier, they both could be fakes, and there are a ton of fake SD cards in circulation.

Did you try a known good card (approved, or non-approved - it doesn't matter) of a different type just to see if it would format properly?
 
Sure. The first card I used above, which worked fine on the Model 16 for maybe a day, can be formatted on a PC and functions fine with up to 170 MB/sec write speed and can read/write the full 256 GB without errors (confirmed with h2testw). The second card I purchased does the same. These seem to be known good cards on all of my other devices that can use this card except for the Model 16, for which the SD card worked for a day and can now only report "Invalid Card. Change Card" when confronted with one of these.
 
OK. The only thing I can offer is that sometimes Tascam products can be finicky with high-capacity cards.
 
that sucks OP.

I would try a smaller capacity card, as @-mjk- suggests, if only to find out if the large capacity is the issue here. 256Gb will hold a LOT of music, a LOT. You won't have to change a 128Gb card often I'm betting :)

Best of luck
 
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