Kubuntu: cannot write to SD cards

For the longest time I have not been able to write to any Secure Digital card using a USB reader. I receive the following errors in syslog:

sd 9:0:0:0: SCSI error: return code = 0x10070000
end_request: I/O error, dev sdg, sector 172
Buffer I/O error on device sdg1, logical block 121
lost page write due to I/O error on sdg1
sd 9:0:0:0: SCSI error: return code = 0x10070000
end_request: I/O error, dev sdg, sector 172
Buffer I/O error on device sdg1, logical block 121
lost page write due to I/O error on sdg1

I can read fine, but nothing is ever written.

Finally ran a web search that showed me a better clue than "have you formatted your card?": Bug 6397 - usb-storage: I/O errors accessing Motorola RAZRV3x phone

It looks like 6397 has some of the same symptoms, and it is resolved, but only in kernel 2.6.18-rc5 and later. I am currently running several versions behind that, and since I use Kubuntu, I will have to wait for at least 7.04 (or whatever the first release for 2007 will be named) before getting to 2.6.18-rc5+.

My workaround is to use my Palm Tungsten T5's external SD card slot to transfer files. The drawback? The T5 uses USB 1.0, which runs at 12MBPS; 2.0 is 480MBPS, 40x faster. Big difference when filling up a large SD card.

At least I know it is fixed...


Written by Andrew Ittner in misc on Sat 11 November 2006. Tags: open source