"Check SD Card" error even with Adafruit SAMD v1.5.5

[Katherine Furman]

Hi Everyone, 

I am working with a FED3 that I have used for the last couple weeks with no issues, but yesterday it has randomly started saying "Check SD Card" on the screen after I power it on. I turn it on, the startup screen goes fine with the little mouse running across from left to right, and then it stops and says "Check SD Card." The SD card is securely inserted.

In an earlier post in this group, from 1/29/20, the issue was resolved by rolling back the Adafruit SAMD board to version 1.5.5. I actually had to do this about a month ago to fix the issue, and it worked at that time. But that time the startup screen with the mouse running left to right didnt happen first - it just went straight to "Check SD Card." Even so, I tried again making sure that the Adafruit SAMD boards was on version 1.5.5, and it did not fix the issue. So this seems to be a different problem...

Does anyone know why this would happen out of the blue, or how to fix it?

Thanks!

[lmur...@vt.edu]

We at the Buczynski lab just figured out a cause for this earlier this week! It may have something to do with the RTC board (clock board, not the clock battery), and switching out the RTC board fixes the problem. We have no idea *why* this is the case, as the FED can technically run without the RTC board even in. But, it worked for us. The board that was removed and creating the "check SD" error should be thrown away (or put aside), putting it into any other FED will cause the "check SD" error to occur again. 

[Lex Kravitz]

Did this fix it?  Another thing it could be is that the SD card went bad somehow, and it really is having trouble finding it.  Did you try swapping in a new SD card? 

[Katherine Furman]

Hey all, 

Reviving an old thread because we still haven't solved this issue, just stopped using that FED for a while... 

I tried changing the SD card, it did not fix the problem. I also tried the "bad" SD card in another FED and it worked fine, so I don't think the SD card is the issue. 

I haven't swapped the RTC board because I don't think we have others lying around... But does anyone else have other ideas? I tried re-uploading the sketch, and uploading different sketches, and it still does the same thing.

[Lex Kravitz]

Quick question - does the broken FED3  have an OEPS board inside or was the PCB hand-built with Adafruit parts? 

To start the troubleshooting, if you have a working FED3 I would first swap the Adalogger boards over.  If the Adalogger from the working board fixes your problem you'll have narrowed it down to the Adalogger or code/libraries.  If it doesn't work the issue is with your board and not your Adalogger, code/libraries, or SD card.  Can you try this and postback?  Thanks!

[James Hassell Jr]

I have some input about encountering "Check SD Card" appearing on the screen. We saw this using a Transcend 64 GB micro SD card XC I. We swapped it out for the Sandisk 32 GB and the problem went away. Maybe try a smaller size SD card or just a different brand? 

[Katherine Furman]

Hey Everyone, 

I'm back with the same issue. We tried swapping the Adalogger boards over, it initially worked! But then when we turned the FED on and off again, it quickly stopped working and I got the same "Check SD Card!" error. We also tried different SD cards of different brands - still doesn't work. So we've narrowed the problem down to not being the SD Card or the Adalogger board. 

Also, Lex, to answer your earlier question, its an OEPS board but we hand-built the rest of the FED3. So I think that means I can be confident that it's not a problem with like, bad soldering or electronics? Willing to try any potential solutions though. 

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate this community!

[Lex Kravitz]

Hi again,

This sounds really frustrating.  Am I correct that this issue is happening with just the one PCB?  Your other OEPS boards are all working well?  If so, it sounds like the specific PCB may be the issue.  Do you want to mail it to me?  I can take a look at it here and send you back one that works.  Let me know, or just send me an email with your address and we can work this out! -Lex

[Katherine Furman]

Yeah, it's just the one PCB. Haven't had issues with any others. I'll email you to see what we can do!