SD Card Error Messages

These error messages might appear on a recorder's Status screen, in the STORAGE INFO panel.

NO SD CARD: No card is detected.
SD CARD FULL: Card is detected but full.
SD WRITE PROTECTED: Card's Write Protect switch is enabled.
SD CARD ERROR: Card is detected but not working.
SD CARD BAD FORMAT: Card format is not recognized or is corrupted.
SD CARD DIRTY: Card was interrupted in the middle of recording, and the recorder cannot write to the card until this status is cleared.

See SD Card Dirty below for more details.

General SD Card Troubleshooting Tips

If you encounter any issue with an SD card, backing up any important data and then reformatting the card is what we recommend doing first.

If you know the card does not hold any data that you need to save, reformat the card (see Format the SD Card).

Formatting the card erases all data from the card and resets it to a blank state. We recommend formatting the card prior to each deployment to avoid common card errors during recording.
If the card may contain data that you need, such as recordings from a deployment that just finished, connect the card to a computer. If you are able to access the data, copy the data to another location (such as your computer's internal drive), and then reformat the card (see Format the SD Card).

Always be sure to properly eject the card from your computer's operating system before physically removing the card from your computer. Failing to eject the card according to these instructions can cause the Song Meter Mini 2 to display error messages.

On Windows, refer to this Microsoft support article on safely removing hardware (including SD cards).
On MacOS, refer to this Apple support article on ejecting SD cards.

No SD Card

If this error message is displayed, check that the SD card is fully inserted into the Song Meter Mini 2's card slot. To properly engage the slot's spring mechanism, press the card fully into the slot to insert it, then press it again, and the spring will eject the card from the slot.

If the error message persists, try using a different card with the same recorder, or the same card with a different recorder, if you have multiple. Doing so will help determine whether there's an underlying issue with the card or with the Song Meter Mini 2's SD card slot.

SD Card Full

This message means there is not enough available space on the card for the Song Meter Mini 2 to save any more audio files to the card.

If this message is displayed even though the card appears to not be full when viewed from a computer, it may mean the card was not properly formatted since the last time it was used.

If you delete files on your computer by moving them to the Trash or Recycling Bin but do not reformat the card, the structure of the card is still affected by the deleted files, and the Song Meter Mini 2 will be unable to use that space. Formatting the SD card both deletes all files and resets the structure of the card.

SD Write-Protected

This error message indicates that the SD card has its Write Protect switch enabled. This is a physical switch on the left edge of the card when the front label is facing the viewer. When the switch is in the lower, "locked" position, it activates a switch in the SD card that prevents the connected device from altering the contents of the card. In the case of the Song Meter Mini 2, this means the recorder cannot save any new files to the card, nor can it reformat the card.

If this error appears, check that the card's Write Protect switch is in the unlocked position, and that there is no debris attached to the card or stuck in the card slot that might be falsely triggering the switch inside the card slot.

Note:

The Write Protect switch does not affect the electronics of the card itself. Instead, it works by pressing a contact in the SD card slot when the switch is in the locked position. If any foreign object presses that contact, it is as if the Write Protect switch is set to the locked position.

SD Card Error

This message could indicate a number of different kinds of card errors. As a first step, refer to the General SD Card Troubleshooting Tips. Check to see if a computer also displays an error message when you try to view the contents of the card, as this may indicate an issue with the card itself.

If multiple different SD cards consistently display this error message on one particular Song Meter Mini 2, but not on other recorders or computers, it may indicate a problem with the Song Meter Mini 2 itself. Contact Wildlife Acoustics Support for further assistance diagnosing the issue (see Contact Wildlife Acoustics Support).

SD Card Bad Format

This indicates that the card is not formatted correctly. The Song Meter Mini 2 expects cards to have one of two particular file systems, depending on the size of the card:

For SDHC cards, which range in size from 4 GB to 32 GB, the file system must be FAT32.
For SDXC cards, which range in size from 64 GB to 2 TB, the file system must be exFAT.

Whenever the Song Meter Mini 2 formats a card (see Format the SD Card), it applies the file system listed above for the size of the SD card. However, it is possible to apply other file systems to SD cards that don't match these conventions using software formatting tools on a computer.

For example, it is possible to apply FAT32 formatting to a card larger than 32 GB. Doing so is not recommended, and it will cause this error message to appear and prevent the Song Meter Mini 2 from using the card. In some cases, it can even cause errors that persist after the Song Meter Mini 2 attempts to reformat the card.

If an SD card has been formatted to a file system that does not match the conventions listed above, use the SD Association's free formatting tool to apply a "Quick Format" to the card.

SD Card Dirty

This error message generally appears after the Song Meter Mini 2 was interrupted in the middle of writing to the SD card. The most common cause of this message, by far, is that the recorder's batteries reached the very end of their lifespan, and the recorder lost power.

Important:

In the vast majority of cases, the "SD Card Dirty" message does not indicate a serious or unusual issue with the SD card or the Song Meter Mini 2, nor does it indicate the loss of data recorded before the error occurred.

Clearing the dirty bit is generally as simple as connecting the card to a MacOS or Windows computer, then ejecting the card before removing it (see General SD Card Troubleshooting Tips). Reformatting the card will also clear the dirty bit, but make sure you back up any data from the card to your computer first!

The SD card being labeled as "dirty" refers to a safety mechanism called a "dirty bit" used by SD cards and other data storage systems. If the Song Meter Mini 2 loses power or its connection to the SD card in the middle of certain operations, the "dirty bit" serves as a marker of that interruption.

Continuing to write data to a card that was interrupted in the middle of this kind of operation could lead to corruption that might affect all data previously saved to the card. When the Song Meter Mini 2 detects that the SD card is marked with a dirty bit, it will cease writing to the card in order to prevent serious data corruption. Any data saved to the card before the dirty bit was raised will be retained.