I have just got my first tablet and Android gadget, it's a Toshiba AT100-100 running Android version 3.1

I am just starting to get to grips with it but it seems to do wierd things with files on the SD card.

I have a 32gb SD card which I am using for extra storage. I am copying audio books onto it using my PC so that I can listen to them on my tablet.

If I copy just one file it seems to work ok. But when I copy a few files (my book is split into about 7 files) then suddenly none of them become readable and sometimes they vanish altogether and and I find them in a new directory called Lost.Dir in an unknown format. I have no idea why this is happening.

When I first got the SD card my PC did ask me to format it and I just followed the default instructions - not sure if this has anything to do with it.

Any help would be awesome.

Also - one other thing - when I google forums for help they all talk about 'rooted' tablets - can someone explain what this is?

Cheers

I can't answer your primary question. Never had a similar problem with any Android device.

To "root" a device means to remove a security barrier, allowing yourself or some applications to execute as system administrator. Useful if you know what you're doing, and potentially harmful if not. In your case, my answer would be "if you don't know what it is, you probably shouldn't think about doing it."

Thanks on the rooting question. I will wait until more experienced before contemplating it!.

As to the first part I have managed to dig out an answer in another forum - if anyone else has this problem here goes.

When you format your SD Card use the option 'exfat' rather than the default option. I did this, put audio books back on it and it works a treat.

During my research I have read some bad things about losing data from SD cards. It seems once the data has been transferred into the Lost.Dir (which also reformats them into something unreadable) then it may be gone forever. People have lost a lot of photos with this so my advice is use the SD for extra storage but never have it as your only copy.

You should never have 1 copy of anything just in case – always have a backup somewhere else.

Seems to me its to do with disconnecting from the PC while writing is still taking place.

Make sure you use the USB tray icon to 'safely remove USB device'.

OK - I was premature with my solution above. The first 2 books copied across ok but the rest went funny again so back to square 1.

! am waiting until they have copied from my PC to the SD card fully and I use the 'safely remove' thing too.

Anyone any ideas please???

I assume this is a SDHC card? At 32GB it is almost certain to be. So I assume whatever card reader you are using is SDHC compatible? If not then in theory it should not even recognise the card but could have odd side effects if it wasn't fully SDHC compatible.

One thing to try is to format the card with this tool

https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_3/

You can download the manual for it directly from that page before using the links on the left hand side to download the software, for either Windows or Mac OS. It's free so nothing lost if it doesn't help. But you never know...

It's not one of those ebay forgeries using a tiny SD with a fake memory reporting system?

That's actually a very good thought - could explain the problems

Oh, that's evil. I didn't know those things exist. One learns: http://www.overclockers.com.au/wiki/Fake_Memory_Cards.

ebay forgeries - hope it isn't!
I'm trying the reformat tool now - will update!