Galaxy S II: The Missing Manual

Troubleshooting the SD Card

HAVING PROBLEMS WITH YOUR SD card? There’s plenty that can go wrong, so try following this advice:

• First, make sure that the SD card is the right type. It has to be a MicroSD card, and can only be up to 32 GB.

• Make sure the card is mounted—that it’s showing up in Windows Explorer or the Finder. If it’s not mounted, the Galaxy S II won’t recognize it, and you can’t access files from it, or store files on it. To mount your SD card, press the Menu key on the Home screen or a pane, select Settings→Storage, and then make sure that “Unmount SD card” is highlighted. If it isn’t, that’s your problem. Turn off your Galaxy S II and restart it. If it’s mounted and you’re still having problems, turn off both your computer and your Galaxy S II and restart them—that should remount the SD card.

• Try removing the SD card and putting it back in or replacing it with a new one. From the Home screen or a pane, press the Menu key, and then choose Settings→Storage→“Unmount SD card.” After several minutes, the card will be unmounted—the Galaxy S II reports you have no SD storage available.

• Next, turn off the phone’s power and remove the battery cover, as described earlier in this chapter (Fixing a Frozen Phone). Then slide out the MicroSD card. (It’s located just above the battery. Make sure that you’re not sliding out the SIM card, which is more prominent.) Examine it to make sure it’s not damaged. If it’s not damaged, slide it back ...