I/O problems on a 50g

[Cape_Lookout]

Hello everyone,

I've recently purchased a 50g as an upgrade to a 28s due to the I/O capabilities of the 50. However, I/O has so far been a frustrating experience, both with an SD card and with a wired connection, but I have at least managed to upgrade the firmware to the latest 2.15.

Regarding the SD card method, I simply can't get it to work. The card in question was purchased for this endeavor, meaning it's brand new. I created an 128 MB partition, FAT16-formatted it and copied the unpacked two update files to the root of the card, but the calculator wouldn't recognize it. If I inserted the card into the calculator in an OFF state, it no longer would turn on using the ON key, but I could force it awake by briefly removing a battery. Once awake again, navigating into File Manager instantly froze the calculator until I ejected the card. Inserting the card into the calculator in an ON state worked until I started File Manager, which again froze the calculator.

So I gave up on the SD card option and moved to USB. After completing the necessary Windows prerequisites and trying many times, I managed to successfully update the calculator so VERSION now returns 2.15. Back on track, I thought! In the update package there are also three library files which I need to copy to the HOME directory of the calculator and install from there. But that, too, has turned out to be a mountaintop climb.

I can establish an Xmodem connection to the calculator just fine with the Connection Kit, but I am unable to actually transfer files to HOME using drag-and-drop from Windows File Explorer to the Connection Kit. The Connection Kit and the calculator both show successful transfers (with a progress bar), but upon completion no files are actually visible in HOME. It's as if the files were transferred to somewhere else, but they're nowhere to be found. Manually using XRECV/XSEND is simply too cryptic for me.

Does either of these two problems ring a bell with anyone?

Thank you very much and sorry for this lengthy post.

Kind regards,
Nicolai

[Gilles]

Perhaps this could help https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Tablets-an...-p/6184311

and https://www.hpcalc.org/hp49/pc/rom/

[Cape_Lookout]

(12-23-2024 03:27 PM)Gilles Wrote:  Perhaps this could help https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Tablets-an...-p/6184311

Thank you very much for this - sounds like an identical problem. The SD card in use is an SDHC, but I thought it didn't matter as long as the volume capacity was below 2 GB. I'll try to find a proper old SD card and test with it.

(12-23-2024 03:27 PM)Gilles Wrote:  and https://www.hpcalc.org/hp49/pc/rom/

I'm unsure what you're referring to. I downloaded the 2.15 upgrade package from that page and followed the guide within the package. Also, I followed the guide/links posted here in order to install the Connectivity Kit: https://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-17...#pid149435

[HPing]

Older devices that typically work only with SD cards smaller than say 2GB can be picky with the cards.

- SDHC or SDXC cards won't work (firmware and maybe hardware reasons)

- Sometimes the card brand or model won't work. Try different cards. You might have better luck with 1GB or less, old stock.

- Windows formatting of SD cards did not follow the standards of the SD Association. A good device could do the formatting correctly (e.g. a Japanese digital camera. Maybe the HP will format smaller cards). Older Apple computers could format correctly (I don't know about the newer ones).

This thread has a lot of HP 50g tips for SD cards
https://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-6560.html

[Cape_Lookout]

(12-23-2024 04:49 PM)HPing Wrote:  Older devices that typically work only with SD cards smaller than say 2GB can be picky with the cards.

Thank you for elaborating on this issue. Very useful. I'm sure this is the root cause of the issues I'm experiencing with the SD card. I'll embark on a hunt for old cards.

[HPing]

Maybe a camera store will have some good quality older cards that they tested. For reference, SDHC was announced January 2006 but there is 2005 hardware that (must) have used SDHC (and SDXC from 2009!!) draft specs. There is some backwards compatability. So small cards made before 2005 have the highest probability of working (I suppose).

I forgot about the "official" card formatting software from the SD Association (Mac and various Windows versions). This should be the best, in theory lol.
https://www.sdcard.org/consumers/about-s...y-choices/

EDIT - Official compatibility and speed. In reality, it is more fuzzy
https://support-en.sandisk.com/app/answe...a_id/36273
https://support-en.sandisk.com/app/answe...a_id/35934

OT - this is a 50g SD card repair video, for a different problem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETqQP_uxS44