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Mini or MicroSD (TransFlash) Flash Memory Card problems are varied: recognition, upgrade, transfer to higher capacity, for Nokia 6300 or other phone, camera, MP3 player etc. Micro or Mini SD card problems seem to be quite common, such as the card being recognised by the phone or device but not by a Windows computer. This can be temporary and fixed by removal and reinsertion of the SD card, SD adapter or MMC card reader into the same or different USB port, and/or reloading Windows Explorer or other file program. The write protection tab on the SD adaptor might also be the cause of the problem (see below). If that didn't fix your SD problem, or you have another Mini or Micro SD issue, read on, as there are quite a few for which we have found solutions or workarounds.
Ther SD stands for Secure Digital. SD cards are manufactured by Panasonic, Sony, Nokia, Fuji, Samsung, Kingston, SanDisk and others, and are used as removable extra memory storage for mobile phones, cameras, video recorders, MP3 players, handheld computers, PDAs and GPS devices. SD cards, similar to MMC cards, are small flash drives, ranging from 128 megabytes to several gigabytes. The card which is supplied with the device may not be of sufficient useful capacity; it may already contain operating system files, utilities or application programs. A good minimum size would be 1 gigabyte. 8Gb SD cards are already available. Apart from being cheap – a 2Gb SD Micro SD card costs about £10 or $20. The MicroSD card is tiny as seen next to a standard paper clip. Dimensions are 11mm x 15mm x 1mm thick. There is also a MiniSD card 20mm x 21.5mm, while the standard or full size SD format is 24mm x 32mm. While it's tempting to upgrade to a higher capacity flash memory card by spending just a few dollars or pounds, it's important to first check whether your phone or camera will recognise it and it will work properly and at full capacity. There are other issues described further down the page, with a workable solution I found for my own problem. How to connect an SD card to a notebook or laptop computer
The files on the card will be in several subdirectories or folders for audio, graphics, images, applications, tones, video etc. If you can't find the files you are looking for on the SD card, they may be stored in the 6300 phone memory.
Note that while you
can run a (pre-USB) RS232 serial device from a USB port with a USB
to Serial SD Write Protect Slider Tab/Switch Problems
 Standard size SD adapters and cards such as the SanDisk 4/8GB have a sliding write-protect switch similar to 3.5 inch floppy disks. Data cannot be written if the adapter slider tab near the plug end on the left hand side with an arrow showing the 'lock' position. The tab could be damaged or missing altogether. This is probably the first thing to check if you have an SD card write error problem. Using sticky tape (Scotch tape etc) to cover the switch slot might solve this problem, but it may need two or more layers before it works. Some SD adapters need the tab to be placed somewhere between the lock and unlock positions before data can be written to the card. Moving or copying programs and data from the old to the new card As well as multimedia files, you will probably need the files already on the card when you bought the phone or camera, and this is where problems can arise as conventional file copying techniques may fail for various reasons. In the case of certain phones it is due to intentional prevention of copying copyrighted programs. For example, Nokia uses this in some phones to protect certain programs from being modified or copied. This can be of great inconvenience to genuine purchasers who want to upgrade their phones by transferring these files to another Micro SD card. The problem could be avoided altogether if the phone had sufficient internal memory to store programs and applications that Nokia doesn't want to be copied. Manufacturers are often reluctant to inform users about these issues and leave it to independent forums and members to find their own solutions to problems of this nature. Phone purchasers should have the right to transfer files between removable media, especially if the original supplied has insufficient capacity. This is surely one of the main features of removable media! If the method exists, it should be better explained in the manual or on support sites. However, if normal file copying methods like Explorer, xcopy or manually changing file attributes do not work, then another means needs to be found. It's possible to make a copy of the card contents as a 'disk image' See below how to successfully transfer all the contents of one MicroSD or TransFlash memory card to another by using disk imaging software. This enables you to include encrypted applications and folders that give error messages like write-protected, access denied, unable to copy, disk full or write-protected. These might be utilities, applications or games installed on many phones, including those based on Nokia's own S40 3rd Edition software platform (not Symbian) which only runs Java programs, such as some of the 6xxx series and others. There may be similar copy issues with Symbian OS platform phones too. However, file copying is not the only problem with SD cards or readers, as well as MiniSD and MicroSD card adapters which make them usable in a standard SD card reader. Sometimes the card needs to be moved around in the adapter before it can be recognised or read on a PC or laptop. I recently found this after purchasing an LG KG200 phone, supplied with a SanDisk MicroSD 512MB card and adapter. It needed several attempts at unplugging and re-plugging the reader from the USB port, as well as removing and replacing the card from the adapter/reader before it was recognised. Fortunately I had a second set to compare results with. In the end there was no fault with any of the components! Others have found the small write protect slider tab on the MicroSD Card Adapter is in the locked position, broken or missing. This is not the main cause of file copying problems though. Some users find that files and folders can be copied but the phone or camera recognizes only a portion of the new SD card's total memory. Reformatting to the full capacity does not help. Problems vary between cards, adapters, phone firmware versions and software platforms. It seems there is no single 'fix-it' for Micro SD card problems. So read on. Nokia 6300 mobile phone (with Bluetooth, USB and MicroSD)
Also the 6300 has only 8Mb of internal memory, most of it already in use. Moving as much as possible to the MicroSD card supplied is only a short term solution as this is just 128Mb. Upgrading the MicroSD is a priority, and the good thing is it's cheap. But this is where I ran into the difficulties which led me to write this rather 'off topic' Retire-Asia.com page; it has since proved to be very popular as it seems many phone users have an SD card problem! How to Remove and Replace a MicroSD card in a Nokia 6300
It's advisable to switch the phone off * before removing the MicroSD card by pushing the edge in a little with a fingernail or thin object. Because it has a spring release the card will eject; take care it doesn't fly out. To insert a MicroSD card, press it into the slot until you feel a click as the spring locks it into place. It will only go in one way, with the 'label' side up. The picture shows the SD card in the released position. Replace the phone cover. * Note that if you remove or replace the SD card with the phone left on, ring tones and images will revert to the phone memory defaults and you will need to reset them to files which you may have previously moved to the card.  CARRY A SPARE! Always carry an extra battery for your phone, camera or other digital device. They rarely have the capacity claimed by the manufacturers, and will run down when you need them most!
Nokia and other Cellular Phone Batteries You can't do much to extend battery life especially if you use your phone's multimedia features a lot, but you can carry a spare BL-4C battery in your pocket! Also note that although the BL-4C battery will work in a BL-5C battery phone (like the Nokia 1600), the slightly thicker 850mA BL-5C will not physically fit into the 6300 or probably other phones designed for using BL-4C batteries. Buy mobile phone batteries or rechargeable batteries for any other device:
While it's cheap to increase the 6300's memory by purchasing a 1 or 2Gb MicroSD, it's not possible to copy everything across to a new SD card. Some games, utilities and other applications software preloaded or moved to the original card cannot be backed up or restored to a new card by the Nokia Data Suite or other normal means. This is very frustrating as it's only then you realise that this is not an unknown problem. But there are few solutions on offer, and Nokia avoids mention of them because it involves their own as well as third party developers' copyright issues they are not prepared to address directly. Many mobile phone and digital camera owners with problems ask their questions in forums, but there are few answers to this one. Nokia doesn't like discussions about 'copyright violation' in their own or sponsored forums and will have messages with links to pages like the one you are reading now removed by administrators. However, the solution that they and others offer such as copying the files to the phone first, then to the new card, does not work for all the files. Disk Imaging Software Program Proprietary programs do exist to take care of file copying problems on Nokia and other mobile phones and multimedia devices. One is WinImage and it has a lot of other useful features. However for the SD card issue it can take some time to figure out how to use it correctly. Retire-Asia.com does not condone software piracy. For the benefit of device owners with licensed programs, here's how to backup or copy the contents of one SD card to a hard drive in order to move or restore them to another SD card using a proprietary software program called WinImage – without the 'learning curve'! Preparation for Upgrade As there is the risk of inadvertently losing everything on the original card by 'pushing the wrong button', you should back up as much as you can using the Backup option on the Nokia DataSuite (free to download if you don't have it). Some Nokia phone models require a proprietary Data Cable, while others like the E62 and 6300 and have a 5-pin 'mini USB' port (the 6300's is under the plastic tab next to the charger and headset sockets).
Note that there are two different versions of the mini USB port: 4-pin and 5-pin. Check you have the correct USB data cable for your own device by looking at the plugs and sockets. The standard USB cable (left) has a 5-pin plug suitable for the Nokia 6300 USB port on the base of the phone under a plastic flap (centre). On the right is the smaller 4-pin USB port used on some devices.
Procedure for Data Transfer from SD card to PC Download and install WinImage onto your Windows XP machine. There's no need to add the optional Virtual Hard Disk utility offered, but it may be useful for some people with different requirements. Connect the MicroSD card to your PC either by using an adaptor and built-in or USB card reader, or direct from the device using a mini USB cable (rather than wireless connection). Set the phone or camera for data storage/transfer if asked. In WinImage, select 'Disk', and check 'Use Removable disk X'. X will be the drive letter assigned to your SD card when you connect to the PC. Next go 'New', and choose 'Import format from currently selected disk'. Then choose where to save the image file of the card contents, by creating a new folder on your hard disk. Name the file and save it as an Image file (.IMA). Do not choose the .VHD option.
You should see the folders and files listed once this is done.
Here is a screenshot of
WinImage
showing the original Nokia 6300 card contents after making the
image, and some of the files that probably cannot be
copied by Windows Explorer, xcopy or other
conventional means: Go back to 'Disk' and check 'Use Disk X [X is the drive letter for the hard disk you want to use to store the backup]. Create a new folder for the card image files. Remove the old MicroSD card from the adaptor or phone and insert the new one. There is no need to format a new card before use.
Use the 'Disk' 'Inject Folders'
option. This lets you add the files and folders you want to
transfer but leaves the rest of the card's full capacity
available. You should see all the files listed on the new card as shown above. If there were errors encountered with some files that couldn't be copied, they will be listed in a report. The couple that weren't copied don't to seem to have affected anything. Disconnect the cable, turn the device off and on again and check the various menu options to see if everything has moved to the new card and you have access to all the features and applications you had before. If there's a problem, you still have the old card which you can use, and also a backup of it on your hard disk. Now you can transfer other stored music files and photos using normal file transfer or via the DataSuite to whichever folders you want. You can also give the new SD card a name. I recommend you make a new backup of the whole card with WinImage, but also use the Backup feature of your Nokia Data Suite or equivalent phone management software. WinImage is a very useful disk management program and it worked fine for me, but obviously is not a guaranteed solution to all transfer or recognition problems encountered with the MicroSD or other flash memory storage cards. While these cards have the advantage of being cheap and readily available in many countries, there are still issues that device manufacturers and software developers need to address. By the way, you can also download a trial version of WinImage. Once you've upgraded your MicroSD card successfully, then treat yourself to some entertainment. DOWNLOAD & CONVERT VIDEOS FOR YOUR PHONE OR PC The YouTube Robot lets you download videos from YouTube.com to your PC, convert them to all the popular formats to watch on your home computer or while you are out and about on devices such as your mobile phone, iPod, iPhone, Pocket PC, PSP or Zune. Key Features of the YouTube Robot:
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e
are three SD formats or profiles: Standard, Mini and Micro
While
an SD, MiniSD or MicroSD card fits directly
into the phone or player, an MMC card reader is needed to
connect the SD card to a
computer. Card readers come in different shapes and forms and are USB devices.
Mini and Micro SD cards are usually supplied with a
standard size card adapter to fit the card reader. The combination
seen in the picture is a MicroSD card, adapter and
MMC card
reader and is simply plugged into a USB (Universal
Serial Bus) port of a computer. A 'new' USB storage
device is usually 'found' automatically and appears as another
hard drive; data or file transfer (read
and write) should now be able to take place between
the SD card and the computer. On some older Windows
systems, a USB 'driver' may be required.
adapter cable,
it's not possible to run a USB device via the
9- or 25-pin serial port of an old computer.
The
Nokia 6300 is a well-designed
The 6300 Micro SD card
is accessible by removing the stainless steel back cover. The SD
card is concealed in a slot on the lower right side of the phone
(looking from the back), below the battery cradle.
Wireless transfer like Bluetooth
(or infra-red) can be used but cable is quicker and recommended by Nokia, but
the required 5-pin mini USB data cable doesn't come in the
6300 box.
Luckily this type of USB cable is cheap and easy to find in PC accessory shops.
If you have other USB devices like an mp3 player, you might already have a cable
that will work. Nokia no doubt sells
theirs at a premium price! The USB cable does not charge the 6300
battery,
by the way. The somewhat slower alternative to using a cable is
Bluetooth.
5-pin USB cable & port 
4-pin
USB port:
