Formatting SD cards

Formatting SD cards

The Pandora OS can read cards formatted with various filesystems including ext2, ext3, ext4, fat32.

For NTFS, the Community Codec Pack must be installed.

If you have access to a desktop computer, it's a good idea to use the Panasonic SD Formatter, which can improve performance of SD cards.

ext2, ext3, ext4

To format a card with ext4, insert the card into the Pandora, open terminal, and type: [1]

sudo fdisk /dev/mmcblk0  # (use mmcblk1 for the second slot)

# 't' then '83' to change the partition type to linux, then 'w' to save.

sudo mkfs.ext4 -m 0 -L volumename /dev/mmcblk0p1  # (use mmcblk1p1 for the second slot)

ext4 works well, and fsck is very quick.

If you'd rather use ext2 or ext3, run mkfs.ext2 or mkfs.ext3 instead, with the same options.

Another option you can use, -N sets the number of inodes (max file count). You can reclaim some space by using fewer inodes, e.g. -N 500000 or -N 1000000 for a 32GB card.

FAT32

The software to format FAT32 is not included with the Pandora, but can be easily installed. Open terminal, and type: [2][3]

sudo opkg update
sudo opkg install dosfstools

Once installed, you can format a card like so:

sudo mkfs.vfat /dev/mmcblk0p1 # (or mmcblk1p1 for the second slot)

Partitions

SD cards perform much better when the partitions are aligned correctly, starting at 4MB. This is important!

If your partitions are messed up, you can fix them using the Panasonic SD Formatter, or using parted:

Dev=/dev/mmcblk0   # or mmcblk1 for 2nd slot
FS=ext4            # or fat32
sudo parted -s $Dev mklabel msdos
sudo parted -s $Dev unit cyl mkpart primary $FS -- 0 -2

Labelling an SD card

tune2fs -L volumename /dev/mmcblk0p1    # for ext2, ext3, ext4
mlabel -i /dev/mmcblk0p1 ::volumename   # for fat32

Using a windows box

Use the Panasonic SD Formatter.

Using a live CD on a PC

Use gparted.

Can I use USB and SDIO accessories with my Pandora?

There would not be much point to having a USB host port if you couldn't. Any USB or SDIO device should work with Pandora, as long as drivers are available. Standard mass storage devices (USB memory sticks, keyboards, gamepads, external hard drives, etc.) should work fine out of the box. Many devices like GPS receivers, EVDO modems and cameras should be compatible, but not necessarily all makes and models. For a list of known-working devices see the USB compatibility list. More detailed info about using USB on the Pandora can be found on this page.

Can I use SDXC cards with my Pandora?

Yes. Most SDHC and SDXC cards will work in the Pandora (check the USB_compatibility_list to make sure). The cards must be formatted with a compatible filesystem, such as FAT32 or EXT2/3. If a card comes preformatted with exFAT, you will need to reformat.

There is no electronic or physical difference between SDHC and SDXC. Cards with larger capacities are marketed as SDXC.