Hacking 1TB Fat32 MicroSD Card Compatibility issue with SXOS?

[protivakid]

Frist off save me the "move to atmosphere" speech, in time I may try that but I have a large XCI backup library that is working just fine for now so there is no need.

Purchased a new Lexar Play 1TB Micro SD card that was on sale. Already ran it through h2testw which came back good so I know the card isn't a fake, was able to fill it with data and read back properly.

So, just like when I upgraded from 256GB to a 512GB card I Formatted the card using Fat32 Formatter and copied all the content over. The issue is when booting I see the SX OS screen and then nothing else, the switch just sits there with a black screen. I tried formatting the card and using a different tool (Total Commander) to copy the content over again... same result. When I take the card out I get the Boot.dat missing picture so I know it's reading the card fine at least at boot.

As a sanity check to make sure my formatting & copying methods were sound I Fat32 formatted a spare 512GB card I had and copied everything over. This too booted just fine.

For fun I then formatted the 1TB card as exFat and tried again, this time the switch booted!! But then said it needed the exFat firmware update.

So here are the results:
512GB Card - Fat32 Formatted - Boots
1TB Card - exFat Formatted - Boots
1TB Card - Fat32 Formatted - Won't Boot

So what could be going on here? Is there an issue with SXOS using a Fat32 Formatted 1TB MicroSD Card?

I confirmed the cluster size for both the Fat32 formatted 512GB & 1TB cards were the same.

I did see this thread where a user had an issue with specific brands. Could it be the Lexar card specifically giving me issues?

https://gbatemp.net/threads/samsung-microsdxc-compatibility-issue-with-sx-core.576088/

Thanks!

 

[godreborn]

I'm legit and I'm using a 1tb micro-sd formatted to fat32 in each of my 3 switches. No issues, so I can't say if it's the card. Mine are SanDisk iirc.

 

[protivakid]

I'm legit and I'm using a 1tb micro-sd formatted to fat32 in each of my 3 switches. No issues, so I can't say if it's the card. Mine are SanDisk iirc.

I did try the same 1TB Fat32 formatted card in my un-modded switch and it worked fine. This seems specifically to be the SXOS, 1TB, & Fat32 combo. Was wondering if anyone here had experienced the same in the past.

 

[krakenx]

If you use an emunand, you need to duplicate the emunand partition, not just copy the files on main partition of the card. If you are using sysnand, copying the files should be sufficient.

 

[impeeza]

SXOS do not have support anymore, so good luck. Try to verify the card using H2TESTW before anything. On supported CFW my legit and tested 1TB card works like a charm.

 

[Hayato213]

SXOS do not have support anymore, so good luck. Try to verify the card using H2TESTW before anything. On supported CFW my legit and tested 1TB card works like a charm.

He already tested the card already

 

[impeeza]

yes it tested but no full hardware tested, and for Atmosphère and Hekate some specific cards did have problems on the past because the timing and clocks setup, may be SXOS have too because they steal most of his code from Atmosphère, so if that is the case, unless you have access to the SXOS source code and fix the problem I didn't think could be fixed soon.

 

[protivakid]

If you use an emunand, you need to duplicate the emunand partition, not just copy the files on main partition of the card. If you are using sysnand, copying the files should be sufficient.

It's admittedly been a while since I set this up but I don't believe I used emunand. If I did, I should have experienced the same issue when I jumped from the 256GB to 512GB card right? Is there a folder where this emunand exists that I can quickly verify is not present? My 512GB card is all one single partition.

yes it tested but no full hardware tested, and for Atmosphère and Hekate some specific cards did have problems on the past because the timing and clocks setup, may be SXOS have too because they steal most of his code from Atmosphère, so if that is the case, unless you have access to the SXOS source code and fix the problem I didn't think could be fixed soon.

What do you mean "no full hardware tested"? As @Hayato213 mentioned, I stated in the first post that I ran the card though H2TESTW. Is there another test?

From reading further it seems people have had luck with 1TB cards as Fat32 while using SX OS. Perhaps it's the "Lexar Play" brand that is the issue: https://www.reddit.com/r/SwitchPirates/comments/ikz84e/sx_os_and_1tb_micro_sd/

 

[protivakid]

Just wanted to add for anyone coming across this that I purchased a new 1TB SanDisk Extreme MicroSD card, formatted it as Fat32, and it worked just fine with SXOS, just like all my other cards in the past have. For good measure I tried the Lexar card one more time before returning and the result was the same. Not sure if anyone keeps a compatibility list any place but in this case, the Lexar Play card was simply not compatible with SXOS.

 

[godreborn]

you probably have the one I have though, I think sandisk makes both an A1 and an A2. I have all A2s, probably doesn't matter much though, and A1 is cheaper by about $50 last time I checked.