Switch microSD errors

VashTS · May 27, 2022

I constantly am getting errors on my son's switch and i cannot figure out why. tinfoil refuses to install games and says "failed to create placeholder"

the sd card is 512gb sandisk, genuine tested fine
tested with other sd cards and same problem
fat32 formatted
atmosphere 1.3.2 with latest sigpatches
switch fw 13.2.1

i removed the sd reader from the switch and cleaned the contacts with alcohol

tried installing over network and via USB

im stumped on what else could be wrong. would any erpts from atmosphere help solve the issue? is there a tinfoil log that will pinpoint the failure?

DBI throws same error [can not write placeholder]
all other homebrew works fine

binkinator · May 27, 2022

VashTS said:
I constantly am getting errors on my son's switch and i cannot figure out why. tinfoil refuses to install games and says "failed to create placeholder"

the sd card is 512gb sandisk, genuine tested fine
tested with other sd cards and same problem
fat32 formatted
atmosphere 1.3.2 with latest sigpatches
switch fw 13.2.1

i removed the sd reader from the switch and cleaned the contacts with alcohol

tried installing over network and via USB

im stumped on what else could be wrong. would any erpts from atmosphere help solve the issue? is there a tinfoil log that will pinpoint the failure?

DBI throws same error [can not write placeholder]
all other homebrew works fine

Sounds like corrupt file system (which is what your were addressing already.)
https://gbatemp.net/threads/failed-...-to-register-placeholder.564886/#post-9098727

You can try formatting again but since it’s happening with other cards… it might be an issue with your card reader needing to be replaced.

e: this might help:

report_xxxxx.bin — AFE parser helps you read atmosphere reports.

fvig2001 · May 27, 2022

sounds like an issue in writing. Try chkdsk /f on the drive to at least check and fix errors. Worst case, get a new SD card.

VashTS · May 27, 2022

binkinator said:
Sounds like corrupt file system (which is what your were addressing already.)
https://gbatemp.net/threads/failed-...-to-register-placeholder.564886/#post-9098727

You can try formatting again but since it’s happening with other cards… it might be an issue with your card reader needing to be replaced.

e: this might help:

report_xxxxx.bin — AFE parser helps you read atmosphere reports.

the weird thing is that i can move files to the card with no issue - i copied 2 nsz files over and tried to install locally from the SD and it still failed for the same reason. how can the file copy work fine but the install fail if the card is bad?

ive done chkdsk /f and windows scans a couple times.

Hayato213 · May 27, 2022

VashTS said:
the weird thing is that i can move files to the card with no issue - i copied 2 nsz files over and tried to install locally from the SD and it still failed for the same reason. how can the file copy work fine but the install fail if the card is bad?

ive done chkdsk /f and windows scans a couple times.

You try to install from Tinfoil shop or are you installing NSP from installer such tinwoo, awoo etc?

binkinator · May 27, 2022

VashTS said:
the weird thing is that i can move files to the card with no issue - i copied 2 nsz files over and tried to install locally from the SD and it still failed for the same reason. how can the file copy work fine but the install fail if the card is bad?

ive done chkdsk /f and windows scans a couple times.

I follow your logic. It doesn’t make much sense.

Try this: copy one of the nsz files back off the sd card and do a diff on it and the original to see if it is exactly the same as the file on your PC. That will almost confirm/deny card corruption.

Also, did you see anything interesting in the error report?

VashTS · May 28, 2022

binkinator said:
I follow your logic. It doesn’t make much sense.

Try this: copy one of the nsz files back off the sd card and do a diff on it and the original to see if it is exactly the same as the file on your PC. That will almost confirm/deny card corruption.

Also, did you see anything interesting in the error report?

file compare is 100% identical.

ive got no fatal errors, but the app you linked doesn't support the ERPT reports, unless im using it wrong of course.

binkinator · May 29, 2022

VashTS said:
file compare is 100% identical.

hmmm. That’s a pretty compelling reason to look elsewhere then.

VashTS said:
ive got no fatal errors, but the app you linked doesn't support the ERPT reports,

Post your file and I’ll see what I’m doing wrong.

VashTS said:
unless im using it wrong of course.

Try booting into Hekate and fix the archive bit on your SD Card.

sɔıɥdɐɹb s,ɐzǝǝdɯı@

VashTS · May 29, 2022

binkinator said:
hmmm. That’s a pretty compelling reason to look elsewhere then.

Post your file and I’ll see what I’m doing wrong.

Try booting into Hekate and fix the archive bit on your SD Card.

sɔıɥdɐɹb s,ɐzǝǝdɯı@

i think i did that a while back when this started but just did again, 0 unset, 0 set.

this started when my son was obsessed with Android. i made him a 2nd 32gb sd card with android on it. long story short, he got it taken away because he wasn't listening (normal lol) and i got him a 512gb card for xmas. well he thought he would be slick and install android on it. ever since he partitioned its been doing the "unable to create place holder" stuff.

i reformatted the card with different cluster sizes, made sure Hekate only has an HOS partition. i started the RMA process but while he had his old 128gb card in, it did the same allocation issue so i know its not necessarily the SD card.

i've removed the reader and cleaned it, reseated to no avail. hekate says it is fat32 with 32k clusters at the moment.

binkinator · May 29, 2022

VashTS said:
i think i did that a while back when this started but just did again, 0 unset, 0 set.

this started when my son was obsessed with Android. i made him a 2nd 32gb sd card with android on it. long story short, he got it taken away because he wasn't listening (normal lol) and i got him a 512gb card for xmas. well he thought he would be slick and install android on it. ever since he partitioned its been doing the "unable to create place holder" stuff.

i reformatted the card with different cluster sizes, made sure Hekate only has an HOS partition. i started the RMA process but while he had his old 128gb card in, it did the same allocation issue so i know its not necessarily the SD card.

i've removed the reader and cleaned it, reseated to no avail. hekate says it is fat32 with 32k clusters at the moment.

Thanks for the additional details and the file.

What did you use to partition the card? Hopefully just plain old Hekate?

VashTS · May 29, 2022

binkinator said:
Thanks for the additional details and the file.

What did you use to partition the card? Hopefully just plain old Hekate?

yes just Hekate.

im doing some further testing now , there doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason to these issues - small files typically work fine. large files, one installed fine, 2 failed.

i ordered replacement sd readers just in case.

binkinator · May 29, 2022

VashTS said:
yes just Hekate.

Great. That should just work. There are no tricks to it. You just click and go.

VashTS said:
im doing some further testing now , there doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason to these issues - small files typically work fine. large files, one installed fine, 2 failed.

Maddening. That’s a good test.
Can you write a couple more small files after the large and then try a different large one? Hoping the smells will eat up some space and force the large to write elsewhere on the disk. Just a side experiment for sure…not any sort of fix.

VashTS said:
i ordered replacement sd readers just in case.

They’re cheap enough. Might as well eliminate the reader as a suspect.

VashTS · May 31, 2022

binkinator said:
Great. That should just work. There are no tricks to it. You just click and go.

Maddening. That’s a good test.
Can you write a couple more small files after the large and then try a different large one? Hoping the smells will eat up some space and force the large to write elsewhere on the disk. Just a side experiment for sure…not any sort of fix.

They’re cheap enough. Might as well eliminate the reader as a suspect.

the new reader is in and two installs are clean so far. i'm gonna let him play with it tomorrow and see where we stand. maybe i'll set up a big install like 4-5 games and see if it works.

i loathe the removal/installation of that tiny little sd connector. damaged a unit in the past with too much force.

binkinator · May 31, 2022

VashTS said:
the new reader is in and two installs are clean so far. i'm gonna let him play with it tomorrow and see where we stand. maybe i'll set up a big install like 4-5 games and see if it works.

i loathe the removal/installation of that tiny little sd connector. damaged a unit in the past with too much force.

I hear you man, I jacked up one of mine with the old in and out of the SDCard. It’s not the worst repair but it can be fiddler.

Anyway, glad you got it swapped and here’s to that being the issue (and we’re down here!) We can only hope…

Switch microSD errors

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