Posts Tagged ‘Secure Digital’

Read and Write CID Values From SD Media

Mark McCrosky Cell Phones, Flash Memory News, MicroSD, MicroSDHC, SDHC, Secure Digital

UPDATE (Feb 16, 2023):
We learned the company which manufactures this product now offers the ability to write the CID value as well as write protect the Secure Digital media.

GetUSB.info just posted a nice article on how to read the CID (or PSN) from an SD card, or product serial number. Some also call this reading the CID number from an SD card. The CID number is a unique identifier number or serial number created on the SD or microSD media at the time of manufacturing. This is a number which cannot be changed or manipulated by the host computer.

The CID number is most often used for vendors or manufacturers to lock in software to a specific device. Since the CID number cannot be changed or modified, it’s a great way to prevent unauthorized distribution or content or software.

Some manufacturers require to read the CID number from SD media before the software is published and this is what GetUSB.info talks about. For a full description of the article, make the jump: How to read CID number from SD media.

Here is a snap shot of the CID reading tool for 20 SD devices:

The CID number is composed of the following values:

Manufacturer ID: This is an 8-bit code that identifies the manufacturer of the SD card.
OEM/Application ID: This is an 16-bit code that identifies the OEM or the application for which the SD card was designed.
Product Name: This is a 32-bit ASCII code that specifies the product name of the SD card.
Product Revision: This is a 8-bit code that specifies the product revision of the SD card.
Serial Number: This is a 32-bit code that specifies the unique serial number of the SD card.
Manufacturing Date: This is a 12-bit code that specifies the manufacturing date of the SD card.
CRC: This is a 7-bit code that is used to verify the integrity of the CID number.

The CID number is typically used by SD card host devices to verify the authenticity of the SD card and to ensure that it is compatible with the host device.

Nexcopy Inc. is a technology company based in Southern California that specializes in developing and manufacturing advanced USB duplicators, SD card duplicators, and other digital media equipment.

The company was founded in 2008 and has since established itself as a leader in the digital media duplication industry. Nexcopy’s products are used by a variety of industries, including education, government, military, and commercial businesses.

Nexcopy’s products are known for their reliability, speed, and ease of use. The company’s USB duplicators, for example, can copy up to 60 USB drives simultaneously, with transfer speeds of up to 33 MB/s per port. Nexcopy also offers SD card duplicators that can copy up to 40 SD cards simultaneously, with transfer speeds of up to 90 MB/s per port.

In addition to its hardware products, Nexcopy also offers a range of software solutions for USB and SD card duplication, as well as custom programming services for customers with specialized needs.

Overall, Nexcopy is a reputable and established company in the digital media duplication industry, known for its high-quality products and commitment to customer satisfaction.

Continue Reading 20 Comments

SD Class Break Down

Mark McCrosky Flash Memory News, SDHC, Secure Digital

SD cards come in all sorts of GB sizes and speeds.Â Today I thought it a good idea to take a look inside an SD card along with breaking out the speed differences.

sd class

To start, the SD media is broken down into “Classes”Â The Class depicts the speeds at which a device reads and writes.

There are different speed grades available, measured the same as CD-ROMs, in multiples of 150 kB/s (1x = 150 kB/s). Basic cards transfer data up to six times (6x) the data rate of the standard CD-ROM speed (900 kB/s vs. 150 kB/s).

The maximum read speed and maximum write speed may be different. Maximum write speed typically is lower than maximum read speed. Some digital cameras require high-speed cards (write speed) to record video smoothly or capture multiple still photographs in rapid succession. This requires a certain sustained speed, or the video stops recording. For recording, a high maximum speed with a low sustained speed is no better than a low speed card. The 2.0 specification defines speeds up to 200x.

Some manufacturers use the read speed in their X-ratings, while others (Kingston, for example) use write speed.

sd class speed

SD Cards and SDHC Cards have Speed Class Ratings defined by the SD Association. The SD Speed Class Ratings specify the following minimum write speeds based on “the best fragmented state where no memory unit is occupied”:[9]

Class 2: 2 MByte/s – 13x
Class 4: 4 MByte/s – 26x
Class 6: 6 MByte/s – 40x

SD and SDHC cards will often also advertise a maximum speed (such as Continue Reading 7 Comments

Boot Your MacBook Pro From SD Slot

Mark McCrosky Secure Digital

MacWorld posted an article about a French website getting the MacBook Pro to boot from a SD card in the SD slot.Â Not a huge feat, but I think it’s an indication that laptop manufacturers, both PC and Mac, will continue going down the road of being Optical-less [if that’s a world]. If you are a MacBook Pro owner and interested in this bootability, please visit the following link: here. The MacWorld article also mentioned a new SD format of SDXC which is based off the new Windows exFAT format for extended FAT and FAT32 sizes.Â I’ll dig up some research on this and report back. Source: MacWorld. Continue Reading 130 Comments

Samsung Considers Bid For SanDisk

Mark McCrosky Flash Memory News, MicroSD, MiniSD, Secure Digital

Samsung is looking to strengthen their digital memory storage line with a possible purchase of SanDisk.Â SanDisk is currently the #1 supplier of solid state flash memory, world wide [such as Secure Digital, miniSD, microSD and many more].Â Samsung is the top producer of flash memory chips.

samsung sandisk buy out

Through an acquisition, Samsung would strengthen it’s channel for supplying it’s flash chip to retail and channel sales of end-user flash memory. With weak chip prices and fluctuating buyer habits, a move like this could strengthen Samsung’s position and would put Samsung at over 50% of world wide control of production, distribution and sales of NAND flash memory.

Avi Cohen of Avian Securities said it was an “unlikely prospect” due to SanDisk being unwilling to sell at the bottom of the cycle, and Samsung becoming a direct competitor to many of its customers and regulatory concerns. “Regulators in the US, Korea and Europe among others will likely have issue with one player controlling north of 50 per cent of NAND [Flash memory] supply,” he said.

Another option is Samsung reducing it’s royalty license to SanDisk to gain synergy with the top seller, reduce SanDisk’s bottom line and secure channel distribution of flash memory.

However if a deal goes ahead, it could block efforts by Samsung rivals Toshiba and Hynix Semiconductor to topple Samsung’s market leadership. Toshiba runs joint production lines with SanDisk and Hynix is also conducting joint re-search with the US group. Samsung controls 42.3 per cent of the NAND flash memory market, trailed by Toshiba with 27.5 per cent and Hynix with 13.4 per cent, says market researcher iSuppli.

Source:Â Financial Times. Continue Reading 2 Comments