SD Card undetected

Support
,
1

I have an SD Card port that doesn’t seem to be picking up my SD card whatsoever. fdisk -l shows nothing, it doesn’t show up in GParted at all, and dmesg -w displays no new text when it’s plugged in. I know for certain that it’s not blocked by the BIOS. It’s like it doesn’t exist at all. Now this isn’t terribly important because it’s ancient and the data therein is irrelevant, but what I want to know is if it’s an issue with the card itself or the port. Does anybody have any ideas?

inxi -v7azy

System:
Kernel: 6.6.30-2-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 13.2.1
clocksource: tsc avail: hpet,acpi_pm
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.6-x86_64
root=UUID=3a2f3cc6-1e22-49a7-bc17-fe595afba496 rw quiet splash apparmor=1
security=apparmor resume=UUID=a1b8b401-6adc-48f1-8419-f0f94f2c2496
udev.log_priority=3
Desktop: Xfce v: 4.18.1 tk: Gtk v: 3.24.36 wm: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0
with: xfce4-panel tools: light-locker avail: xtrlock vt: 7 dm: LightDM
v: 1.32.0 Distro: Manjaro base: Arch Linux
Machine:
Type: Laptop System: TOSHIBA product: Satellite C875D v: PSCBGU-007006
serial:
Mobo: AMD model: PLCSC8 serial: part-nu: PSCBGU
uuid: UEFI-[Legacy]: Insyde v: 6.30 date: 12/06/2012
Battery:
ID-1: BAT0 charge: 26.3 Wh (100.0%) condition: 26.3/49.5 Wh (53.0%)
volts: 12.4 min: 10.8 model: TKBSS NS2P3SZMC4WR type: Li-ion serial: N/A
status: full
Memory:
System RAM: total: 4 GiB available: 3.3 GiB used: 1.41 GiB (42.8%)
Message: For most reliable report, use superuser + dmidecode.
Array-1: capacity: 4 GiB slots: 2 modules: 1 EC: None
max-module-size: 4 GiB note: est.
Device-1: Channel-A DIMM 0 type: no module installed
Device-2: Channel-B DIMM 0 type: DDR3 detail: synchronous unbuffered
(unregistered) size: 4 GiB speed: 800 MT/s volts: N/A width (bits):
data: 64 total: 64 manufacturer: Samsung part-no: M471B5273CH0-CK0
serial:
CPU:
Info: model: AMD A4-4300M APU with Radeon HD Graphics bits: 64 type: MT MCP
arch: Piledriver level: v2 built: 2012-13 process: GF 32nm family: 0x15 (21)
model-id: 0x10 (16) stepping: 1 microcode: 0x6001119
Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 2 smt: enabled cache: L1: 96 KiB
desc: d-2x16 KiB; i-1x64 KiB L2: 1024 KiB desc: 1x1024 KiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 1947 high: 2494 min/max: 1400/2500 boost: enabled
scaling: driver: acpi-cpufreq governor: schedutil cores: 1: 2494 2: 1400
bogomips: 9984
Flags: 3dnowprefetch abm aes aperfmperf apic arat avx bmi1 clflush cmov
cmp_legacy constant_tsc cpb cpuid cr8_legacy cx16 cx8 de decodeassists
extapic extd_apicid f16c flushbyasid fma fma4 fpu fxsr fxsr_opt ht
hw_pstate ibs lahf_lm lbrv lm lwp mca mce misalignsse mmx mmxext monitor
msr mtrr nodeid_msr nonstop_tsc nopl npt nrip_save nx osvw pae pat
pausefilter pclmulqdq pdpe1gb perfctr_core perfctr_nb pfthreshold pge pni
popcnt pse pse36 rdtscp rep_good sep skinit ssbd sse sse2 sse4_1 sse4_2
sse4a ssse3 svm svm_lock syscall tbm tce topoext tsc tsc_scale vmcb_clean
vme vmmcall wdt xop xsave
Vulnerabilities:
Type: gather_data_sampling status: Not affected
Type: itlb_multihit status: Not affected
Type: l1tf status: Not affected
Type: mds status: Not affected
Type: meltdown status: Not affected
Type: mmio_stale_data status: Not affected
Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
Type: retbleed mitigation: untrained return thunk; SMT vulnerable
Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via
prctl
Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer
sanitization
Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Retpolines; STIBP: disabled; RSB filling;
PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected; BHI: Not affected
Type: srbds status: Not affected
Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
Device-1: AMD Trinity 2 [Radeon HD 7420G] vendor: Toshiba driver: radeon
v: kernel alternate: amdgpu arch: TeraScale-3 code: Northern Islands
process: TSMC 32nm built: 2010-13 ports: active: LVDS-1
empty: HDMI-A-1,VGA-1 bus-ID: 00:01.0 chip-ID: 1002:9992 class-ID: 0300
Display: x11 server: X.org v: 1.21.1.13 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0 driver:
X: loaded: radeon unloaded: modesetting alternate: fbdev,vesa dri: r600
gpu: radeon display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1600x900 s-size: <missing: xdpyinfo>
Monitor-1: LVDS-1 mapped: LVDS model: Seiko Epson 0x504b built: 2011
res: 1600x900 hz: 60 dpi: 106 gamma: 1.2 size: 382x215mm (15.04x8.46")
diag: 438mm (17.3") ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 1600x900 min: 640x480
API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: amd r600 platforms: device: 0 drv: r600 device: 1
drv: swrast surfaceless: drv: r600 x11: drv: r600 inactive: gbm,wayland
API: OpenGL v: 4.5 vendor: mesa v: 24.0.6-manjaro1.1 glx-v: 1.4
direct-render: yes renderer: AMD ARUBA (DRM 2.50.0 / 6.6.30-2-MANJARO LLVM
17.0.6) device-ID: 1002:9992 memory: 500 MiB unified: no
API: Vulkan Message: No Vulkan data available.
Audio:
Device-1: AMD Trinity HDMI Audio driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
bus-ID: 00:01.1 chip-ID: 1002:9902 class-ID: 0403
Device-2: AMD FCH Azalia vendor: Toshiba driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
bus-ID: 00:14.2 chip-ID: 1022:780d class-ID: 0403
API: ALSA v: k6.6.30-2-MANJARO status: kernel-api with: aoss
type: oss-emulator tools: alsactl,alsamixer,amixer
Server-1: JACK v: 1.9.22 status: off tools: N/A
Server-2: PipeWire v: 1.0.5 status: off tools: pw-cli
Server-3: PulseAudio v: 17.0 status: active with: pulseaudio-alsa
type: plugin tools: pacat,pactl,pavucontrol
Network:
Device-1: Realtek RTL8188CE 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adapter driver: rtl8192ce
v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: 3000 bus-ID: 01:00.0
chip-ID: 10ec:8176 class-ID: 0280
IF: wlp1s0 state: up mac:
IP v4: type: dynamic noprefixroute scope: global
broadcast:
IP v6: type: dynamic noprefixroute scope: global
IP v6: type: noprefixroute scope: link
Device-2: Realtek RTL810xE PCI Express Fast Ethernet vendor: Toshiba
driver: r8169 v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: 2000
bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8136 class-ID: 0200
IF: enp2s0 state: down mac:
Info: services: NetworkManager,wpa_supplicant
WAN IP:
Bluetooth:
Message: No bluetooth data found.
Logical:
Message: No logical block device data found.
RAID:
Message: No RAID data found.
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 465.76 GiB used: 37.09 GiB (8.0%)
SMART Message: Required tool smartctl not installed. Check --recommends
ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Hitachi model: HTS545050A7E380
size: 465.76 GiB block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s
tech: HDD rpm: 5400 serial: fw-rev: A7A0 scheme: MBR
Optical-1: /dev/sr0 vendor: TSSTcorp model: CDDVDW SN-208AB rev: TO04
dev-links: cdrom
Features: speed: 24 multisession: yes audio: yes dvd: yes
rw: cd-r,cd-rw,dvd-r,dvd-ram state: running
Partition:
ID-1: / raw-size: 458.49 GiB size: 450.23 GiB (98.20%) used: 37.09 GiB (8.2%)
fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1 label: N/A
uuid: 3a2f3cc6-1e22-49a7-bc17-fe595afba496
Swap:
Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: yes
compressor: zstd max-pool: 20%
ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 7.26 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2
dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2 label: swap
uuid: a1b8b401-6adc-48f1-8419-f0f94f2c2496
Unmounted:
Message: No unmounted partitions found.
USB:
Hub-1: 1-0:1 info: full speed or root hub ports: 5 rev: 1.1
speed: 12 Mb/s (1.4 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 chip-ID: 1d6b:0001
class-ID: 0900
Hub-2: 2-0:1 info: full speed or root hub ports: 5 rev: 1.1
speed: 12 Mb/s (1.4 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 chip-ID: 1d6b:0001
class-ID: 0900
Hub-3: 3-0:1 info: full speed or root hub ports: 5 rev: 2.0
speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 1d6b:0002
class-ID: 0900
Hub-4: 4-0:1 info: full speed or root hub ports: 5 rev: 2.0
speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 1d6b:0002
class-ID: 0900
Device-1: 4-3:2 info: Realtek RTS5138 Card Reader Controller
type: mass storage driver: ums-realtek interfaces: 1 rev: 2.0
speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 power: 500mA
chip-ID: 0bda:0138 class-ID: 0806 serial:
Hub-5: 5-0:1 info: full speed or root hub ports: 2 rev: 1.1
speed: 12 Mb/s (1.4 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 chip-ID: 1d6b:0001
class-ID: 0900
Hub-6: 6-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 2 rev: 2.0
speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 1d6b:0002
class-ID: 0900
Hub-7: 7-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 2 rev: 3.0
speed: 5 Gb/s (596.0 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-1x1 chip-ID: 1d6b:0003
class-ID: 0900
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 51.6 C mobo: N/A gpu: radeon temp: 47.0 C
Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
Processes: 167 Power: uptime: 21m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
avail: s2idle wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
suspend, test_resume image: 1.31 GiB services: upowerd,xfce4-power-manager
Init: systemd v: 255 default: graphical tool: systemctl
Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1257 libs: 475 tools: pamac pm: flatpak pkgs: 0
Compilers: clang: 17.0.6 gcc: 13.2.1 Shell: Bash v: 5.2.26
running-in: xfce4-terminal inxi: 3.3.34

Any ideas, suggestions, or input would be very much appreciated.

2

check the card with a different reader.

3

Unfortunately, I don’t have one. :man_shrugging:

4

does the reader work with other cards ?

5

You’re not gonna believe this, but this is the only card I have lol. So I have no way of testing either the port or the card. Now, what’s very strange to me is that dmesg -w doesn’t say anything at all. I’ve had issues with ancient USB sticks that would give me I/O errors on dmesg, indicating that it was just so old that it was toast. But this thing? Nothing. Nothing at all shows up. And I have no idea if it’s a hardware issue or a software issue.

6

Makes me think it’s

  • the card reader;
  • the connection.
7

I’m definitely inclined to agree. But is there maybe a more in-depth way of diagnosing this? Perhaps something that inxi can show that I’m unaware of, or some other program. 'Cause I’m not even sure if Manjaro is aware that the port is there to begin with.

8

What’s the connection type? If it’s USB as most these things are, just test the port with something else.

9

in this case it’s not worth to think about it cause it’s not a really problem.

10

If the reader device isn’t being picked up by the kernel - check the connection - usually cable.

If you have another cable try it - if it still doesn’t show - it is likely your reader is dead.

11

@Mirdarthos, to answer both of your questions at once, the port is in the laptop itself. It doesn’t detach or have a cable at all. I’m not sure if that helps or not.

12

there are some card-readers that trouble, for example i have a in-built card reader at the laptop

Norelsys NS1081

that sucks. not the only one who claimed this but it’s obsolete to waste a single moment anymore. these universal-card readers cost less than 10 bucks and they work. replace them with such a device → problem solved

13

The reader is there allright - should be functional Realtek Semiconductor RTS5138 Card Reader Controller

14

So, it’s just probably that the card is so dead that it doesn’t even register? 'Cause it is pretty old, maybe like 15 years old.