Access to files on SD card  

"won't let me access them"? As in "access denied", or "no files showing"?  Certainly not normal behavior. Could be the card reader but I'd try a new SD card first. And is the SC card formatted properly — FAT32?

Also, check out this knowledgebase article: https://help.prusa3d.com/en/article/sd-cards-and-usb-drives_112291/

Card

Is this are card that came with your printer? If so, check it on your desktop computer to see if the files on the SD.  

Posted by: @thomas-lynch

I just sliced 3 files that are saved on the SD card but when I call them up on the LCD screen it won't let me access them.

Do I have too many files for proper access? Do I need a new SD card?

Did you have any non standard characters in the gcode file names ?

I've found the MK3S card reader to be fairly robust.

Occasionally I've used a card that I use for the camera to move files from the computer to the printer and it shows the DCIM directories but otherwise ignores them and properly displays the .gcode files.

If this happened to me, I would reformat the card as a next step.

Access to files on SD card

Let me explane better.

I just sliced 3 files and added them to my SD card. This is the SD card that came with the printer. It has had no problems early as last week.  When I select "print from SD" theist comes up on the LCD screen. When i try to select more than 2 files the knob turns but the files fail to advance on the screen. The files do not contain any non-standard characters in them. Example, one file is "body.STL", no special characters in the name. I checked the list of files on the card and none of them are unusual and have been accessed before.

Not 100% sure ...

But isn't the printer showing only GCODE-Files (you wrote "body.STL")? I mean printable files. And the printer is only able to execute 1 GCODE file by the time?

Best regards, Clemens

Access to files on SD card

Sorry , It only shows the GCODE files that have been sliced and saved. Like it should.

Thanks for bringing that up. Tom.

Sorry not solving your problem

Use a tool like SD Formatter and give it a try. Some times you can get rid of strange behavior of USB-Sticks and SD-Cards. That would be my way. Just takes a few minutes. 

https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter/

Best regards, Clemens

Access to files on SD card

I am in deep trouble here. If I format the card I will Probably lose all the files I have accumulated since I got the machine. 

I am not sure what to do next. I have a great machine but can’t use it. I have 3 prints lined up to print but can’t use the machine.

Does anyone have an idea as what I should do?

Access to files on SD card

I just solved my problem. I should have thought of this before. I DELETED THE 3 FILES I ADDED THE OTHER DAY AND EVERYTHING WORKS FINE NOW.  There must be something in them that is not visible that caused the problem. I'll try slicing something else and see what happens.

Thanks for all your help.

1 more question

Why do you use your SD-Card for storing your GCode-files. You use a computer for slicing your STL files to convert them into GCode. So a PC or Notebook should be the place for storing these files - best way ist to store these things as projects (using the xxx.3mf format)

Best regards, Clemens

Access to files on SD card

Clemens, thanks for the tip. I probably should do this.

However I have solved my problem. I went and got a new 32Gb SD card, formatted it to  FAT32 and put two  of the files on it that gave me trouble before.  After slicing both files and putting them on the new SD , I put the card in the printer and have been able to access and print both of them. My guess is that the other SD card was chuck full of files it could handle. I can still get to any of the files left on the old card.

So I guess I have not lost anything.

I would actually suggest saving the 3mf projects as your primary archive files. I tend to update filament, print settings, or printer settings profiles, and with the 3mf file it's easy to apply updates. Plus sometimes I don't have the filament anymore I used before, so the old gcode may not be optimal anymore. I only save gcode files for the stuff I currently sell on Etsy, for weekly production runs, and for stuff I use almost daily such as calibration squares for Live Z.

I really don't understand this whole 3mf thing. 

RE: Access to files on SD card

Check out this Prusa blog article:

https://blog.prusaprinters.org/3mf-file-format-and-why-its-great_30986/

3mf is another format to describe a 3d model. Unlike STL, which is basically a list of triangles that define the object shape, 3mf files can contain additional information. If you use PrusaSlicer's Save as option it will create a 3mf file with the STL but also all your print, filament , and printer settings, modifiers meshes, etc etc. That makes it easy to check if someone is reporting issues because you have all pertinent information in one place. And I use it as the primary storage method for my own projects as it makes it easy to make changes later on, starting with precisely the settings I used before. STLs don't have the settings info, and while GCODE has all this information it's not as easy as 3MF to make changes later. 

Repairing a SD card

Check your SD-card. On a Windows computer look in explorer for the drive letter (e.g. 'D'). Then go to the search bar on the lower left of your screen. Type in 'CMD' and open the first suggestion you get, the command-window. With the SD-card connected to your computer, type the following command line into CMD:

chkdsk D: /F /R

This will perform the chkdsk-command on the drive D: (if that is the letter your SD-card has, if not, change it to the correct one), checks for faults on the disk and repairs them (/F) and also checks for faulty sectors on the card and repairs them (/R). 

Don't know how this works on Apple machines.

Access to files on SD card

Thanks for the input.

I only use and have APPLE  computers. I'll check it out, sounds like a good idea. Thanks.