memory card
Enable an AI agent to recognise a removable memory card, assess its compatibility and storage condition, and decide which handling or data operations are appropriate.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex + Grok
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise a removable memory card, assess its compatibility and storage condition, and decide which handling or data operations are appropriate.
A memory card is a user-removable solid-state storage module, almost always NAND flash with an onboard controller, whose mechanical and electrical interface is a standardized small card that seats in a host slot rather than a cable plug, and that presents a block device or file volume to cameras, phones, consoles, and embedded equipment.
It can be Inspect markings, dimensions, contacts and host-reported identity to classify the card.; Select a compatible host, reader and adapter combination and establish access.; Read, copy or image accessible data within the applicable authority.; Test capacity, transfer performance and integrity using methods appropriate to data-preservation requirements.; Write, partition, format or erase the card when authorised and compatible with its intended host.; Remove, store, quarantine or retire the card according to its access state and condition..
Distinguishing features
Determine whether the item is the storage-bearing card or merely an adapter that requires another card to supply storage.
Check whether its form factor and interface identify it as a memory-card family rather than a USB flash drive or separately enclosed storage drive.
Establish whether its intended role is general host-accessible data storage rather than subscriber identity, payment or authentication, as with SIM and smart cards.
Confirm that it is a separately removable medium rather than flash storage integrated into a host board.
Check for electronic contacts and solid-state storage evidence to distinguish it from optical discs and other non-electronic card-shaped media.
Scope
+ Card family, physical format, markings and evidence of identity
+ Electrical, protocol and host compatibility, including required readers or adapters
+ Advertised and verified capacity and workload-relevant performance
+ Partitioning, formatting, readability and protection against unwanted modification
+ Physical condition, data-integrity evidence and suitability for continued use
+ Conditions and authority for insertion, removal, testing, formatting, erasure and retirement
- Host-device operation beyond its interface and requirements for the card
- Reader and adapter construction, maintenance and independent condition
- Meaning, quality and ownership of individual files or datasets
- Embedded storage, USB flash drives and solid-state drives as separate device types
- Backup-service operation and management of other storage copies
- Packaging, retail offers and supply-chain transactions except as evidence about this card
Characteristics
- Card family and physical format
- Identified family and size variant, with unknown permitted Determines the candidate slots, readers and handling constraints.
- Identity confidence
- Unverified, markings inspected, device identity read, independently corroborated, conflicting evidence Prevents printed branding or controller reports from being treated as conclusive identity evidence.
- Physical dimensions
- Length, width and thickness in millimetres Helps distinguish formats and detect a mismatch before insertion.
- Advertised capacity
- Bytes, preserving the original label value and unit convention Records the capacity claim separately from what the card can reliably store.
- Verified usable capacity
- Bytes, accompanied by verification method, coverage and date; unknown if untested Supports storage planning and detection of capacity misrepresentation or inaccessible regions.
- Host compatibility
- Card-to-host-and-reader combination: documented, demonstrated, incompatible or untested Physical fit alone does not establish that a particular host can use the card.
- Observed transfer performance
- Read and write bytes per second, with workload, duration, host and reader recorded Determines whether the card can support a proposed recording or transfer workload.
- Logical layout
- Observed partition layout and filesystem, or unformatted, unrecognised, unreadable or unknown Explains whether a host can locate and interpret the stored volume.
- Modification protection
- Writable, host-enforced read-only, reader-reported write-protected, access-restricted or unknown Distinguishes actual permitted writes from a switch position or an untested assumption.
- Integrity assessment
- Untested, no errors within stated test coverage, intermittent errors, reproducible errors or inaccessible Supports decisions about ordinary use, recovery and retirement without implying complete certainty.
- Physical condition
- Observed housing, contact and contamination condition, with inspection date Identifies insertion hazards and possible causes of unstable access.
- Data-preservation requirement
- Link to applicable retention, recovery, backup and operation-authorisation requirements Determines whether testing or modification may proceed without unacceptable data loss.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 6 bundles · 11 layers · 18 findings · 30 questions.
Card identity and format Establish what storage-bearing item is present and how confidently its family and identity are known.
Similar-looking cards and adapters can require different interfaces, and labels alone may not establish the actual device.
Physical format
Identify the card through its outline, dimensions, contacts and storage-bearing role.
Storage-bearing card
Record whether the inspected item contains the storage medium and which physical card format the evidence supports.
- Does this item itself provide storage, or is it an adapter containing or awaiting another card? boundary
- Which card format is supported by its dimensions, contact arrangement and markings? definition
Identity evidence
Connect printed and electronically reported identity to their evidence and limitations.
Claimed and observed identity
Keep manufacturer, product, serial and capability claims distinguishable from corroborated observations.
- Which identity details come from the card label, packaging, purchase record or device interrogation? provenance
- Do those details agree, and what evidence would resolve any suspected relabelling or substitution? provenance
Host and reader compatibility Determine whether the card can operate through a particular slot, reader and adapter chain.
A card can fit mechanically yet remain unsupported or work only with restricted capabilities.
Connection path
Describe the physical and interface path between the card and host.
Supported insertion path
Record the required slot or reader, any adapter and the evidence that the complete combination is suitable.
- Which slot, reader and adapter combination is intended for this card's identified family and format? boundary
- What fit, orientation and contact checks must pass before the card can be inserted without force? action
Host support
Assess compatibility beyond physical insertion.
Usable host combination
Record supported capacity ranges, interface modes and formatting requirements for the actual host configuration.
- What documentation or observed operation supports this host's ability to use the card's family, capacity and logical format? provenance
- Does the host recognise and access the card consistently through the selected reader and adapter? measurement
Capacity and workload fitness Assess how much data the card can retain and whether it can sustain the intended access pattern.
Reported capacity and speed markings are insufficient to establish reliable suitability for a specific recording or transfer task.
Capacity evidence
Separate labelled, controller-reported, formatted and tested capacity.
Reliably addressable storage
Record capacity observations together with test coverage and whether writes and subsequent reads were verified.
- What capacities are labelled, reported by the device and available in the current filesystem, using explicit units? measurement
- How much addressable storage has been verified by writing and reading back data, and under what preservation constraints? measurement
Sustained workload
Relate performance evidence to a concrete host workload.
Performance for intended use
Record speed claims and measured behaviour separately, including the conditions that limit their applicability.
- Which speed markings are present, and what authoritative specification defines each marking's test conditions? provenance
- Can the card sustain the required write rate and access pattern in the intended host for the required duration? measurement
Recorded data and access Establish how stored data is organised, whether it is accessible and which modifications are permitted.
An unreadable card may have an unsupported or damaged logical layout, and apparently available storage may still contain data that must be preserved.
Volume accessibility
Assess the card's logical layout and access barriers without equating mount failure with absent data.
Interpretable storage layout
Record detected partitions, filesystems and access restrictions, including uncertainty when inspection is incomplete.
- Which partitions and filesystems are detected, and can the intended host read them? measurement
- If access fails, what evidence distinguishes unsupported formatting, missing credentials, logical corruption and device-level failure? boundary
Write and erasure authority
Connect effective write protection and preservation requirements to proposed modifications.
Permitted data operation
Determine whether a particular write, format, test or erasure is both technically possible and authorised.
- What mechanism, if any, currently prevents writes, and has its effect been established for this reader and host? measurement
- Before modification, what authority and verified preservation copies are required for the data currently on the card? action
- What erasure outcome is required, and what evidence could demonstrate that the chosen method achieves it on this card? action
Integrity, handling and retirement Assess physical and storage faults and choose safe continued-use, recovery or retirement actions.
Small removable media can suffer contact damage, intermittent access and data errors that require different responses from routine formatting.
Fault and condition evidence
Combine physical inspection with reproducible access and integrity observations.
Card versus connection fault
Record damage and errors while distinguishing evidence about the card from faults in its reader, adapter or host.
- Are the housing or contacts damaged, contaminated or deformed in a way that affects insertion or electrical contact? measurement
- Do access failures or data mismatches recur through a known-working compatible connection path? measurement
Handling and disposition
Choose actions that account for pending writes, recovery needs and the intended future use.
Next safe storage action
Record the conditions for removal, further testing, reuse, quarantine or retirement without overstating remaining service life.
- What host-specific stop, flush or eject procedure must complete before this card is removed? action
- Does the observed condition justify continued use, preservation imaging, quarantine or retirement for the proposed workload? action
- Which documented handling and storage limits apply to this particular card, and are its intended conditions within them? boundary
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Full-size Secure Digital (SD, SDHC, SDXC, SDUC)
- microSD (and the short-lived miniSD)
- CompactFlash Type I and Type II
- CFast
- CFexpress Type A and Type B (XQD as the immediate predecessor)
- MultiMediaCard (MMC, RS-MMC, MMCplus)
- Sony Memory Stick family (Standard, PRO, Duo, Micro/M2)
- xD-Picture Card
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of memory card this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Wikidata - Q18373 - Item commonly used for the removable flash memory-card class as a whole.
- Wikidata - Q466977 - Secure Digital card.
- Wikidata - Q493106 - CompactFlash.
- SD Association form factor - SD | miniSD | microSD - Physical size class in the SD specifications.
- SD Association capacity class - SD (≤2 GB) | SDHC (>2 GB-32 GB) | SDXC (>32 GB-2 TB) | SDUC (>2 TB-128 TB) - Marked on the card; also implies the expected file system (FAT16 / FAT32 / exFAT).
- SD CID register - 128-bit Card IDentification (manufacturer ID, OEM ID, product name, serial, date) - On-card identifier readable by a host; analogous CID exists on MMC.
- CFexpress type - Type A | Type B - Mechanical/electrical type; Type B shares the XQD body.
- Retail GTIN - GTIN-13 / UPC-A on packaged SKUs - Identifies a manufacturer's capacity/speed SKU, not the inserted card instance.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of memory card this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- SD Association - SD Specifications (Physical Layer, file system, Speed Class, UHS Speed Class, Video Speed Class, Application Performance Class, SD Express)
- CompactFlash Association - CompactFlash, CFast, and CFexpress specifications
- JEDEC - MultiMediaCard / JESD84 family
- PCI-SIG - PCI Express (electrical basis of CFexpress and SD Express)
- NVM Express, Inc. - NVMe (protocol used by CFexpress)
- Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) - DCF (DC-009), the camera file layout commonly written onto memory cards
- European Union - RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU (hazardous-substance limits on the electronic assembly)
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of memory card this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Recording still photographs and video in interchangeable-lens cameras, compact cameras, camcorders, drones, action cameras, and dashcams
- Expanding or moving files on phones, tablets, and handheld consoles that still expose a microSD slot (for example Nintendo Switch)
- Field logging and removable media in industrial controllers, medical instruments, broadcast decks, and POS terminals that retain CF or SD slots
- Copying files to a computer through a USB or built-in card reader rather than tethering the host device
- Older game consoles used a different product sold under the same English name: a proprietary save card (PlayStation, GameCube, Xbox memory unit)
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of memory card this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Usable storage capacity - 8-1024 (retail 2020s; SD max 2, SDHC max 32, SDXC max 2048) - GB
- Sustained sequential write - 10-300 (consumer SD/UHS); 300-2000 (CFexpress Type B) - MB/s
- Full-size SD body - 32.0 × 24.0 × 2.1 - mm
- microSD body - 15.0 × 11.0 × 1.0 - mm
- Supply voltage - 2.7-3.6 (nominal 3.3; some UHS/Express modes also 1.8) - V
- Mass - 0.25-2 (microSD/SD); about 8-12 (CompactFlash) - g
- Consumer operating temperature - 0-70 (industrial grades often −25 to 85) - °C
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of memory card this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- NAND program/erase wear and spare-block exhaustion, after which writes fail or the card goes read-only
- Counterfeit cards that report a false capacity and silently overwrite earlier data
- File-system corruption from power loss or removal while mounted
- Generation mismatch: an SDXC/exFAT card in an SDHC-only host, or a UHS-II/CFexpress card run in a slower slot
- Insufficient sustained write causing dropped video frames even when the labelled burst speed looks adequate
- Dirty, worn, or bent contacts (especially CompactFlash pin arrays)
- Data-retention loss after long unpowered storage, worse with heat and with TLC/QLC NAND
- Personal data remaining on lost, sold, or 'formatted' cards
- Choking hazard from microSD and similar tiny cards
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of memory card this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- In mainland China and much of East Asia, microSD is widely named and sold as a TF card (from SanDisk's T-Flash name)
- In Japan in the 2000s, Sony Memory Stick and Olympus/Fujifilm xD-Picture Card competed in cameras before SD became the default
- Professional stills and cinema worldwide use CFast or CFexpress in the high-speed slot that consumer cameras fill with SD
- Through the sixth video-game generation in Japan, North America, and Europe, 'memory card' meant a proprietary console save card, not SD-class media
- CompactFlash remains common in industrial and broadcast gear in many regions after consumer cameras dropped it
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of memory card this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- USB flash drive - A USB flash drive has a USB plug and inserts into a USB receptacle; a memory card has no cable connector and needs a matching card slot or reader.
- Smart card (ICC) - A smart card follows ISO/IEC 7816 contacts and holds a cryptographic application; it is not a bulk NAND file volume.
- SIM / UICC - A SIM identifies a telecom subscriber and holds a small dedicated file system; it is not camera or media storage.
- eMMC / UFS package - eMMC and UFS are BGA packages soldered to a board; they are not user-removable cards.
- SSD (M.2 or 2.5-inch) - Those drives use SATA or M.2/U.2 hosts; a memory card uses an SD/CF/CFexpress slot - even though CFexpress is electrically an NVMe SSD in a card body.
- Game ROM cartridge - A cartridge presents factory software the console executes; a memory card is a user-writable general storage volume (console save cards are a grey zone under the same English name).
- PC Card (PCMCIA) - A PC Card is the 85.6 × 54 mm laptop expansion card; CompactFlash is electrically related but much smaller and used as removable storage.
- SDIO peripheral card - An SDIO card uses the SD slot to provide I/O (Wi-Fi, GPS, and similar) rather than a mass-storage volume.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of memory card this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Sources
- Memory card - Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation - Form-factor families, historical formats, typical uses, and the distinction from other small storage and identity cards.
- SD Memory Card specifications and capacity/speed classes - SD Association - SD/miniSD/microSD mechanical sizes, SD/SDHC/SDXC/SDUC capacity classes, Speed Class, UHS, Video Speed Class, Application Performance Class, and SD Express.
- CompactFlash, CFast and CFexpress specifications - CompactFlash Association - CF Type I/II, CFast, and CFexpress Type A/B as the professional/high-speed card family.
- MultiMediaCard (MMC) / JESD84 family - JEDEC Solid State Technology Association - MMC as the JEDEC-standardized ancestor of the SD electrical family (distinct from removable SD licensing).
What the second pass must settle
- With no registry definition recorded, which legacy and specialised removable card families does this entry include, and where is its boundary with card-form solid-state drives?
- Which authoritative family and host specifications should ground compatibility, capacity and speed-marking interpretations for each supported card type?
- Which card families expose useful health or endurance information, and how reliably can those observations support continued-use decisions?
- Which capacity and integrity tests provide sufficient evidence for each intended workload while respecting existing-data preservation requirements?
- Which erasure or sanitisation methods have a verifiable effect on each supported card family, including storage outside ordinary host-addressable space?