How to label those tiny micro sd cards?

[jbudd]

If micros SD cards had existed when I was a kid, I'd have used a sticky label and a 0.18mm Rotring pen.

These days I swap the card out, put it down somewhere and can't see where I put the damn thing. So I buy a new one.

As a system it has it's faults, but at least there are no solvents required.

[jardino]

And why are they (mostly) coloured black? After they fall on my dark blue carpet, they are gone for ever - until they meet their nemesis, the vacuum cleaner. Why can't they be coloured day-glo orange or something?

Alan.

[k-pi]

The first time I got hold of a micro SD card, I knew they'd be trouble, so small that you can hardly handle them.

So, I use a couple of 64GB for quick back ups, but they stay in their SD card converter, unless I have to insert it into a micro slot.

When I got my first RPi3B, I knew I had to use USB booting on it, so the micro SD card was only used to set the OTB, from then on, I either use a pendrive, (most of the time), or a 2.5" external HDD powered from a USB hub.

I did try using a 3.5" external drive, but it just felt so wrong.

[LStreet]

Same as/Similar to Richard TX from 2014...
Brother P-touch, 9mm tape, set margins to Narrow, always use 2 lines of text, type in as much as you want and put ~2mm of tape starting from leading blank margin of tape on top of card (over lump), ~4mm on bottom of card, lined up so you can stick the loop halves together cleanly on top of each other. The printed side (or most of it) will face up when in the Pi and you also have a nice pull tab.

[timrowledge]

I use a bit of masking tape, folded over so it sticks to both sides of the SD card and long enough to make a label area and a very convenient handle for pulling it out of the slot. Or indeed picking it up from the tin I keep spare cards in, or off the floor.

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Poorly focussed photobooth shop. Reality isn't quite as fuzzy. Normally.

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Even help identify a running system.

The manufacturers missed a chance to add a tiny hole at the end of the card so that a labe could be attached a bit more easily.

[wizzel]

I don't label them. I put them in an SD-Card Adapter Card and label those.
Topic can be closed.

[0ByteSolutions]

Again, I noticed this is an 'older' thread - But I have been fighting this lack in the industry for years.

I could never write that small (or neat), so I created a label template for MS Word (2016) that I can type in, then print to Avery 5520 labels. They are thin, water-resistant and easy to remove (if/when needed). It also works with the 5160 labels, but I find them to be just a little too thick. The only 'hard part' is using the scissors to cut on the dotted lines.

If anyone finds it of interest, I've attached it here:

Avery 5160 - SD + MicroSD Labels.7z

(20.52 KiB) Downloaded 90 times

. I've included a few 'pre-filled' tables that you can copy to other labels on the template and customize as you like. Throw me a kudo if you think it's useful.

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[jschank]

I'm planning to use a label maker - and fold the label, so that part sticks on the top and bottom, and makes a tail.

[emma1997]

Must be necro-day in Piland.

I find with label on both sides it wont fit many slots. Need pliers to get back out. Too bad we must pull out the microscope to read them.

Color coding the edge with nail polish helps but there's only room for 5 or so dots before you start needing loupe for that too. Here's a pic from a while back before color coding in earnest:

[RaspbianUser1]

Instead of labelling the card, why not buy a case and label a case with adequate space to write on

[rpdom]

That's only useful until you take the card out of the case and it gets mixed up with other cards.

[bjtheone]

Just need to up your OCD game.... Labelled cases work. Plus worst case I can mount them and check the volume label.

[hippy]

I definitely need to label the cards themselves, and memory sticks. I've got a card in my Pi 4B, another in a USB card reader for USB booting, a memory stick for the same, another card laying in the bottom of the plastic box the 4B is sitting in, and another next to that in an adapter.

At one point, and not so long ago, I knew what each were. Now I haven't a clue.

[bls]

Label the case (aka MicroSD to SD adapter) using Avery 6737 labels. Also put a number on each "case", and write that same number on the MicroSD card using a thin point felt marker. Now you can match the MicroSD Card to a Case, and know what it does.

The Avery 6737 labels are a great size for this, but they do tend to be a bit stickier than I'd prefer. That said, they don't stand up to a fingernail or razor blade (hmm...and just noticed that my as-yet-unopened new pack says "Removable", so maybe my fingernails will get a rest!)

[procount]

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I use Edding 780 white pen that writes on glass, metal & plastic, then use folded over sellotape stuck to both sides to stop it being rubbed off and also serves as an extraction puller.

[fd_]

Thought I'd share my idea as well: I've built a simple device from an Arduino Nano, a microSD interface and a small display as a solution to this problem. It loads the label from a text file named label.txt on the boot partition. The Arduino library I use can only read FAT32 partitions, but luckily the same restriction applies to the Raspberry Pi's bootloader. In addition to displaying the label, the software on the Arduino also retrieves the modification timestamp of the kernel image and shows the values from various card info registers.



Software is all up and running, though I still haven't gotten around to deciding what batteries to power this thing from and how I could fit it into a nice case.

[bls]

Thought I'd share my idea as well: I've built a simple device from an Arduino Nano, a microSD interface and a small display as a solution to this problem. It loads the label from a text file named label.txt on the boot partition. The Arduino library I use can only read FAT32 partitions, but luckily the same restriction applies to the Raspberry Pi's bootloader. In addition to displaying the label, the software on the Arduino also retrieves the modification timestamp of the kernel image and shows the values from various card info registers.

Software is all up and running, though I still haven't gotten around to deciding what batteries to power this thing from and how I could fit it into a nice case.

This is pretty slick! And, it would make a super-nice addon for my SD Card manager. sdm could easily write useful information onto the SD Cards when it operates on them. Interested in a bit of collaboration on this?

[fd_]

Thought I'd share my idea as well: I've built a simple device from an Arduino Nano, a microSD interface and a small display as a solution to this problem. It loads the label from a text file named label.txt on the boot partition. The Arduino library I use can only read FAT32 partitions, but luckily the same restriction applies to the Raspberry Pi's bootloader. In addition to displaying the label, the software on the Arduino also retrieves the modification timestamp of the kernel image and shows the values from various card info registers.

Software is all up and running, though I still haven't gotten around to deciding what batteries to power this thing from and how I could fit it into a nice case.

This is pretty slick! And, it would make a super-nice addon for my SD Card manager. sdm could easily write useful information onto the SD Cards when it operates on them. Interested in a bit of collaboration on this?

Sure! Let me know how I can contribute! I'd be happy to share my code, though I suspect some quality might have been lost by me squeezing it to fit into the tiny memory of the ATmega168P (it's a cheap Nano V3 clone) I had at hand.

[bls]

Thought I'd share my idea as well: I've built a simple device from an Arduino Nano, a microSD interface and a small display as a solution to this problem. It loads the label from a text file named label.txt on the boot partition. The Arduino library I use can only read FAT32 partitions, but luckily the same restriction applies to the Raspberry Pi's bootloader. In addition to displaying the label, the software on the Arduino also retrieves the modification timestamp of the kernel image and shows the values from various card info registers.

Software is all up and running, though I still haven't gotten around to deciding what batteries to power this thing from and how I could fit it into a nice case.

This is pretty slick! And, it would make a super-nice addon for my SD Card manager. sdm could easily write useful information onto the SD Cards when it operates on them. Interested in a bit of collaboration on this?

Sure! Let me know how I can contribute! I'd be happy to share my code, though I suspect some quality might have been lost by me squeezing it to fit into the tiny memory of the ATmega168P (it's a cheap Nano V3 clone) I had at hand.

Great! Please email me at blsrpf@outlook.com so we can connect directly and discuss in detail. Thanks!

[cleverca22]

Thought I'd share my idea as well: I've built a simple device from an Arduino Nano, a microSD interface and a small display as a solution to this problem. It loads the label from a text file named label.txt on the boot partition. The Arduino library I use can only read FAT32 partitions, but luckily the same restriction applies to the Raspberry Pi's bootloader. In addition to displaying the label, the software on the Arduino also retrieves the modification timestamp of the kernel image and shows the values from various card info registers.

Software is all up and running, though I still haven't gotten around to deciding what batteries to power this thing from and how I could fit it into a nice case.

neat, and also gives me ideas on other features you can do
you could open up the start.elf file, and find the version of its firmware, and report that on the display
you could report if its new enough to support something like the pi400 (there is a bitfield for that)

[emma1997]

Can't we somehow get relays, MOSFETs, or more internet or Bluetooth involved here? Or how about RFID (good enough for dogs so what about us)? This pencil and paper stuff is so 1990's. lol

[andrum99]

I use a DiMeCard, which holds 8 micro SD cards and has little bits to write things on: https://www.amazon.co.uk/DiMeCard-micro ... B00ANN99HO

Along with a fine tipped "dry wipe" marker: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1

Not as foolproof as labelling the cards themselves, but good enough for my purposes