Can someone please reassure me?

I lost a retainer in the snow, when I was 16. I found it 6 months later, after the snow melted. I doubt that the microSD card would break though, since it doesn’t have a battery (does it?), so there wouldn’t be any electrical charges going through it.

I’d dry it out before using it though, in case there’s some water inside.

When the snow starts to melt, go out and try to find it, if you know where you were resetting the phone.

That’s a retainer though…that’s much bigger than a microSD…and I’m guessing you know right where it dropped? I have no idea where mine is. Well, okay I might…but that’s within a 10 foot radius.

We get constant storms here with lots of wind.

There’s no battery, it’s REALLY tiny…I am thinking that the water in the snow will get into the slots of the card and corrupt the memory. I’m HOPING that will happen…that way if a little tart finds it, they can’t get all my photos.

Idk, seekingwolf, but I hope you find it eventually and that’s it’s still intact. :)

The water probably won’t hurt it. Assuming it has a long time to dry out before power is applied to it.

I think you could find it. The odds of you finding it while you are looking are much greater then someone stumbling upon it. Was it over grass where you think that you lost it? If it was the lawnmower should take care of it.

And does anyone in your house know what one of those cards are? Odds are they wouldn’t think anything off it.

It’s somewhere outside of the math building…prob on the grass or something in the snow, already checked out the other areas where I could have dropped it, and nothing there after a thorough search, so those places are ruled out.

I looked on the stairwell of the math building, but nothing. I’m paranoid someone found it, but gosh darn it’s SOO small…

I will look again tomorrow when no one’s there…

Good luck finding it! :)

I’m totally freaking out though…

I can’t stand the thought of personal info/some personal pictures of me floating around out there.

Unfortunately, I have no confidence in college students. I am terrified that they will use it against me to destroy whatever reputation I have.

Yes there is a battery. A very tiny one. Memory cards are exactly that: digital memory, like your computer’s RAM. They need power to keep the memory alive. Once the battery dies your memory card will no longer function.

Huh, really…?

I had no idea!
How long can it survive without battery power in the elements?

The battery is inside of the card. Without battery power the memory is instantly cleared.

@Vinifera7

That can’t be…this is a microSD card. I’ve switched them between devices before, and the memory was still there even if it sat outside without power for a few days.

That’s what the battery is for. Without it, the memory would be cleared whenever you unplugged it or turned off the power to your computer.

Ahhh gotcha.

Now I just need to find out how long that battery will last for on it’s own.

Electronics + water (snow) = bad. Meaning your card was most likely ruined, assuming it is buried under 2 ft. of snow. I wouldn’t worry.

@seekingwolf

As far as I can tell searching the internet and to my knowledge, memory cards do not have a battery, especially micro sd cards. That was a new one for me.

The card will be fine if it’s dried completely before you install it into a device.

Those cards are so small that I really doubt anyone will find it, but, if you know of anyone with a metal detector you could search the area and find it under the snow. There us enough metal that a good metal detector would pick it up.

Hmmm we’ll see…thanks for reassuring me guys.

I will look again, but honestly, if I couldn’t find it but knew that no one else would find it, then I’d be okay…I already have a spare 2 GB card I can use, so no biggie.

I dropped an SD card in a pond once. It was fine.

I highly doubt that if someone finds it they will “use it against you to destroy your reputation.”

Good luck finding it. If it’s powdery snow I’d recommend looking as soon as possible, before the surface freezes over. If there’s already snow on the ground it shouldn’t be too hard to spot, assuming it’s still there.

If you can’t find it, chances areno one else will either.

@petethepothead

I’m just paranoid, ya know?

There’s 2+ feet of snow here…very icy ground with salt crystals everywhere on the pavement. It’s insane.

I will check tomorrow when there’s light. :)

I’m just worried because I know that one of the photos was of me…and okay, it didn’t show too much, but it was a suggestive picture. I had sent it to my bf who lives far away. Damn, I KNEW I should have deleted it.

Would a metal detector pick up a signal from the chip?

@mij yes, there are metal contacts on it, it may take a very good detector, but it would work. The sensitivity of the metal detectors are directly related to cost, cheap ones will find a beer can, good ones will find metal shavings.