Sounds simple but can cause lots of headaches. Formatting an SD card simply makes it ready to accept data files (WAVs). Think of it as drawing ruled lines on a piece of blank paper to keep your writing straight.
SD cards come in many different sizes, speeds and types but it is important to use ones that the Spider Jam supports. Where you will benefit from SD cards with faster memory, because saving and loading will take less time, only sizes up to 2 Gb are supported. Cards larger than 2 Gb are considered High Density (HD) and although they might work fine in your camera, won't work in the Spider Jam at all.
The correct formatting mode is FAT 16 (File Allocation Table) often referred to as just FAT. This format is frankly, a bit long in the tooth, dating back to the mid to late '80s. It can only handle filenames in the 8.3 format but it is a simple, common denominator format used by most digital cameras and recording devices. The newer FAT 32 format will not work with the Spider Jam.
Read more about FAT at Wikipedia.
SD card formatting problems
SD cards come already formatted as FAT 16 or FAT 32 depending on size and brand but you may need to reformat them again. A quick search on Google shows that SD card formatting problems are quite common regardless of the device being used.
The Spider Jam can be fussy about some cards. I have never had any problems in this respect myself but people on the Spider Jam Forum complain that their cards are not working as expected. Sometimes, it is to do with the physical electrical contact between the card and the Spider Jam's card slot. Certain brands are made slightly thinner than others and the pressure is not tight enough on the contacts to make reliable connections. Other people find that they have to reform their cards several times before the Spider Jam will accept them. If you continue to have problems in this respect, see below.
Do make sure that the write protect switch on your card is off. It is on the left hand side and tiny. The 'off' position is nearest the front (contact) end of the card.
If your SD card is not working on you Spider Jam, try using a different brand of card and run the formatting process half a dozen times or so until it works.
You can format an SD card with any Windows or Mac computer using the system's formatting software. You will need a USB card reader/writer to connect the card to the computer. These come in many types and sizes. Some are for multiple types of data cards and some are dedicated to SD cards. It is rare that a card reader IS only a reader and not a writer too but it does happen. Make sure your adaptor can write.
Formatting SD cards in Windows
In Windows, select the card in My Computer with a right mouse click and choose 'Format' in the contextual menu. In the formatting dialog, choose FAT or FAT 16, not FAT 32.
Formatting in Windows XP shown. Don't use the 'Quick Format' option!
Formatting SD cards in Mac OS X
On Mac computers, open Disk Utility.app in the utilities folder and select the card in the drive list down the left hand side. Click on the 'Erase' button at the top and choose 'MS-DOS (FAT)' in the 'Volume Format' popup. Give the card any name you like and click the 'Erase' button on the bottom right.
If you have already updated your Spider Jam to v2.07 or v2.09, you can also format the card in the Spider Jam. The main difference with using the Spider Jam for formatting is that it adds a folder called LINE6 which your computer will not do. All songs and recordings go inside this folder but firmware FW.BIN files must not. FW.BIN has to be at the top level to be recognised.
If you continue to have SD card formatting problems, there is an SD Card Formatting utility (for Windows) from the SD Association that claims to solve the problems. According to them, and they are the authority, many formatters don't comply to official standards and will prove unreliable. Sounds about right!
Shows the currently installed firmware version.
Firmware versions
1.04 - 27 Feb, 2008
This is the original version shipped with amplifiers up until late 2008.
2.07 - Sept 30, 2008
Added SD card support and many new features.
2.09 - Oct 22, 2008
Mostly bug fixes.
The FIRMWARE UPGRADE menu item is used to upgrade (or reinstall) firmware that you have downloaded from the Line6 site. The next page will step you through the process and point out some common problems.