CF card error - "Directory entry not valid"

I have a 256mb CF card that I've used in several HPCs, and just yesterday it began sending me an error message each time I insert it into the HPC (J820), and whenever I turn the 820 on if the card is already inserted. The message reads:

The directory entry for ' . ' is not valid. Do you want this problem automatically repaired now?

There are "Yes", "No", and "Cancel" option buttons. If I select Yes or No, the error message disappears, then reappears. If I select Cancel, the message disappears and doesn't reappear until I turn the 820 off and on, or re-insert the CF card.

One other thing - if I'm in Explorer or GSFinder and double-click on a file on the card to open it, I get an error message the says "Cannot find "Doc Name" (or one of its components)", and it won't open the file. However, I can open the file by right-clicking (in GSFinder) and selecting Open-Choose Program, and I can open files from within the software programs (TextMaker, Word, etc.)

The CF card seems to be working fine otherwise, and it isn't causing error messages on any of my PCs.

Any thoughts on what's going on?

Do you have more than 512 entries in the root folder? FAT16 doesn't like pushing up to 512 items. I'd backup the card, chkdsk it or perhaps just format it and restore back for safety.

Thanks for the suggestion, C:Amie - I should have thought of doing that in the first place. I backed the card up, formatted it, reloaded everything, and it's working fine now.

I had the same issue with the CF card in my 820. Same thing solved the problem.

The only thing is I still can't open Word docs in Explorer or GSFinder by double-clicking on them; I have to either right-click and select a program, or open Word or TextMaker first and then open the doc from inside the program. A minor annoyance though - at least I can still get to the docs.