I have had my sony for about 2 years and suddenly last night while shooting pictures, the message "unable to format card" appeared on my screen - what can I do?

Still the memory card is very suspicious. If you have another mamory card, try that one. Never open the memory card door, or remove the card when the read / write LED is flashing. Even when you have switched off the camera it could use several seconds to write the last data to the card. If you then remove is, the file it was writing will be damaged. You could try to "save" your card, by using the computer.
Put the card in a card reader connected to the commuter, and try to copy all pictures on the card to the computer. It could be there are other files on the card, because sometimes settings are saved there too. Please copy these file to. Then try to format the card (FAT 32) and after formatting the card place it back in the camera.
Then to be sure, format the card again, but this time in the camera. This imd you can be sure the card has the correct format for the camera. If that works, and the camera acts normal again, ou could place back the pictures on the card.

I had a bad SD card that was causing this to happen in my Samsung phone. I got a new SD card and the problem was solved.

1)disconnect the battery for 5-10 min. Then replace it &try to read card's info. OR 2)Select "restore factory settings" then try to read or 3)use a memory card reader to 1st backup info into a pc then format it by the pc.

Return for warranty replacement

Sounds like there is a fault in the SD card.

Try an alt. card reader and computer.

Hopefully you will have the chance to retrieve the pics. If not ;(

Once pics are transferred. The SD card needs to be formatted. Remember this will delete all data on the card.

To isolate the cause of the issue, do the following: -

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Remove the lens, battery, and CF card.
3. Allow the camera to sit without power for approximately 20 minutes.
4. Insert only a fully charged battery, and turn on the camera.
5. Depress the shutter button as you would to take a picture.


Does the “ERR 99′ message appear? If so, the camera may be faulty and requires a service. If it does not, then: -

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Insert the CF card.
3. Turn on the camera.
4. Format the CF card in the camera.
5. Depress the shutter button as you would to take a picture.


Does the “ERR 99′ message appear? If so, then the CF card is faulty. Try a different card. If the message does not appear: -

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Clean the gold contacts on the lens by GENTLY rubbing them with a pencil eraser or soft cloth. Keeping the camera face pointing down, also clean the gold contacts on the camera, being careful that you do not let any debris fall into the camera body.
3. Reattach your lens.
4. Turn on the camera.
5. Depress the shutter button as you would to take a picture.
If the “ERR 99′ message only appears when one particular lens is attached, then that lens should be examined by a service technician.
If you see the “ERR 99′ with a different Canon lens attached, then the camera is faulty and should be serviced.

Might be 2GB card is more then enough for camera hardware o handle. Try 1GB card in this camera.

i would save your pictures on to a disc, then re-format the card.

Sounds as if the memory card may be corrupted. In order to remove the write protect, make sure you have downloaded and saved all of the images from the memory card to your computer and then having the card in the camera you will need to run the format option and this will permanently remove the write protect as well as all of the images from the card.
The card should be able to be used again after the write protect is removed.

When you recieve a "Card Error" or "Card Not Initialized" message, this indicates that your memory may be temporarily corrupted. This can be due to not formatting your memory card on a consistent basis. Most consumers will use the "delete all" feature and continue to take pictures. By doing this, the file format of the card may become unstable.

We recommend formatting your memory card in your camera after saving the images from your previous shooting session. Once a memory card is formatted, the images will not be recoverable.