Tip & How-To about Cameras
If you are having problems where your camera or other device will not format or recognise your memory card, this is often because the card has become corrupted or the device is an older type and does not recognise the file system of the card.
You should always format your card with your camera or device (not your computer) every time you need to do this. This prevents the possibility of data errors and corruption.
However, if your device is refusing to format or will not recognise the card you can often resolve this by getting your computer to format it for you.
This often helps the camera or device recognise the card and make it functional again. If a format on your PC fails and the card is still not recognised then the card is either faulty or in the case of a camera exceeds your cameras max capability. In this case you will have to use a new card or one with a lower memory capacity.
If you have a card reader on your PC this is the easiest way to access the card with the computer. If not, a multi card reader is a cheap and useful device to have.
Be aware that formatting the card erases all information and or photos stored on it.
To format the card with your PC do the following:
1) Insert the card into the card reader.
2) Go to 'Start' - 'My Computer' and then find the card icon which will show as 'SD Card Drive' or 'Compact Flash Drive' or whatever card type you are using.
3) Right click on the relevant card icon. you will be presented with a list of options. Go down to Format and select this option.Now select a File system type.
PLEASE NOTE: Select FAT32 for 4GB or higher capacities. FAT for 2GB or lower capacities
4) Click start to begin the format process.
5) When the process is complete, take the memory card out and insert it into your device. If the procedure was successful the device should recognise it and it should work.
Note: Old cameras
Many previous old cameras and portable devices do not work if the card is formatted as FAT32 or NTFS file system. One of the following errors may occur if your device does not support FAT32 or NTFS:
- Error message asking to re-format the flash card.
- Error message that the flash card is not formatted.
To resolve the above error, backup your data and reformat your memory card in FAT file system
Hope this Tip has helped. If so please take a moment to indicate this using the Yes/No buttons below.
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