JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

I have done this and it asks to create the Image Datafile Structure, which is not a formatting thing. It is something they add on top of the formatting.

steffro1 Loc: Murrells Inlet, SC

Exactly what I have been saying! I never have to format a new card when I insert it in my Nikons!! No one has ever responded to this fact!! Thanks for sharing this!

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Extinguish me, but it happens to be raining here.
How Much?
Well, my little dog finally had to go outside. I think the dropping is as long as he is!

Or would you like a picture?
Macro? :shock:

:lol:

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Yeah, I noticed you made a U-Turn....
You run your rig, and I'll run mine.
How about that?

And if you encounter something funky, try formatting before you throw the card away.

Data clutter can actually shrink the available storage available to the camera.
So eventually, your 64Gig card... isn't.
Formatting sweeps the dirt out the door. And frees up that space so you can get X to XX more pikturds on the card.

Any storage device has less available storage than the label sez. It isn't as bad as the old dayz, because the drives and cards have gotten so ginormous.
But partitioning to make file storage (cabinets) does take up some room out of the total.

If somebody doesn't want to format their card(s), fine. No skin off my butt. That's your loss.
But don't tell me formatting is a bad thing, because 25 years of experiance later, I know it is a great thing.
I use to departition, repartition, and format to destroy viruses and then restore the data back in the DOS dayz.
When all around me were people in dismay, I was back up and running in <24 hours as clean as a freshly powdered babies butt. Ever hear of the Klez Virus? Yeah, beat it.
:?: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/worst-computer-viruses3.htm

I used to love chasing trolls down, too. But that's another story for another time. :hunf:

tradergeorge Loc: Newport, Kentucky

You are correct. SSD's and cards have a software scheme that controls how data is laid down and works to use all of the card rather than just the lower numbered sectors. When you format the card, you force the software to start off at ground zero, over and over...This causes excessive wear on the early sectors and leads to premature death. It is better to just erase everything and let the software take care of allotment...Don't worry, nothing will get "tangled"or otherwise corrupted as a result. After the card has been in use for a while and you know you have used it enough to fill it several times, then you might consider formatting it However, even then it is not necessary or advisable. The only time I can think of where it would be necessary is when you have somehow corrupted the boot sector (MBR, even on a data disk), or are getting excessive read errors...

This advice is different than that which is proper for a conventional hard drive. In that case, it is often advisable to reformat to deal with corruption.

singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

I think there needs to be some clarification here regarding SD, CF and SSD devices. YES, every time you cycle a memory cell it gets stressed. However according to the CCITT papers recently written on solid state cell structures of new designs, they have a 10 year life expectancy or 100,000 hours of continuous use before failure. And that number is an average stated in the MTBF specs. Older design single loop memory cells had much lower MTBF but here again this was for continuous usage and not the way they are implemented in photo equipment. We tend to store files and data and remove that data by transfer to our computers HDD or SSD on a daily basis so their usage is far from the continuous usage methods in the MTBF testing.

Also, the controller that is referred to in SD and CF cards is an integral part of the device design and not the bus controller of your camera or computer. There is a MAP of all memory locations that is stored in a LUT (location look up table) inside the SD/CF controller that lists all functioning locations and their address at the time of manufacture and testing before packaging. Most SD/CF devices have more memory locations than needed for the designated size of the device (ie. 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 gig) just to increase yields in chip making and the defective addresses are placed into an LUT in the controller so those locations are not used but the total size of the memory device is still maintained.

jfn007 Loc: Close to the middle of nowhere.

I agree with Chap John.

tradergeorge Loc: Newport, Kentucky

You are correct, of course. However, your information is also 25 years old...What applies to Hard Drives does not always apply to memory cards, for the reasons I stated previously. I agree that it is difficult to reach those thresholds with camera use, but to advise constant formatting as though it is a good thing is totally incorrect.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Well George, show me a failure due to excessive formatting, alone. I have never experienced one.
My information is not 25 years old. My direct computer use and experiance building them is.
I'll put on some coffee... ;)

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

A u-turn? No Sonny, 'fraid not. I simply clarified my original statement which was that formatting was a total waste. In regards to speed it is not, for some people anyway. As far as corrupting data or "data clutter", it is still a waste of time. That's straight from Sandisk. I have a feeling that they may have a few people on the payroll who know more about their cards then you do. In case I'm wrong why don't you call them and explain things to them. Don't forget to mention the great virus hunting safaris that you have led. Crucial to understanding how an SD card works I am sure. I posted the phone number just to make life easy for you. BTW, I never stated that formatting, constant or otherwise, harms an SD card, although I would think it could have an effect on the overall life span. Sandisk doesn't agree so that's just one less thing to spend time worrying about. You can use the time to plan your next big safari. Be sure to get some good photos and post them.

tradergeorge Loc: Newport, Kentucky

I am not claiming anything except that by formatting, you are using the same sectors, which have a limited life, over and over again to the exclusion of the rest of the card. If you choose to do that, fine. I just object to advising the unknowing as though it is a preferred method. My experience numbers 50 years, back to the VAX frames of the 60's....That does not give me any more knowledge about the current subject than your 25 years does. Old knowledge can be dangerous when applied to situations that, while seeming analogous, are completely different. It is like photographers who try to explain digital and refer to their decades of experience with film as though it proffers some special knowledge about the more narrow issue.

I have never had a hard drive failure. However, I still believe in them. I have had card failures. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to determine the cause when purely electronic circuits fail, especially when one does not have access to specialized equipment. Again, your information about care of hard memory dates back quite a ways.....It is similar to the fact that it is not a good idea to use "disk cleanup" and other tools that rearrange the information on a device. They were a good idea on hard drives, but can cause premature wear on a card.

My complete and total point is that cards are different from mechanical drives and the tools that work well on HDD's are unnecessary at the least and possible damaging at the worst. At least read up on the processes involved. That will give you insight...I know you to be a knowledgeable and astute person. I would not think that you would cling to the old horse & buggy methods and try to apply them to new technology.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Sonny, I'll make no bones about the fact that I don't like people like you. That has nothing to do with this topic. I'm pretty sure you know what I am referring to. Just the same, I wouldn't hesitate to admit it if you could prove me wrong. You can't in this case. Data clutter, as you call it, from unused or fragmented files, programs, etc. can be an issue on hard drives. That is why defrag, disk cleanup, and even formatting can be useful. It doesn't work that way on a card. Once a file is deleted the program writing to that card no longer sees it and simply writes over that space. No clutter to deal with. Here's a little test of that: Got a card sitting around with a bunch of photos you can dump? Just delete them and then check the card properties. On a 32 gig card there will be about 190KB of used space and about 29.7GB of free space. Format the card in your camera and those numbers will change only by about 30-40KB. Mostly in the directory area I would guess. That is not clutter. In both cases the program writing to the card has virtually the same amount of space to use.

Elliern Loc: Myrtle Beach, SC

LOL. Have to admit took one of him recently with a fish....but nothing else was going on at that time and felt like I should be doing something.

Plus I think he likes being photographed.

mapster Loc: Wisconsin

Although I'm not sure about All the information stated here ( but doesn't make sense to me), if I recall my Nikon. Manual TELLS me to do this through the camera.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

If formatting the memory card isn't important, why do all of my Nikon instruction books tell me to format the card EVERY TIME I put it in the camera? (Rhetorical question!)