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Should I throw away my SD card?
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Jun 12, 2018 17:52:40   #
TBerwick Loc: Houston, Texas
 
Here's a link to a free USB disc formatting tool for PC. I have recovered USB cards that appeared "fried" with this tool. But, my original advice stands: if the card is acting up, even after repeated in-camera formats, dump it.
https://usb-disk-storage-format-tool.en.softonic.com/

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Jun 12, 2018 18:06:15   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
BebuLamar wrote:
I have a Lexar 32GB SD card and often when I put it in the card reader and connect to Windows 10 PC Windows asked me to let it check and repair the card. I formatted the card in the camera but then it still do that. Several timers already I wonder something is wrong with the card. Should I get rid of the card?


Try using this:

https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/

If this doesn't work, toss it.

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Jun 12, 2018 18:15:38   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
A 32 Gb SD card is worth something in the range of $10-30 depending on brand and where you get it. I would probably try the remedies listed above, but only use that SD card for unimportant (repeatable) images. If it fails again, toss it. It's not worth dealing with twice.

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Jun 12, 2018 18:33:17   #
MT Shooter Loc: Montana
 
Ched49 wrote:
If a card act's up like that, get rid of it, don't even try to find out what's wrong with it. If there's nothing on the card you need to retrieve, just throw it away and get another one.


Why in the world would anyone want to throw away a card that has a Lifetime Warranty on it???

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Jun 13, 2018 03:06:34   #
Stardust Loc: Central Illinois
 
Lexar SD cards have a 5-yr replacement warranty.

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Jun 13, 2018 05:52:32   #
LarryFitz Loc: Beacon NY
 
Get a new card, you will feel safer. Format old card, Mark it with ablack X, use it for a picture frame or for filetransfer. If a friend asks you for a copy of pictures use this card to get them to your friend.

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Jun 13, 2018 06:30:41   #
mborn Loc: Massachusetts
 
MT Shooter wrote:
90% of all memory card problems are easily remedied by formatting the card in your computer to clear up any communication issues. Then simply put it back in your camera and format it there for full functionality again.


Right on, my son had a card that showed errors formatted it in the computer then formatted it in th camera works okay

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Jun 13, 2018 06:45:48   #
traderjohn Loc: New York City
 
BebuLamar wrote:
I have a Lexar 32GB SD card and often when I put it in the card reader and connect to Windows 10 PC Windows asked me to let it check and repair the card. I formatted the card in the camera but then it still do that. Several timers already I wonder something is wrong with the card. Should I get rid of the card?


Deep six the card. Move on.

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Jun 13, 2018 06:51:56   #
11bravo
 
You might try one of these tools to test the drive in your computer, then, if ok, format in your camera. While they are designed to check for bogus cards, the full write, then read will test the card.

https://www.raymond.cc/blog/test-and-detect-fake-or-counterfeit-usb-flash-drives-bought-from-ebay-with-h2testw/

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Jun 13, 2018 07:09:48   #
Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.
 
BebuLamar wrote:
I have a Lexar 32GB SD card and often when I put it in the card reader and connect to Windows 10 PC Windows asked me to let it check and repair the card. I formatted the card in the camera but then it still do that. Several timers already I wonder something is wrong with the card. Should I get rid of the card?

Bebu, in my experience this a Windows problem, and not just W10.
I get that error with some devices, it doesn't seem to be the card. I usually click OK and Windows does its thing and everything continues normally, no data is lost, no reformatting of the card. It seems more like Windows is adjusting itself.

I have an old Garmin GPS, the backwoods contour map kind where I always get that message. Whether I accept or ignore makes no difference. The map data on the card doesn't get changed, yet all my trip information transfers reliably.
I've never had an SD card or thumbdrive fail. For cameras I format in the camera, I use a USB cable and everything works well.

I do find some differences when I use different card readers, or reformat with PC based software.

In short, I think that it is an obscure software incompatibility.

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Jun 13, 2018 07:19:47   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
BebuLamar wrote:
I have a Lexar 32GB SD card and often when I put it in the card reader and connect to Windows 10 PC Windows asked me to let it check and repair the card. I formatted the card in the camera but then it still do that. Several timers already I wonder something is wrong with the card. Should I get rid of the card?


Windows sometimes gives me that message for SD cards and even external hard drives. I ignore it.

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Jun 13, 2018 07:24:02   #
markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ
 
Do not throw it away. If it is corrupted, Lexar will replace it. Here's their warranty Policy:
www.lexar.com/support/warranties/
Good luck,
Mark

BebuLamar wrote:
I have a Lexar 32GB SD card and often when I put it in the card reader and connect to Windows 10 PC Windows asked me to let it check and repair the card. I formatted the card in the camera but then it still do that. Several timers already I wonder something is wrong with the card. Should I get rid of the card?

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Jun 13, 2018 07:25:07   #
dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl
 
BebuLamar wrote:
I have a Lexar 32GB SD card and often when I put it in the card reader and connect to Windows 10 PC Windows asked me to let it check and repair the card. I formatted the card in the camera but then it still do that. Several timers already I wonder something is wrong with the card. Should I get rid of the card?


With ALL of my SD cards, (without regard to size or content) I upload images (using Adobe Lightroom), then once images are verified, I put the card back into which ever camera that I'm going to use it in and format it. (only exceptions to this is if I am going to import the images to a second computer or if I'm going to use it in a different camera. As I replace smaller SD cards with newer, larger and/or faster cards, I begin using the old cards as usb flash drives (I use them to save stuff to in order to move or copy to another location) or I use them to write backup copies of my camera settings to (Nikon and probably all or most of the other camera manufacturers have this option in their camera setup menus). I put the card into an SD case with the ID of the camera it goes to on the case. This data includes most if not all of the custom settings that I have created for the camera and would be difficult if not impossible to redo. I have relegated many of my smaller (xxk, or 1-8 gig cards to this use). If a card still works, I save it when replaced by a larger or faster card. And the ONLY usb drives that I buy anymore are to save a customers images to ones they are edited and converted to jpg or Tiff. I do NOT EVER give/sell customers Raw/Neff files. If I have to give a customer a medium to large quantity of images, I will write them to a CD (roughly 700 mb, DVD (single layer 4.7 gb Dual layer 8.5 gb, or Blu-ray disk (Single layer 25 gb and Dual layer 50 gb). All of my customers images are watermarked in the metadata and some in the image.

Any of my SD cards that are giving errors are reformatted in the camera. If that doesn't work, I will try a low-level format on the computer and then re-attempt to format in the camera. I never use a computer (Windows or Apple) formatted card in the camera without reformatting it in camera. And, If I have a questionable card, I always use it for "hobby shots" and test it thoroughly before putting it where I have to depend on it. Good cards are to inexpensive to have an entire photoshoot lost because of a bad card. (At least when we shot film, you only lost a finite number of shots if you had a bad roll (this is assuming that you kept your film in a chilled ice chest prior to shooting, stored bulk film in the freezer prior to warming for a shoot) etc. NOTE: the wife hated that I had my own fridge/freezer in the darkroom.. well, she hated that I had a darkroom too.. she hated photography and seemed to thing that I was in the darkroom to get away from her.... and she was really pissed when I divorced her and kept the darkroom (and fridge/freezer). I'm not sure if she resented the fridge/freezer because it had film, chemicals and paper in it or because she didn't have control of it.

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Jun 13, 2018 07:32:45   #
Bill_de Loc: US
 
MT Shooter wrote:
90% of all memory card problems are easily remedied by formatting the card in your computer to clear up any communication issues. Then simply put it back in your camera and format it there for full functionality again.


I had 2 cards that popped up with the same message after a Win 10 update. I did as you suggest here and haven't had an issue since.

--

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Jun 13, 2018 07:37:59   #
Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.
 
dcampbell52 wrote:
With ALL of my SD cards, (without regard to size or content) I upload images (using Adobe Lightroom), then once images are verified, I put the card back into which ever camera that I'm going to use it in and format it. (only exceptions to this is if I am going to import the images to a second computer or if I'm going to use it in a different camera. As I replace smaller SD cards with newer, larger and/or faster cards, I begin using the old cards as usb flash drives (I use them to save stuff to in order to move or copy to another location) or I use them to write backup copies of my camera settings to (Nikon and probably all or most of the other camera manufacturers have this option in their camera setup menus). I put the card into an SD case with the ID of the camera it goes to on the case. This data includes most if not all of the custom settings that I have created for the camera and would be difficult if not impossible to redo. I have relegated many of my smaller (xxk, or 1-8 gig cards to this use). If a card still works, I save it when replaced by a larger or faster card. And the ONLY usb drives that I buy anymore are to save a customers images to ones they are edited and converted to jpg or Tiff. I do NOT EVER give/sell customers Raw/Neff files. If I have to give a customer a medium to large quantity of images, I will write them to a CD (roughly 700 mb, DVD (single layer 4.7 gb Dual layer 8.5 gb, or Blu-ray disk (Single layer 25 gb and Dual layer 50 gb). All of my customers images are watermarked in the metadata and some in the image.

Any of my SD cards that are giving errors are reformatted in the camera. If that doesn't work, I will try a low-level format on the computer and then re-attempt to format in the camera. I never use a computer (Windows or Apple) formatted card in the camera without reformatting it in camera. And, If I have a questionable card, I always use it for "hobby shots" and test it thoroughly before putting it where I have to depend on it. Good cards are to inexpensive to have an entire photoshoot lost because of a bad card. (At least when we shot film, you only lost a finite number of shots if you had a bad roll (this is assuming that you kept your film in a chilled ice chest prior to shooting, stored bulk film in the freezer prior to warming for a shoot) etc. NOTE: the wife hated that I had my own fridge/freezer in the darkroom.. well, she hated that I had a darkroom too.. she hated photography and seemed to thing that I was in the darkroom to get away from her.... and she was really pissed when I divorced her and kept the darkroom (and fridge/freezer). I'm not sure if she resented the fridge/freezer because it had film, chemicals and paper in it or because she didn't have control of it.
With ALL of my SD cards, (without regard to size o... (show quote)


I once had a wife like that, but I upgraded to a better model. One that likes photography, amongst other things. Came with the bonus of a great mother-in-law also, my favorite party animal!

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