How to Format SD 4GB Card FAT16 ? FAT32?

Jay_Connor · #1 06-12-2006, 10:41 AM

Morning

I got 3 Ridata 4GB SD cards for my Canon 1D bodies

Put the card in the SD slot
Got the CARD Err 2 message

I understand that the card may need to be formatted on computer

Is it FAT16 or FAT32

How can I do this on a Mac

Thanks in advance

Jay Connor

DouglasUrner · #2 06-12-2006, 01:31 PM

Have you tried formatting them in the camera? Some folks claim that there can be problems with cards formatted on a computer -- probably because the cameras don't really implement the file system completely (or maybe vice versa, it is a Windows thing after all . . .).

On a Mac you would use the Disk Utility program (mine lives in the /Applications/Utilities folder). When you insert the card you should see it pop up in the Disk Utility window. Select the card, which should be below a device for the reader. Pick the Erase pane and select a FAT32 if your camera supports it, otherwise FAT16 (which will limit you to 2 GB).

Doug

DouglasUrner · #3 06-12-2006, 01:34 PM

[ QUOTE ]

I got 3 Ridata 4GB SD cards for my Canon 1D bodies

[/ QUOTE ]

If you really mean 1D (as in the original), I don't think they support FAT32 and so won't be able to use cards larger than 2GB.

Doug

Jay_Connor · #4 06-13-2006, 06:12 AM

Doug

Thanks for the replies

I tried Disk Utility and Disk Warrior and they didnt work

This problem happened on my 1DN

The camera is now partially disabled - It wont recognize any SD cards (including 2GB and 512KB that worked fine before). I tried removing both batteries to reset the camera and reinstalled the firmware with no luck

This is a large PITA - my response is to return the 4GB SD cards

Jay

DennisLathem · #5 06-16-2006, 11:53 PM

Sorry to hear about your problems. A Canon representative has previously stated that the 1DMkII is not compatible with 4GB SD cards. Apparently, the new 4GB standard has just recently been approved, but the 4GB cards out on the market now do not comply with the new standard. I do believe that Canon will release firmware so that the 1DMkII and (n) and perhaps the s series will be able to use 4GB SD cards that are manufactured to the new standard.

Perhaps if you ask them nice the folks at Canon will repair your 1DMkII so that the SD slot works again.

My hard and fast rule is if the camera body the memory card is going to be used in cannot format the card to its maximum capacity then I do not buy or use the card. I do not format any cards with a PC (or Mac in your case) and a card reader unless I am doing data recovery.

It is not worth it to me to go around the camera to try and get a larger capacity card to work. This only increases your chances of corrupting images...or, in your case, causing a hardware problem with your camera's SD slot.

JeffONeil · #6 08-24-2006, 11:27 PM

I recently picked up a Sandisk 4 gig CF card. I was surprised to see it had a tab function on the card to segment it into 2 gig partitions. Hadn't seen that before nor read about it.

It's the difference between fat16 and fat32 formating.

Not sure how this impact the SD card market but the thread is interesting as I was looking at some of the SD options as well..

So tiny..so nice to travel with. But this scares me off a bit and I'm using a ID MkII.

Jeff

NillToulme · #7 08-25-2006, 11:02 AM

Strange — I just got one of the Ridata 150x 4GB SD cards for my 1DMkII and it's working fine. I put it in the computer before I put it in the camera just to see if it was already formatted; it was so I didn't reformat it. Stuck it in the Mark II and it worked fine.

It is well documented though that the Canon DSLR's will *not* format these cards and that you shouldn't even try to format them in camera.

Nill
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