CF card will not erase.

Just Bob

After copying the photos to my computer, I deleted the photos from the card.

The computer said the card was empty, but when I put the card back in the camera (Mark III), the camera said the card was not empty.

I put the card back in the card reader and the once again the computer said it was empty.

Put the card back in the camera and once again, the camera said the card was not empty.

I had to re-format the card to erase it.

Never had this issue with my 20D.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance,
Bob

pathfinder

Strange, I am not sure why this happened, but don't bother erasing images with your computer. It is not necessary.

ALWAYS format the card in the camera you are going to use it in.

Just Bob

Thanks so much for the quick reply.

Do I need to re-format the card in the camera everytime I am done transferring photos onto the computer?

Thanks again,
Bob

Art Scott

pathfinder wrote:

Strange, I am not sure why this happened, but don't bother erasing images with your computer. It is not necessary.

ALWAYS format the card in the camera you are going to use it in.

extremely sound advice....

Just Bob wrote:

Thanks so much for the quick reply.

Do I need to re-format the card in the camera everytime I am done transferring photos onto the computer?

Thanks again,
Bob

and yes reformat every time you transfer photos off card...EVERYTIME....do not let data build up and give any reason for corruption.......

I do swap my cards between cameras at times but all my cameras are Konica Minolta 7D's and when I had my A2 I would swap between all 3 and never had a prob.....but once I jump from the 7D's to Nikon (probably D300's) then the A2 will have dedicated cards and so will the Nikon's...due to difference in Camera OS's.............

The reformatting every time I download (whether 1 photo or 600+) has saved me also from having to remember what was downloaded to what file at what time.......I try to keep my filing as simple as possible.........Also the card mfg'ers told me that was what they recommend.

Good Luck

pathfinder

Like Art, once I have two copies of my images stored away on separate hard drives, or a DVD and a hard drive, I reformat the card in my camera.

What I actually do, is store the card in the used card pocket in my backpack, so that I know it is available for use, but I also know that immediately after inserting it into my camera from that pocket, I MUST format it before shooting. Exposed cards always go into a different pocket so that I always know which is which.

This system works for me. Some may prefer not to format in the field just prior to use, but at home the night before. PJ or sports shooters may not want the momentary delay of formatting while actively shooting an event. For them, formatting ahead of time makes great sense. I do not have that time pressure when I am shooting usually.

Formatting immediately after transferring the images helps guarantee that you never format and overshoot the wrong card.

Just Bob

Thanks so much for the advice.

I didn't realize I should re-format each time I am done off-loading images from the card. I will do, from here on out.

Speaking of CF cards, I am using a San Disk Ultra II 4.0 gb. The card is about a year old and has had about 30,000 shots run through it. Is there a life to these cards? Or just when they quit? Is there a better card I should look in to?

What about SD cards? My camera will take both. Is there a benefit to one over the other?

Thanks again for all of your help.

Peace,
Bob

Richard

Just Bob wrote:

After copying the photos to my computer, I deleted the photos from the card.

The computer said the card was empty, but when I put the card back in the camera (Mark III), the camera said the card was not empty.

I put the card back in the card reader and the once again the computer said it was empty.

Put the card back in the camera and once again, the camera said the card was not empty.

I had to re-format the card to erase it.

Never had this issue with my 20D.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance,
Bob

Could you have disconnected the card reader by pulling the plug before you told the computer to eject the device? I don't know about Macs, but Windows may defer writing to an external drive (which is what a card reader looks like to the OS) for reasons unclear to mere mortals. Before it says that it is safe to remove a device, it will make sure that any pending data are written.

I rarely reformat in camera. Just deleting the DCIM folder using Windows while the card is connected has always worked fine.

swintonphoto

I always format the card after I pull off the images.

Glenn NK

I too will echo the others.

I NEVER, EVER erase; always format.

Think of the CF card as your computer HDD - formatting really cleans things up. The computer nerds/buffs that I know format their C drives once a year and re-install all software.

bkatz

always reformat
First piece of advice ever given me was to always reformat the card. I found that when I erased them on the computer that invariably 1 or 2 would not erase and always caused problems when I was taking pictures. Reformatting is just good practice.

I use the same reasoning when I resetthe camera before each use since if I ply with the setting the last time I used it I might end up with funky pictures due to a wierd setting. Of course that is just me.

Just Bob

Thanks again for all of the advice.

Any thoughts on SD cards compared to CF?

My camera will accept both. Does one have an advantage over the other?

Thanks in advance,
Bob

Art Scott

Just Bob wrote:

Thanks again for all of the advice.

Any thoughts on SD cards compared to CF?

My camera will accept both. Does one have an advantage over the other?

Thanks in advance,
Bob

I personally prefer CF due to the physical size of the Media....I handle my cards in extreme cold and need to be able to grip them with gloves (super thin thermax or heavier neoprene) on......Now if I could just find a MP3 palyer that accepted CF cards I have it made:D

pathfinder

I'm with Art.

SD cards are just to small to handle reliably even though my G9 uses them. CF is a much easier format to manage. Less likely to drop from my fingers, less likely to get lost in a crack, or fall through a drain grate.

BigAl

Just to be different, I always erase the images from the computer, except when I use the PD70x when I'm away from home - then I format the card in the camera. I've transferred more than 30k images like this with my different cameras and have NEVER had any problems and have NEVER had images being left behind.

The only issue I know about is not to format the card from the computer - you could end up with the wrong file system.