topic Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

NIc — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 14:32:28 GMT

I purchased a new 64GB ADATA sd card and adapter for my EOS60D but it won't format in my camera. It keeps saying "Cannot format. Change card". Do I need a "particular" SD card or am I doing something wrong? No, it's not on lock. (I have a SanDisk 32GB and it's happy to format that one). Thanks

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

kvbarkley — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 14:51:34 GMT

What does the manual say? Is the new card XD? will the 60D work with those?

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

NIc — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 15:01:42 GMT

Don't have the manual. The card appears to be the same & have the same markings as the SanDisk Ultra (except the name) so not sure why it's not happy. Maybe I should just go and get another 64gb Sandisk, at least I know that one works. Guess I will have to keep googling to work it out.

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

kvbarkley — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 15:12:54 GMT

I thought you said that you had a 32GB Sandisk that works?

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

Waddizzle — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 15:14:14 GMT

@NIc wrote:
I purchased a new 64GB ADATA sd card and adapter for my EOS60D but it won't format in my camera. It keeps saying "Cannot format. Change card". Do I need a "particular" SD card or am I doing something wrong? No, it's not on lock. (I have a SanDisk 32GB and it's happy to format that one). Thanks

It's the adapter. The adapter is the problem. Stick to regular size SD cards, no mini-cards w/adapters.

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

kvbarkley — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 15:15:08 GMT

I looked in the manual, and the 60D and handle SD, SDHC and XD, so that is not the problem.

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

NIc — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 15:32:49 GMT

OK, I think I am better off going with the Sandisk Extreme or Lexar Professional for this camera. Thanks for your help. 🙂

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

NIc — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 15:42:34 GMT

It may well be the adaptor, but it's strange that they are both micro cards and the Sandisk 23GB works fine in it (even though it's a ADATA adaptor), but the ADATA 64GB micro won't and it's new. It may just be something wrong with the ADATA micro card. Think I will just get a Sandisk Extreme 32GB or Lexar Professonal 32GB, yes regular size, not mini. Thanks

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

RobertTheFat — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 17:40:04 GMT

@NIc wrote:
It may well be the adaptor, but it's strange that they are both micro cards and the Sandisk 23GB works fine in it (even though it's a ADATA adaptor), but the ADATA 64GB micro won't and it's new. It may just be something wrong with the ADATA micro card. Think I will just get a Sandisk Extreme 32GB or Lexar Professonal 32GB, yes regular size, not mini. Thanks

There's nothing strange about it. When you use a micro card and adapter, you have two devices that the camera was not designed to recognize working in tandem to try to fool it. The strange thing is that it ever works.

But why on earth would anyone want to try such a rig? The memory card, together with the circuitry that ties it in, is as mission critical as anything on the camera. If those devices fail to do their job, your photo shoot is kaput. You do see the disconnect, right?

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

vishadow — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 02:52:18 GMT

I found that using a low-end adapter was causing the problem. I purchased a new 128GB microSD card with adapter and popped in the cheaper 2GB microSD card to format and it worked like a charm. Copied the "FIR" file and updated the firmware.

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

Waddizzle — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 10:33:03 GMT

@vishadow wrote:
I found that using a low-end adapter was causing the problem. I purchased a new 128GB microSD card with adapter and popped in the cheaper 2GB microSD card to format and it worked like a charm. Copied the "FIR" file and updated the firmware.

The micro-SD cards with adapters are nor recommended for use in Canon DLRSs. If you check the instruction manuals, nearly all of them state that you can use SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards. They make no mention of using micro-SD cards.

MicroSD card adapters are notoriously unreliable. The micro-SD cards should only be used in devices that use them directly, without an adapter. You should only use the regular, full-size SD cards in your Canon DSLR. Furthermore, you should always use the camera to perform a "low level format" on any new memory card before first use.

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

PaulSoebekti — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 20:37:04 GMT

Format the card on your computer wth FAT32.

Load into camera and format again.

Paul

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

Waddizzle — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 20:42:18 GMT

@PaulSoebekti wrote:
Format the card on your computer wth FAT32.
Load into camera and format again.

Paul

Did you know that you cannot format a 128GB card as FAT32?

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

parjas — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 06:42:27 GMT

How Do I Format the Card

http://support-sg.canon-asia.com/contents/SG/EN/8200748800.html

When the card is formatted or data is erased, only the file management information is changed. The actual data is not completely erased. Be aware of this when selling or discarding the Usb card. When discarding the card, execute low-level formatting or destroy the card physically to prevent the data from being leaked.

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

parjas — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 06:52:23 GMT

How Do I Format the Card

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

parjas — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 06:57:06 GMT

Card may not be compatible with the camera for some reason, maybe it's over the max size the camera can read properly. I don't see a max card size in the documentation for the camera though, maybe try a 2gb card http://support-sg.canon-asia.com/contents/SG/EN/8200748800.html
or try the below article to see if there is any problem with your device or ports

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

Microweb4 — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 15:03:07 GMT

I'm not sure why people are saying not to use micro SD cards just because Canon doesn't specifically mention them in their manual. They work great and I've been using one in my 60D for the last couple years without any issues.

Good point about the adaptor being a fail point. Replacing the adaptor solved my problem. Luckily the adaptors are only around one dollar, so I'll keep a couple extra handy in case I run into that issue again.

My adaptor failed after using it heavily for two years. I've had SD cards last shorter times than that. Easy and cheap fix. All of my images were still on the micro SD card and it works fine. Hope that is helpful for others who are having this issue.

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

RobertTheFat — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 15:16:19 GMT

@Microweb4 wrote:
I'm not sure why people are saying not to use micro SD cards just because Canon doesn't specifically mention them in their manual. They work great and I've been using one in my 60D for the last couple years without any issues.

Good point about the adaptor being a fail point. Replacing the adaptor solved my problem. Luckily the adaptors are only around one dollar, so I'll keep a couple extra handy in case I run into that issue again.

My adaptor failed after using it heavily for two years. I've had SD cards last shorter times than that. Easy and cheap fix. All of my images were still on the micro SD card and it works fine. Hope that is helpful for others who are having this issue.

It's a matter of risk reduction. If you're in a photo shoot that really matters, it makes sense to take as little risk as possible. A card failure is not as likely to be obvious at the time as, say, a flash failure. I wouldn't risk a shoot on the performance of a $1 part, and I suspect that most people in this forum feel the same way. If you don't, that's obviously a decision you're free to make.

To your first point: The reason we advise people not to use micro SD cards is that we've received more questions and complaints about micro cards not working well than one would expect if they were as good as full-size cards. And if they're not as good as full-size cards, why use them?

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

Waddizzle — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 22:21:21 GMT

@Microweb4 wrote:
I'm not sure why people are saying not to use micro SD cards just because Canon doesn't specifically mention them in their manual. They work great and I've been using one in my 60D for the last couple years without any issues.

Good point about the adaptor being a fail point. Replacing the adaptor solved my problem. Luckily the adaptors are only around one dollar, so I'll keep a couple extra handy in case I run into that issue again.

My adaptor failed after using it heavily for two years. I've had SD cards last shorter times than that. Easy and cheap fix. All of my images were still on the micro SD card and it works fine. Hope that is helpful for others who are having this issue.

I don't understand why people want to use them when Canon does not specifically recommend them in their manual.

Re: SD card won't format - Cannot format Change card

Mr_Fusion — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 19:05:04 GMT

@Microweb4 wrote:
I'm not sure why people are saying not to use micro SD cards just because Canon doesn't specifically mention them in their manual. They work great and I've been using one in my 60D for the last couple years without any issues.

Good point about the adaptor being a fail point. Replacing the adaptor solved my problem. Luckily the adaptors are only around one dollar, so I'll keep a couple extra handy in case I run into that issue again.

My adaptor failed after using it heavily for two years. I've had SD cards last shorter times than that. Easy and cheap fix. All of my images were still on the micro SD card and it works fine. Hope that is helpful for others who are having this issue.

Regardless of what others are saying re micro-SD. They are perfectly compatible with any function that requires an SD card. AS for corruption being a problem, a micro SD is no more prone to failure than a standard size SD.

The main cause of failure in SD cards is in handling them. Removing and putting them into something to be read and then returning them to the camera causes wear on the contacts, whether it is an SD card or a micro-adapter with a micro card in it. Leave the card in the camera unless it is necessary to remove it. Use the USB cable to download tour pictures.

All SD cards have a very thin gold plate on their contacts. (measured in um) That gold makes for better connectivity and retards corrosion. It wears off quickly with any friction. Any electronic device that has gold plated contacts is not designed to be removed and reinserted repeatedly. Those contacts are extremely thin metal, usually a copper-nickel alloy. They too can wear and lose their adhesion. (https://www.pcmech.com/article/signs-sd-card-failure/)

Any card (or adapter) that has a worn contact is almost guaranteed to have been removed and replaced repeatedly. Replacing any card that has failed with another card will fix the problem, REGARDLESS OF WHY THE ORIGINAL CARD FAILED. That is not an indication that the physical size of the card was the problem.

The reason that Canon makes no reference to either Standard SD or Micro SD is because there is no difference other than the physical size. There are differences in how the cards write (or store) their data. That is seen in their speed rating and class labels. Then there are the high capacity, SDHC, extended capacity cards, SDXC and ultra high speed write UHS. (And video VHS) But none of those are a problem for Canon cameras and the manuals reflect that. Any SDHC (32 GB or less) or SDXC card (64 GB +) card is acceptable. (NOTE: as regular SD is 2 GB or less, they fill up quick so I personally do not recommend them but they will work very well)

***

NOW, having written all that, the caveat. Any manufacturer belonging to the SD Association must adhere to their standards. But there are a lot of counterfeit cards out there. While a card built to Association Standards has Read / Write of a million times, counterfeit card don't. If your new card is corrupted, start thinking you were burned with a counterfeit. Buying from eBay or the gray market hucksters and the chances are much greater you will get garbage. Buying a card from the big internet camera stores (B&H, KEH, Henry's, etc), or Walmart, Best Buy, and even your local camera store are much safer.