topic Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

amie22 — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 21:11:41 GMT

I have never bought a card with this much GB. But the camera wont format it. Too much GB or bad card and I'm making a trip back to the store. Please help

Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

TCampbell — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 02:38:57 GMT

That's an SDXC card. Your Rebel XS camera will accept SD or SDHC cards only.

SD cards are up to 16GB and use the FAT12 filesystem.

SDHC cards are up to 32GB and use the FAT32 filesystem.

SDXC cards are 32GB to 2TB and use the exFAT filesystem.

You have an older camera which was manufactured before the SDXC standard existed and, as such, your camera does not know how to deal with those cards.

Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

RobertTheFat — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 04:29:14 GMT

@TCampbell wrote:
That's an SDXC card. Your Rebel XS camera will accept SD or SDHC cards only.

SD cards are up to 16GB and use the FAT12 filesystem.
SDHC cards are up to 32GB and use the FAT32 filesystem.
SDXC cards are 32GB to 2TB and use the exFAT filesystem.

You have an older camera which was manufactured before the SDXC standard existed and, as such, your camera does not know how to deal with those cards.

Most people here will urge you not to use a card that large anyway, because it can be a temptation to engage in risky behavior. Like putting an entire important photo shoot on a single card or leaving files on a card too long before copying them to a computer.

Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

amie22 — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 12:32:58 GMT

Thanks so much for your help bob! I have begun to look into updating my camera.... So I'm looking at upgrading to the canon rebel SLi

i do a lot of evening action pictures. And by my research and pocketbook this could be a nice upgrade from my XS

Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

amie22 — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 12:34:20 GMT

So Bob

whats your take on my choice of upgrade?

Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

RobertTheFat — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 13:21:06 GMT

@amie22 wrote:
So Bob
whats your take on my choice of upgrade?

To be honest, I know next to nothing about the SL1 - only what I read on the Canon site. But I have to confess to a strong bias against Rebels, because they don't have autofocus microadjustment, which I consider almost a necessity with non-L lenses. If you don't share that bias, the SL1 does appear to get good reviews from its purchasers. Its selling point is its small size and light weight. If that's important to you, it could be a deciding factor.

Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

dorkstradamus — Wed, 05 Jul 2017 05:33:50 GMT

If you're seeing the "Card not formatted, format card with this camera" and then after the instructions you get "Cannot format, change card" it is because the camera is not directly SDXC compatible. I found a solution for my 64 GB SDXC card -

I used a program http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm (or search "Ridgecrop FAT32 GUI") and click on the giant image to download it (weird, but they're British). I scanned it and it was clean & safe, but I won't guarantee anything about it. Windows' built in programs will not let you format as FAT32 - but this will. I believe Mac OS will format as FAT32 just fine but I can't confirm.

It opens right away and then you just tell it to format your SDXC card (make sure it is the correct one! formatting deletes everything on the device). It will format the SDXC card as FAT32. Popping it into the Rebel XS camera just worked and I was able to take pictures and they were saved without fanfare.

The SDHC format requires FAT32, and reformatting the SDXC card from exFAT to FAT32 with the program above allowed for my camera to think it just had a haunkin FAT32 card.

Note: I have not filled the camera past 32 GB so I do not know if the camera will throw a hissy fit (and not save pics) if you go over the 32 GB limit SDHC cards have.

Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

RobertTheFat — Wed, 05 Jul 2017 12:20:57 GMT

@dorkstradamus wrote:
If you're seeing the "Card not formatted, format card with this camera" and then after the instructions you get "Cannot format, change card" it is because the camera is not directly SDXC compatible. I found a solution for my 64 GB SDXC card -

I used a program http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm (or search "Ridgecrop FAT32 GUI") and click on the giant image to download it (weird, but they're British). I scanned it and it was clean & safe, but I won't guarantee anything about it. Windows' built in programs will not let you format as FAT32 - but this will. I believe Mac OS will format as FAT32 just fine but I can't confirm.

It opens right away and then you just tell it to format your SDXC card (make sure it is the correct one! formatting deletes everything on the device). It will format the SDXC card as FAT32. Popping it into the Rebel XS camera just worked and I was able to take pictures and they were saved without fanfare.

The SDHC format requires FAT32, and reformatting the SDXC card from exFAT to FAT32 with the program above allowed for my camera to think it just had a haunkin FAT32 card.

Note: I have not filled the camera past 32 GB so I do not know if the camera will throw a hissy fit (and not save pics) if you go over the 32 GB limit SDHC cards have.

If the image doesn't get recorded on the card, it doesn't matter what else you do or what else the camera does. Why, then, would anyone in his right mind risk that outcome by trying to impose an unsupported format on a card? For God's sake, just go buy a card that the camera is designed to use!

Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

sdleasia — Tue, 26 Dec 2017 16:01:33 GMT

Thanks! I have a bunch of 64gb cards laying around. That linked worked great. Now I have a 64gb card installed, took a test picture, works on the PC. Will use it cautiously though. Can't format it with the camera, but I'm good with that.

Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

RobertTheFat — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 01:58:53 GMT

sdleasia wrote:
Thanks! I have a bunch of 64gb cards laying around. That linked worked great. Now I have a 64gb card installed, took a test picture, works on the PC. Will use it cautiously though. Can't format it with the camera, but I'm good with that.

Ask anyone in this forum (including, I suspect, the Canon product experts). Each will tell you that even if you have to format a card on a computer first, you should always format it again in the camera before trying to use it.

For some people, I suppose, risk is its own reward. If that applies to you, have at it. If you lose an important shoot, at least you won't have to ask why.

Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

Dereklj — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 16:27:41 GMT

This Might sound obvious but i was having the same trouble, i kept putting the memory card in and i was getting the same error message but then i realised that the memory card was just an adapter to hold the micro card so i put the micro card in to the adapter and everything was fine from there

Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

kvbarkley — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 20:35:39 GMT

Just for the record, micro cards are not recommended.

Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

kingrp — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 20:43:19 GMT

WOW, great fix, thank you !! channging the format did the trick.

Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

elizabethcs — Sun, 27 May 2018 13:56:29 GMT

That worked perfect. Thank you!

Re: my rebel XS won't format sandisk memory card 64GB

waxace — Fri, 25 Jan 2019 14:57:33 GMT

This worked like a charm... Now able to use a 64g card...Thanks!