Inchiquin Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 (edited) I formatted one of my 16GB CF cards on my computer (thinking that I might get a more thorough format than on the camera) but now the Canon 5D2 simply won't recognise the card at all. I've tried all the formats available on Win10 - Fat32, exFat and NTFS. I had assumed that even if it was not the correct format the Canon would treat it as a new blank card and re-format it, but now it just says that the card can't be formatted. Any ideas? Alan Edited October 19, 2023 by Inchiquin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 I don’t have an answer for you Alan, but if you have all the images off the card, I would just toss in the rubbish bin and get a new one. A new one in the U.S. goes for under $20, so I bet it would be about the same in the U.K. (In Pounds). But someone like MDM may have better advice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemson Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 Just check deep in the CF slot in the camera that none of the pins have got bent or broken. I've seen a couple of cameras with CF card slots fail in this way after the card was removed and replaced. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Standfast Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 If another card does not work then +1 for Joseph. If another card does work then wait for MDM. I'll get popcorn. 🦔 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 Even if you manage to reformat the card, would you actually trust what must be a pretty old card? Me I wouldn't use it again as once a card starts to misbehave it's time to say goodbye, moreover as your camera has only one card slot so you have no backup. Assuming there are no bent pins as Joe suggests which you can check if you have another card, a new card might be a good idea anyway. Compact Flash is getting to be old tech by now but you can still buy a SanDisk 32GB from Wex for £39. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 2 minutes ago, Mr Standfast said: If another card does not work then +1 for Joseph. If another card does work then wait for MDM. I'll get popcorn. 🦔 Haha. You just beat me to it. Not that I have any suggestions other than a new card. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCat Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 I had a SanDisk card refuse to be formatted. SanDisk sent me a new one (free) and got the images off of the old one for me. It seems to me that in that case I already had the images downloaded but I appreciated the service I got from them. Paulette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose Decio Molaro Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 Here, if a card fails, we throw it away and lose everything... we have no one to complain to. Living at the end of the world is cruel!!!!! It's bad...but it's good! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inchiquin Posted October 19, 2023 Author Share Posted October 19, 2023 7 hours ago, MDM said: Even if you manage to reformat the card, would you actually trust what must be a pretty old card? Me I wouldn't use it again as once a card starts to misbehave it's time to say goodbye, moreover as your camera has only one card slot so you have no backup. Assuming there are no bent pins as Joe suggests which you can check if you have another card, a new card might be a good idea anyway. Compact Flash is getting to be old tech by now but you can still buy a SanDisk 32GB from Wex for £39. The card was working fine. It was only my decision to format it that seems to have caused the problem. It's basically only a spare that I carry with me just in case the card I'm using fails. £39 seems like an awful lot of cash when you can get an SD for under a tenner. As it's outdated technology I was hoping that my existing cards would keep going long enough to see me to my next camera, but as the 5D2 is 14 years old and still performing as it was when new, and I'm not exactly flush with cash, I don't know when that might be! Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sooth Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 (edited) is there a "FAT" format option, i.e., fat 16? try that Edited October 19, 2023 by sooth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inchiquin Posted October 20, 2023 Author Share Posted October 20, 2023 8 hours ago, sooth said: is there a "FAT" format option, i.e., fat 16? try that FAT16 is no longer an option on the standard Windows formatter. There may be a 3rd party solution for this but I was hoping someone might know if this would be the answer before going down that route. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Ore Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 On 19/10/2023 at 08:03, Inchiquin said: I formatted one of my 16GB CF cards on my computer (thinking that I might get a more thorough format than on the camera) but now the Canon 5D2 simply won't recognise the card at all. I've tried all the formats available on Win10 - Fat32, exFat and NTFS. I had assumed that even if it was not the correct format the Canon would treat it as a new blank card and re-format it, but now it just says that the card can't be formatted. Any ideas? Alan Try just erasing it without reformatting and then seeing if your Canon will set it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 5 hours ago, Rebecca Ore said: Try just erasing it without reformatting and then seeing if your Canon will set it up. How do you erase a card or a disk without reformatting it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 4 minutes ago, MDM said: How do you erase a card or a disk without reformatting it? I suppose he means just deleting visible files, that is different than formatting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 14 hours ago, Inchiquin said: FAT16 is no longer an option on the standard Windows formatter. There may be a 3rd party solution for this but I was hoping someone might know if this would be the answer before going down that route. Alan On Mac there is an option to format to MS-DOS (FAT) as well as Ex-FAT and MS-DOS (FAT32) so presumably MS-DOS (FAT) is FAT16. If you know someone with a Mac, it might be worth a try. I just erased an SD-Card and formatted to MS-DOS (FAT) on my Mac. I then managed to format it again properly in a Nikon camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Michael Ventura said: I suppose he means just deleting visible files, that is different than formatting. Maybe but I am under the impression from what Alan says that after his initial formatting there is nothing on the card. Edited October 20, 2023 by MDM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inchiquin Posted October 21, 2023 Author Share Posted October 21, 2023 11 hours ago, MDM said: Maybe but I am under the impression from what Alan says that after his initial formatting there is nothing on the card. Precisely. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Myford Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 As the card was fully functional before being formatted, it should be able to function as an attached drive on the computer. Perhaps add some files of a type the camera would recognize, then see if it will perform a format. But that is a long shot. If all else fails, you could possibly keep the card as a computer drive for transferring files or backup. I use an old CF card as storage for a digital photo frame: I know you want to keep using it in the camera, but it seems a pity to throw away an otherwise functional item of storage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normspics Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 I only format cards CF or SD in camera never using the computer. Not had an issue yet. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Ore Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 This may be worth a try if it's okay (not virus or trojan bearing) software. Try formatting in a Mac or Linux machine first. https://www.remosoftware.com/how-to-erase-cf-card What format was the CF in when you first used it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 On 19/10/2023 at 10:03, Inchiquin said: Any ideas? a. call Canon tech support b. call CF card tech support c. put card in camera, turn camera off, take out battery, put battery back in, turn camera on, attempt format d. if camera format menu has other choices, try them e. camera + CF card to computer via cable, try to enter CF card via computer f. reboot computer whilst doing (e) now I'm tits up... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inchiquin Posted October 23, 2023 Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 9 hours ago, Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg said: c. put card in camera, turn camera off, take out battery, put battery back in, turn camera on, attempt format You may be tits up Jeff, but you're a genius! The suggestion above worked and now I have a usable card. Many thanks. Alan 2 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 6 hours ago, Inchiquin said: you're a genius! thanks mate I'm bloody chuffed you're now my best online chum me IQ only 130 so it may be my "common sense" score that is out of the ballpark... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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