Can't read my Mavic 2 Pro SD Card files using Windows 10 PC

[Jperez]

New to DJI here!!

I have a SanDisk 128GB Extreme microSD UHS-I Card on my Mavic 2 Pro and I don't seem to be able to download the content on my Windows 10 PC. I have tried installing the card on a reader and directly connecting the drone to the PC using the USB cable but, the result is the same (Error below). My PC says the SD Card has no content and needs to be formatted but it is not true,. I can see the content via the controller and even managed to transfer the files on the SD card, using the Bluetooth connecting to the PC BUT, that takes forever.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide me.

JP

 

[4wd]

That error is sometimes seen if you pull the card without ejecting it first, however I rarely do that with a card reader.
Did it ever work?
I would suspect some issue with the card especially since it's very large capacity. Trying a different card might be first thing to try.
You ought to format it in the camera before next attempt, and do it routinely ideally, because just deleting the image or video doesn't remove various hidden files and can cause problems eventually.

 

[FoxhallGH]

I'd echo @4wd's suggestion to make sure that you format the card when it is in the drone, using Go4 - That way, you can be sure that it has formatted correctly.

 

[THE WOMBLE]

I similar problem and was lucky to get my videos and pics after using a program called "WondershareRecoverit"

 

[CanadaDrone]

Where did you format the card? It's very important to always format memory cards in the devices that will be writing to them (in this case the drone).

 

[xsherbertx]

I similar problem and was lucky to get my videos and pics after using a program called "WondershareRecoverit"

please tell me how u used this program because i’m having the same issue and i don’t wanna lose my pics and vids

 

[Meta4]

Where did you format the card? It's very important to always format memory cards in the devices that will be writing to them (in this case the drone).

Although commonly repeated in forums, it's not at all important.
You can format the cards in the computer or the drone.
It makes no difference.

 

[xsherbertx]

Although commonly repeated in forums, it's not at all important.
You can format the cards in the computer or the drone.
It makes no difference.

i think that’s where i messed up cause i never formatted. i just put the micro sd card in the drone as soon as i bought it. i had no idea what formatting was before all of this

 

[Meta4]

i think that’s where i messed up cause i never formatted. i just put the micro sd card in the drone as soon as i bought it. i had no idea what formatting was before all of this

Cards usually come pre-formatted.
If there is a problem, the camera will object and bring up a warning that the card needs formatting anyway.

 

[Thomas B]

maybe try a USB card reader.

 

[FoxhallGH]

Although commonly repeated in forums, it's not at all important.
You can format the cards in the computer or the drone.
It makes no difference.

There may be a couple of Mac formats that might not be good options[?] ... but generally - and as a rule of thumb - it is good advice to use the format utility in the device you are using the card in e.g. the Go 4 app' or GoPro camera etc. That way, rather than choosing from a list of format options, you are using the format that the system is designed to work with ...

 

[Meta4]

There may be a couple of Mac formats that might not be good options[?] ... but generally - and as a rule of thumb - it is good advice to use the format utility in the device you are using the card in e.g. the Go 4 app' or GoPro camera etc. That way, rather than choosing from a list of format options, you are using the format that the system is designed to work with ...

Sorry ... macs are completely alien to me and I only use WIndows machines.
In more than 12 years of shooting digital cameras, formatting in the computer has never caused any problem with regular cameras or drones.
And there's no need to select from a menu.
Just using the default option works every time.

 

[kilomikebravo]

I have to second Meta's comment. The days when you really needed to format a card in the device are behind us...long ago, actually. Like Meta, I always format with Windoze and have for probably decades with zero issues.

This is the same sort of myth as "battery memory" nowadays.

 

[Kilrah]

There are still commonly issues with macs.

 

[Paul2660]

You can always try a chkdsk on the card (I would do this after you get the files off via Bluetooth), any format will of course remove or change track 0, thus you will not see the files unless you use something like GetDataBack. or similar program. Pull up a command prompt as administrator in win10, and run chkdsk x: /f x is the letter assigned to your card in windows. Run it from a c prompt. c:/chkdsk x: /f This is fix any errors on the card.

As for Mac's they can easily format a card so that windows can read it, just set up the card as exfat when you format it, this is the very same thing as Fat32 which is I am sure that the drone is formatting. On a windows machine I would never use NTFS ever for a format, and Windows should lead with fat32 for a card.

As for formatting in the drone, I never do it either, I just pull off the files, and then do a quick format in Win10 fat32 or Mac exfat depends on the machine I am using at the time.

Paul C

 

[FoxhallGH]

I have to second Meta's comment. The days when you really needed to format a card in the device are behind us...long ago, actually. Like Meta, I always format with Windoze and have for probably decades with zero issues.

This is the same sort of myth as "battery memory" nowadays.

Would agree with you based on the comment you make ... " ...with zero issues." If you are having no issues, then that's fine, but the first thing you need to do if you are NOT having zero issues, is to format the card in the device that it's intended to function in. That way, you will get some clues as to where the problem is hiding. I know what you are saying, but the 'zero issues' angle doesn't help the OP much at all. Fault finding is a process of elimination ...

 

[DanMan32]

NTFS is actually more reliable but is proprietary. It uses transaction logs that allow for recovery where FAT does not. Almost all systems will work with some generation of FAT such as FAT32 or ExFAT. FAT is prone to corruption. That's why you tend to see the recovery folder to contain file chains with no directory link.

I would not use chkdsk with /F switch on first go. Find out what it reports first before having it try and fix the issues.

 

[Milo187]

Try contacting SanDisk support. They can probably help retrieve the files.

 

[CanadaDrone]

Although commonly repeated in forums, it's not at all important.
You can format the cards in the computer or the drone.
It makes no difference.

it is actually important, hence why it is often repeated. I have personally experienced issues from not doing this as well that were immediately solved by formatting in the destination device. Further to that I have helped countless people troubleshoot memory card issues that were solved by formatting properly in the destination device. It is simply best practice and virtually every manufacturer makes the same recommendation. Another factor is that not everyone understands NTFS vs FAT vs exFAT and depending on how you format it in a computer, it won't even work in the destination device at all - formatting in the device also prevents user error like that.

 

[Kilrah]

Yet that is still not enough with some DJI devices.