How often should you format micro SD card

[brett8883]

He doesn't offer a great explanation as to why though. His reasoning is that "It keeps things cleaner on the card".

The FAT in exFAT and FAT32 stands for (File Allocation Table) the Table is the “ledger” in my analogy.

The table keeps track of what data is where. If the table gets messed up then the drive either won’t be able to find the data on the card or allow data you haven’t deleted to be written over. Formatting resets this table clean. It’s kinda like rebooting your computer and clearing out the junk that accumulates.

 

[msinger]

If the table gets messed up then the drive either won’t be able to find the data on the card or allow data you haven’t deleted to be written over

How often have the tables become messed up on your cards?

 

[Tomk_]

Technically speaking... it does. Unlike magnetic storage, data is not really erased, just "forgotten" until it is overwritten. When you reformat, you reset the system and any errors are marked and logged. If you never reformat the system has a harder time evenly using the memory blocks and you can end up with data stored in non contiguous areas. But the reality is that if you use a quality card, you are unlikely to have a problem. Whether you delete or reformat, the blocks are not erased, just the record is "forgotten". Reformatting does "clean things up" that erasing doesn't do - but it's kind of like mopping the floor vs sterilizing the floor. Either way it ends up "clean" for all intents and purposes.

 

[brett8883]

How often have the tables become messed up on your cards?

I don’t know the answer to that but it does happen. I usually format mine while I’m waiting for GPS reception so I never miss a beat. It takes all of 5 seconds. There’s a shortcut in the DJI Go 4 aircraft status page so it’s a matter of two buttons. It would has to take you longer to go into the album and delete all photos and video.

 

[Claretcass]

I never remove the Sd card from my drone to prevent damaging the pins and shortening its life. I connect to my Mac via usb and download onto my desktop then move the files from the drone into recycle bin then empty the bin. The SD card is then empty and ready to reuse,

 

[Meta4]

I never remove the Sd card from my drone to prevent damaging the pins and shortening its life.

There's no need to be so cautious, it's not that fragile.
The SD card socket will last for many thousands of removal/replace cycles

I connect to my Mac via usb and download onto my desktop then move the files from the drone into recycle bin then empty the bin. The SD card is then empty and ready to reuse,

Not concerned about overheating the drone by leaving it sit to transfer files?
The simplest and fastest way to transfer files is to pop the card, put it in an adapter and put that in the computer.

 

[msinger]

It would has to take you longer to go into the album and delete all photos and video.

True. If using a workflow like that, formatting would be the better option.

When I'm done flying, I move the files from the memory card to my computer. Once the files have been moved, the memory card is all ready to go for the next flight.

FWIW, hard drives also use a file allocation table. And people never routinely format those drives.

 

[Kola]

After flight I take the SD card out, move the files to local storage and sync to cloud storage, then put SD card back in drone.

Nothing wrong with formatting it either, it is personal choice.

 

[Dale D]

After every offload to my MacBook it goes straight back into the drone. I use the drone to format it via the Fly app

I reformat the card in the drone using the app after transferring the files to my desk top. After uploading the files to the iMAC I separate the files into two folder, and label them as follows; Folder #1- Drone video. #2. Drone-stills. Since I always have a multimedia show, I separate other videos and other stills into the respective folders e.g.: Nikon stills, Osmo Action videos, Osmo Pocket videos, Osmo Mobile stills, etc. These become my "assets" when I import them into Premiere Pro.

 

[eaglesurfing]

To each their own but I been doing format for years.

Nothing like starting out fresh and finding out if the card is ready for another job.

 

[lilewis]

I consider reformat of memory cards to be like a "factory reset". I don't do it every time I transfer files from my drone or other cameras, but I do reformat occasionally, either in my cameras or the drone itself, just to periodically insure the cards are "like new again".

It takes only seconds and the risk is - losing your pics/videos if you haven't moved them first.

 

[Claretcass]

There's no need to be so cautious, it's not that fragile.
The SD card socket will last for many thousands of removal/replace cycles

Not concerned about overheating the drone by leaving it sit to transfer files?
The simplest and fastest way to transfer files is to pop the card, put it in an adapter and put that in the computer.

No, I find it the quickest and easiest method once back home. I plug straight into the drone, download the footage while unpacking the gear the whole process takes minutes and none of the drones (3) have ever been running long enough to overheat while downloading, usually less time than a firmware update.
I understand that the socket is quite robust but there have been reports of cards jamming on removal and having to be sent for repair,
The real secret is never buy a cheap and substandard card, always buy the best quality but even with those they can fail by the copper pins creasing even though the mean time between failure (MTBF) is over 3000 repeated uses.
I just don’t see any need to continually click and remove but everybody to their own...

 

[Bxr532001]

Once formatted, a drive doesn't ever need to be formatted again unless it malfunctions, in which case you should replace it anyway.

That being said, it is a nice quick way to remove everything from the drive and reset the filename increment to zero.

Sorry to disagree with you about the formatting. As a professional photographer after I’ve uploaded the photos, I always format the card in my camera and Mavic Air 2 before using it again. Formatting removes any data left behind so you are starting with a “clean” card.

 

[Kendallfordguy]

You should format the card in the camera after every offload. Whenever data is written to the card that data is logged to a “ledger” of sorts. Even when you erase the files the ledger doesn’t get cleared and gets longer and longer. The longer this ledger is the more likely it will get corrupted and mess up the drive not to mention the ledger takes up space.

Also, sometimes if you just erase a file it will get removed from the ledger but doesn’t actually get removed from the drive in which case there’s no way to see it and the drive doesn’t even know it’s there but it will continue to take up space.

I know lots of people say they never format and have never had a problem but just because they think they don’t have a problem doesn’t mean they don’t and it doesn’t mean you won’t. Formatting is easy to do and often faster than manually deleting files anyway. I haven’t heard anyone make the argument formatting often is bad for the drive so why not just do it?

What you are talking about is called a File Attribute Table (FAT) and it can be compared to the index of a book. It's what the computer uses to locate the files on the drive. When files are added or deleted the table is updated to let the computer know that the files are there and where they are. The attribute table only gets longer if more files are added. As a file is deleted, it is really only removed from the FAT making the computer think it's gone and will eventually be overwritten. If the table gets corrupted the card needs to be formatted. Under normal use, there is no need to reformat the card. One tip: if you are putting the card into your computer to manage the files, use the eject function before removing the card. If the computer happens to be reading from or writing to the card when you pull it out, I can ruin the card.

Brett8883 ; You are correct, formatting doesn't hurt the card but I don't agree that it's easier to format than just delete the files. Your choice.

 

[Dave Maine]

The only thing that is clear about card management is that the formatting should be done in the drone, not externally on the computer. Most camera manufacturers recommend this. They do not recommend reformatting unless the card shows problems.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Sorry to disagree with you about the formatting. As a professional photographer after I’ve uploaded the photos, I always format the card in my camera and Mavic Air 2 before using it again. Formatting removes any data left behind so you are starting with a “clean” card.

You're welcomed to disagree, but just because you always do it, doesn't make it necessary.

 

[tlswift58]

Never have I but been doing it since I started flying.
I dump my daily trips if I go into a folder and then reformat my card when I go out again in the app and have Never had an issue. To say they should stop is wrong. Sorry ?‍

I agree. While, yes formatting an SD card does include reads, writes and such - which any card that is memory based - will shorten the life a minuscule bit. Each card is rated at so many reads / writes before they meet the manufacturers stated lifespan - but most new cards today are in the millions.

I format mine maybe one a week or every 2 weeks just to clear ALL the junk that can be hidden from view and not cleared by simply dragging and dropping or deleting.

Personal preference on the issue to do it or not. If you do format, it's best to do with in the drone using the fly app, since PC's / Mac's tend to format differently. Since DJI does include the option - then the app should be set up to format the card how DJI and drone can use it best.

 

[DaveS]

I've been flying drones for years. I reformat the SD card in the drone camera and only when it gets full. In fact, sometimes I'll just switch to a 2nd card and leave all the video or photos files on card 1, if I've been busy flying, just in case I need the originals. SD cards are cheap, why not have more than one!

 

[Ol' Sparky]

Ever accidentally deleted a file? I have. In some cases it can be recovered with software. But format it....not at all. Nothing is recoverable. I accidentally deleted my SD once and recovered most of the files. I probably could have got them all back if I restored them to a different drive instead of back onto the SD card. Just sayin...once it's formatted, there is NO chance of recovery. If I format in the bird,I also get the message from windows, every time I plug in to transfer to my HD, that there is an issue with the drive and do I want to run diagnostics. When I did, Windows suggests a format. Never do. Don't think my system approves of the way DJI formats. Never had a problem (other than my idiot self accidentally erasing it).
PS....my cards never come out of the drone.

 

[dirkclod]

I've been flying drones for years. I reformat the SD card in the drone camera and only when it gets full. In fact, sometimes I'll just switch to a 2nd card and leave all the video or photos files on card 1, if I've been busy flying, just in case I need the originals. SD cards are cheap, why not have more than one!

And what if you lose the cards with your files ?‍