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08-12-2017, 04:32 AM   #1
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Error message on K-70 - "Card not formatted"

Hi, I bought a SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB SDXC UHS-I Memory Card (SDSDXXG-064G-GN4IN) memory card five weeks ago for my K-70. Twice in the past week or so my camera gave me an error message that said the card was not formatted. So I reformatted. Fortunately all my pics had been transferred to my computer. Even though the return window had closed a week ago, Amazon listened to my story and agreed to send a replacement free of charge. I received the replacement yesterday. It had already been formatted which makes me nervous. I took it out for a shoot last night and it was fine.

Has anybody had this happen to them? Is there are more reliable brand of memory card? Any suggestions for what to do if this happens again? Thanks. Joyce Keay

08-12-2017, 05:52 AM   #2
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are you sure it was card error?

I just had an incident with my K 3 and a PNY 32 GB prime performance micro SD HC1

I was photographing planes and equipment at a museum. I have bad close eyesight due to cataract surgery so I see the image (fuzzy ) after each shot as normally happens but I cannot read any details. So I know the camera was taking the photo and loading it onto the card.

then a few minutes later, I sat down and put on my glasses to review the photos again using the camera. some could be found, others said "card error".

I went home and loaded the card onto my lap top. All photos were available and transferable.

I have no idea why the K 3 could read some but not all of the photos.

obviously it was not the sd card's fault.
08-12-2017, 07:12 AM   #3
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Cards come formatted from the factory. If the card already had a DCIM folder on it then I would complain as it means the card was used.

Use SD Formatter and it will format you card to industry standards and factory specs.

SD Memory Card Formatter - SD Association
08-12-2017, 07:17 AM   #4
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When dealing with a new card it was probably a manufacturing error. Sandisk is a reliable brand (for many photographers the only brand they will buy), but any brand can have mishaps. You can't extrapolate a mishap to and entire brand.

08-12-2017, 07:56 AM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by D1N0 Quote
When dealing with a new card it was probably a manufacturing error. Sandisk is a reliable brand (for many photographers the only brand they will buy), but any brand can have mishaps. You can't extrapolate a mishap to and entire brand.
To D1N0: Good to know Sandisk is well thought of. Because I'm a newcomer to this (1 year) I had no idea whether it was the brand or just one bad card. Still have no idea but I thought it was a valid question.

To Not a Number: I've never had to add a DCIM folder when putting a new card in my camera so I'm not sure that is a valid issue.

To Aslyfox: I have no idea whether it was a card error or a camera error. That's why I was asking if anybody had experienced the same thing.

Thank you all for your responses. I will update if this card also goes belly up. Joyce Keay
08-12-2017, 08:08 AM   #6
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While Sandisk are a reliable card and a brand with fairly good customer service, they are also the number one most counterfeited brand out there and so it is easy to get a ringer. I'd be surprised if Amazon themselved got duped, but if it was a marketplace purchase, it's a possibility. That said, it is still possible to get a faulty one, genuine or not.

However, if the same thing is happening with multiple cards, I would say it is most likely the camera at fault.
08-12-2017, 08:44 AM   #7
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I've only had one truly defective SD card and it was a 16GB no-name card that I keep in my camera bag as a reminder never to buy any more no-name cards. That said, SanDisk is my go-to brand and I've never had any problems with one that I can directly attribute to the card itself. When I've had problems, like my Samsung GX-20 being unable to read or write to cards larger than 16GB, it's always been a fault in the camera's firmware. When I got my K200D, it had the same problem as the GX-20 and I solved it handily by updating the firmware. Unfortunately for the GX-20, there's not a firmware update available to address the issue but I did recently get my hands on a couple of 32GB SanDisk Extreme Plus cards the GX-20 seems to like their 90 MB/s write speed.

08-12-2017, 12:02 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Joyce Keay Quote
Has anybody had this happen to them? Is there are more reliable brand of memory card? Any suggestions for what to do if this happens again? Thanks. Joyce Keay
This troubleshooting request comes up fairly frequently. The standard answers are:
  • Take care to always unmount/eject the card from your computer before removal
  • Don't use the format utility that comes with your operating system
  • Use the format utility in the camera
  • If unable to use the format utility in the camera, download the utility from the SD Association Web site (LINK) and use it to do a full format with overwrite. Finish up with an in-camera format.
  • If none of the above resolve the issue, contact the maker for a replacement (most quality cards feature a lifetime warranty)


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08-12-2017, 03:23 PM   #9
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May I add a suggestion to Steve's excellent list ? ALWAYS set write-protect before putting the card in the card reader - computers are notorious for creating unwanted folders on any removable media.
08-12-2017, 06:04 PM   #10
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I've had this a few times with SD cards. Usually, formatting the card works and whatever dud bit of memory there was is no longer used and the card works fine from there on.
08-12-2017, 06:33 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by Joyce Keay Quote
To D1N0: Good to know Sandisk is well thought of. Because I'm a newcomer to this (1 year) I had no idea whether it was the brand or just one bad card. Still have no idea but I thought it was a valid question.

To Not a Number: I've never had to add a DCIM folder when putting a new card in my camera so I'm not sure that is a valid issue.

To Aslyfox: I have no idea whether it was a card error or a camera error. That's why I was asking if anybody had experienced the same thing.

Thank you all for your responses. I will update if this card also goes belly up. Joyce Keay
Your question was valid! SanDisk is the only card manufacture that I have had fail me! I can recommend you giving Lexar a try.
11-02-2017, 04:04 AM   #12
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Hi,
This is a common error if you use your card with a Mac computer and remove the card without ejecting it first via the software (pressing the eject button in Finder).

If your computer is a Mac this could be the issue, you don't need to format the card often putting it back into the SD card slot and making sure you eject it properly via software before taking it out of the slot will fix the issue. Hope it helps.
11-02-2017, 10:05 AM   #13
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I have had great luck with Samsung EVO cards so far. The only time I had an issue with my camera showing "card error" was when I had not fully seated the Micro SD card in the adapter. Name brands that have high transfer rates should make your concerns a non-issue in the future.
11-02-2017, 10:25 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by Joyce Keay Quote
Hi, I bought a SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB SDXC UHS-I Memory Card (SDSDXXG-064G-GN4IN) memory card five weeks ago for my K-70. Twice in the past week or so my camera gave me an error message that said the card was not formatted. So I reformatted. Fortunately all my pics had been transferred to my computer. Even though the return window had closed a week ago, Amazon listened to my story and agreed to send a replacement free of charge. I received the replacement yesterday. It had already been formatted which makes me nervous. I took it out for a shoot last night and it was fine.

Has anybody had this happen to them? Is there are more reliable brand of memory card? Any suggestions for what to do if this happens again? Thanks. Joyce Keay
I have that happen on a regular basis, like 4 or 5 times a year. I just reformat the card in the camera and continue. A card has never failed in the camera, it only needs to be reformatted when I remove it from the computer.

So, it's annoying, but probably nothing wrong with the card. If it started failing before I uploaded my images that would be different.
11-02-2017, 10:08 PM   #15
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As mentioned earlier, counterfeit cards may give errors, especially if they're faked 'high capacity' cards. A good way to test any new memory cards is using h2testw. It will write a set of 1GB files to fill the whole disk and read them back to make sure each memory block writes and reads correctly. This can quickly detect fake or corrupted cards without having to figure it out the hard way by losing pictures.
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