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Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Recording Media => Topic started by: achalsey on September 10, 2011, 06:08:02 PM
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Is there an optimal way to keep a card working properly? I just had what I'm pretty sure was a reliable card die and am wondering if it was how I was using it.
How often is it recommended to reformat the card? More often the better? After each use?
Also, would deleting files through the box's interface (I'm using an iRiver H120 w/ CF mod) as opposed to plugged into the computer's interface have any ill effect or vise versa?
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Not sure what the proper thing to do is, but I have a 16 gig SD card and format each time it fills up, never had an issue. I believe you should format from the machine...anyone else have input on this?
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You should always format the card in the device you intend to use it with.
Anytime you need to clear space, you should format completely (after backing up the data) rather than deleting files. Deleting files will only remove the reference to the data in the file index and does not actually wipe the sectors where the data is stored. This leads to fragmentation and dramatically slows down write operations.
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One of my SD cards got into the washing machine because I had left it in my shirt pocket.
It worked quite well after the wash.
You could give that a try!
Same thing goes for thumb drives/USB memory sticks! ;D
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They're durable. Flash cards found after the Thai tsunami still worked, and that's after exposure to corrosive salt water.
My recs are to off load data after each use, then format the card in the device in which you'll use it next...
Best,
John
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For a CFmodded h120 I would format the card and then drop rockbox back on it every few shows. I never ran into problems. Keep a rockbox folder on your computer so you can just drag and drop it back to the H120 once the device has been formatted.
Is there an optimal way to keep a card working properly? I just had what I'm pretty sure was a reliable card die and am wondering if it was how I was using it.
How often is it recommended to reformat the card? More often the better? After each use?
Also, would deleting files through the box's interface (I'm using an iRiver H120 w/ CF mod) as opposed to plugged into the computer's interface have any ill effect or vise versa?
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My general workflow is to record the show, transfer the pics from my camera and my bitbucket when I get home, and then rinse and repeat until I'm either too full or have had to use the internal memory on my device). At that point, after I've copied the shows, I format the card in the recorder (usually low-level at that) and start all over again.
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My general workflow is to record the show, transfer the pics from my camera and my bitbucket when I get home, and then rinse and repeat until I'm either too full or have had to use the internal memory on my device).
I'd be leery of leaving anything on my cards before going out to another show. Never know when you'll accidentally leave your settings on 24/96 (or 24/192!) and suddenly need a whole lot more space than you expected.
That said, maintenance? These things are dirt cheap. Buy six, toss 'em in a pocket and throw them out (or use them for home DAT/cassette transfers only) if they fail on you.
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I'd be leery of leaving anything on my cards before going out to another show. Never know when you'll accidentally leave your settings on 24/96 (or 24/192!) and suddenly need a whole lot more space than you expected.
That said, maintenance? These things are dirt cheap. Buy six, toss 'em in a pocket and throw them out (or use them for home DAT/cassette transfers only) if they fail on you.
I s'pose. I *never* touch my settings (always 24/48 since anything more would be overkill and a "waste of space.") I also make a habit of checking that when I first hit the REC button and usually do about 5-10 minutes before the band hits the stage; not like the DAT/ANALOG TAPE/MD days where you had to worry about flipping/changing.
The only thing I can stress is to stick with the well-known names (Transcend or Patrior being a couple) because they will perform better and (usually) last longer than the off-brand ones. Besides, you only get one chance to record the show so why risk it?
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i use one of those cheap ass cf/sd card readers to down load pic's and music and always format it on the laptop when done with no prob. once borrowed a cf card hat was used in a marantz unit. formatted the card in the marantz unit and the card would not work in my camera, so then formatted on the laptop, popped it into my dslr and worked fine. ed
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thanks all for the responses. I only realized after a couple days of no responses that there is a sub board for this, thought it would have been moved.