Bad sd cards

[sirmissalot]

I'm not much of a tech guy. In the last few weeks I have now had three SD cards quit working. Its frustrating to get to a camera, check the card and find that its either blank or just won't read. All of these cards worked at one time, so far they are all fairly new, two of them were bought this year. Does anyone else experience problems with SD cards going bad like this? I can't imagine its something I'm doing wrong. I tried a google search but nothing in plain english to solve my problem

[Knocker of rocks]

I bet about 90% of the bad SD cards are fixed when the lock switch is moved.

Happened to me.

[92xj]

Do your cards go in different cameras?  Each camera formats the cards. Different brands can have different formats and they randomly screw up the cards.  I do not switch cards with different cameras anymore and don't have any issues.  Each card and camera is numbered and the same card goes right back into the same camera after viewing pictures.  I also don't view the pictures and multiple devices.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,198146.msg2631088.html#msg2631088

[Knocker of rocks]

Also, read the capabilities of the camera.  Some older and very capable cameras won't work with the massive cards available today.  That's the way it is with my awesome Leica, just have to use a 1GB card and everything is fine.

[CP]

I bet about 90% of the bad SD cards are fixed when the lock switch is moved.

Happened to me.

   me too.  I tape that switch in place now.

[rickomatic]

My son just had this problem with his phone's sd card. Lost a lot of hunting pics from over the past couple years.

[Knocker of rocks]

My son just had this problem with his phone's sd card. Lost a lot of hunting pics from over the past couple years.

Are they not on the card, or are they trapped on the card?

[Bean Counter]

Do your cards go in different cameras?  Each camera formats the cards. Different brands can have different formats and they randomly screw up the cards.  I do not switch cards with different cameras anymore and don't have any issues.  Each card and camera is numbered and the same card goes right back into the same camera after viewing pictures.  I also don't view the pictures and multiple devices.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,198146.msg2631088.html#msg2631088

I don't believe most trail cameras automatically format the cards. I've switched between two different DSLRs and two different brands of cameras and have only had one problem and Im pretty sure that was from the batteries dying.

OP: read your trail cam's manual and reformat the card every time it goes into a camera. 

[mburrows]

Do your cards go in different cameras?  Each camera formats the cards. Different brands can have different formats and they randomly screw up the cards.  I do not switch cards with different cameras anymore and don't have any issues.  Each card and camera is numbered and the same card goes right back into the same camera after viewing pictures.  I also don't view the pictures and multiple devices.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,198146.msg2631088.html#msg2631088

I have had this issue as well when switching SD cards between trail cameras. I learned this the hard way on a couple occasion.  Now I label my SD cards with the camera it goes in and since doing so I have not had any issues with recovering pics.

[Roosevelt]

I randomly had cards "go bad" as well for a couple of years there while i was getting more and more cameras going scouting.  I figured out that as long as I formatted the card on the camera each time I never had that issue again.  I used to like to keep some pics on cards and sometimes I had four or five different file types on one card.  Now, the last thing I do, when I set my cameras in the woods, is flip over to the settings and select "format card."  This deletes everything on the card and clears it.  I have never had another issue since, and I am running twelve cameras currently.   

[JohnD]

I randomly had cards "go bad" as well for a couple of years there while i was getting more and more cameras going scouting.  I figured out that as long as I formatted the card on the camera each time I never had that issue again.  I used to like to keep some pics on cards and sometimes I had four or five different file types on one card.  Now, the last thing I do, when I set my cameras in the woods, is flip over to the settings and select "format card."  This deletes everything on the card and clears it.  I have never had another issue since, and I am running twelve cameras currently.   

Good Advise. x2 on everything you said. So that's 4 cents. 

[sirmissalot]

The cards aren't locked no, we do switch cards to different cameras so I assume thats the issue. Whats the easy way to format the card?

[CP]

The cards aren't locked no, we do switch cards to different cameras so I assume thats the issue. Whats the easy way to format the card?

Depends on the camera -

example:
Formatting the SD card by using the Trophy Cam’s “Format” 9
parameter before using it for the first time is recommended, especially when a card has been used in other devices (see “Changing Menu Parameter Settings” for details).

[JohnD]

It's best to format the card in the camera you are using it in. Some cameras have a format option in the menu. Some cameras, you have to look at the manual. It's super easy and will avoid any memory card problems. If it's a bad or unsupported card, the camera won't format it and will give an error message.

[Jharristealth]

My son just had this problem with his phone's sd card. Lost a lot of hunting pics from over the past couple years.

Are they not on the card, or are they trapped on the card?

My card just flat out stopped reading on any device.  Get a message stating sd card is damaged. I didnt remove it from the phone, disturb, drop or anything.  I have not tried any recovery software yet, but my hopes are not too high.

[Wacenturion]

Had the same problem with one or two cards.  Fixed it by buying SanDisk brand to replace Maxflash ones.  Problem ended.

[Grizman]

I was having similar problems at one time.  I was stopping at my Game Cameras and putting my cards in a Panosonic camera to take a look at them out in the field.  Than I would erase and put the card back in the Game Camera. Following those actions, I would have a card that was messed up.  Stopped that practice and reformatted my cards.  Now I just switch out cards and view on my computer at home.  Never had any problems since.  When I called Moultrie about it, they said that was very common.

[TriggerMike]

I was having similar problems at one time.  I was stopping at my Game Cameras and putting my cards in a Panosonic camera to take a look at them out in the field.  Than I would erase and put the card back in the Game Camera. Following those actions, I would have a card that was messed up.  Stopped that practice and reformatted my cards.  Now I just switch out cards and view on my computer at home.  Never had any problems since.  When I called Moultrie about it, they said that was very common.

I did the same thing with my handheld camera and had the same problem but with a Bushnell. Keep your SD card away from anything but your trail cam and computer!

[Don_D]

Sandisk carries a 10 year warranty on some of their cards. Worth the money and time spent registering them IMO.

[davk]

Never had any issues with SD cards but I have read from companies that switching between devices can cause the cards to lock. Idk what the solution is, maybe reformatting, but a google search would answer that.  Ive always used Sandisk if that matters.

[sirmissalot]

So far the formatting fixed the issue. It says to format the card especially when switching between cameras, right in the instructions, but who reads those? 


Thanks for the help!

[buglebrush]

I always trade my bad cards for good ones that get left in the woods, you just have to find a derelict camera and then swap  your bad card for a good one.

I hope that is a joke, but it sure isn't funny.  Have had that happen too many times.