Should you format your SD card each time before exporting or importing wp, tracks, groups,etc? What does formatting actually do?
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Should you format your SD card each time before exporting or importing wp, tracks, groups,etc? What does formatting actually do?
no you do not need to format.formatting will clean the card.some times a sd card will become corrupt and will need to be formated
Your comment is ambiguous.Quote:
Originally Posted by kosmo
Lifespan of sd is finite. Something like a million or millions read/write cycles. An occasional formatting repairs fragmentation, which in turn recoups the read/write speed capabilities.
Before I do an unit upgrade, I format the SD. This is just a precaution on my part.
Good idea, speaking of updates I always make sure I have fully charged battery before doing a update as lost of power during a update with my old 997 would cause failure that only HB repair shop could fix.
Smart to do an update on a fully charged battery and not use a/c power without battery backup especially if you are using an a/c adapter for powering your unit. I plug my a/c adapter into my computer UPS.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaxsprat
Here's a free SD card formatter from the SD association...
https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_3/
Rickie
noQuote:
Originally Posted by Don G
I agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by kosmo
I actually understood him....the third time I read it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cane Pole
koolQuote:
Originally Posted by Cane Pole
I re-read the specs on the Sandisk SD. It has 1,000,000 hours MTBF. It has 100,000 write/erase cycles. I know there was a million mentioned somewhere. Even at the higher speeds, Memory of any type is always the slowest part of the microprocessor circuits.
Just trying to educate everyone.
http://alumni.cs.ucr.edu/~amitra/sdcard/ProdManualSDCardv1.9.pdf
It is very unlikely that a SD Card (with possible corrupt data) could cause problems in the unit when importing/exporting waypoints, routes, tracks.....Quote:
Originally Posted by Don G
Conversely, corrupt data on a SD Card when performing a software update "could" lead to a unit system crash....
It takes 20 minutes to format a card....
It's worth my 20 minutes....
Rickie
Rickie, why 20 minutes? I right click on the drive that my SD card is in, then choose format.It takes just a second to format. Am I doing something wrong?Quote:
Originally Posted by rnvinc
You can also use the same SD card formatter that is in the HumminbirdPC software. Just right click on the SD card icon and select format.
Although I have never formatted a 32GB SDHC; it should not take 20 minutes to format an SD card. 20 seconds maybe.
Works that way for me too Don.Quote:
Originally Posted by Don G
No Don .. You are not doing anything wrong...you are using the formatter provided in your pc's operating system... and there is nothing wrong with that...Quote:
Originally Posted by Don G
I use the formatter from the SD Association here...
https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_3/
Reading the documentation from the SD Association ....they say using "generic" formatting tools can lead to ... "quote"... "less than optimal performance from your memory cards"..."unquote"...
The free formatting download from the SD Association has tools for different formatting processes including "quick format" and "full format"... And others I cannot remember...
It is my guess that most generic formatting tools (such as the 1 in your pc's operating system) is some form of this "quick format" procedure also offerred in the SD Association's download...
I use the "full format" procedure in the SD Association download... which takes 10 - 30 minutes depending on the size card I am formatting....
I would certainly think the SD Association would have more knowledge in formatting SD cards than Windows or any other generic formatting tool....
This is all just my opinion... But my $3000 HB's operating system is worth me taking the time to use a formatting tool from a reputable organization like the SD Association...
Rickie
That explains it Rickie. I had forgotten about the quick versus full formatting (you can tell that I have been using the quick option for a while…).
One of the good things about using the formatter from the SD Association is that it will work with both SD and SDHC cards. If you use a standard formatter and it is not SDHC compatible you may experience some of that “less than optimal performance” that they spoke of. I was told that the HumminbirdPC program uses that same formatter program.
Ouick format only erases the MFT files. If you want best performance from your SD, do as Rickie does.
All those fancy gadgets and things aren't really needed. Reading is overrated.
I hope to never to stress my opinion on anyone....(and please bring it to my attention if I do)..
I strive to offer facts about the discussion and let people decide for themselves how they choose to use those facts...
Rickie
I was joking, not directed at you. I just dl'd that sdformatter and will use tonight. I appreciate the link.
Thanks Mike...
Sometimes I choose incorrect words in my posts that could be taken in a manner that I do not mean them...
I am human... (and podunk...:) )
Rickie
It's like shopping for my wife,2 daughters, 3 granddaughters,& 1 greatgranddaughter..Too many options.:biggrin:biggrin
Under "options" do I choose full erase or full overwrite?
Under "Format size" do I choose "on" or "off"
Rickie keep doing what your doing.i appreciate your help
Don.. A lot of the jargon in the user manual (when you download) is way over my head... Maybe Tom could explain it better...Quote:
Originally Posted by Don G
If the program recognizes that you have a card in your SD slot... It will give the info about your card in the main window...(your SD slot drive letter in the "Drive" field ...and the card size in the "Size" field....)
Then in the "options" button choose ;
"Format Type"... "Full" (Erase)
"Format Size Adjustment" (Off)
Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong on the next 2 of my guesses;
I think "Full" (Overwrite) ... Overwrites stuff that shouldn't be overwrited...
I think "Format Size Adjustment" (On) ... Increases the advertised capacity of the card by some "magic" mumbojumbo..
So... Once again... to be safe...
Choose :
"Format Type" (Full)
"Format Size Adjustment" (Off)
Rickie