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Why do my Compact Flash cards crap out every 8-10 months or so. Is it because i use it constantly, becasue maybe i drop my camera once in while, or are the 1-2 gigs ones less stable?
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Why do my Compact Flash cards crap out
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#3
dg27 
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Posted 03 November 2006 - 07:37 PM
What kind are you using?I have 3 Viking and 3 Crucial. The oldest is 3 yrs old and the rest I bought sporadically since that time. I only use all 6 when I travel 3X a year, but have never had problems with any of them.dg
#4
chuckster
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Posted 28 August 2007 - 06:47 AM
All flash-type media have a fixed (although variable) life. None of them last forever. This includes Flash drives, thumb-drives whatever you want to call them.
I suspect your CF cards are nearing their end of useful life period and have begun to be less reliable.
My camera manuals recommend to never use your PC to re-format your memory cards, but to always re-format them using the camera. And they should be re-formatted each time you insert a card.
This may help lengthen the life of your CF cards, but I would be on the lookout for some brand-name replacements on sale if I were in your shoes...
...the chuckster
I suspect your CF cards are nearing their end of useful life period and have begun to be less reliable.
My camera manuals recommend to never use your PC to re-format your memory cards, but to always re-format them using the camera. And they should be re-formatted each time you insert a card.
This may help lengthen the life of your CF cards, but I would be on the lookout for some brand-name replacements on sale if I were in your shoes...
...the chuckster
#5
rgreen4
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Posted 28 August 2007 - 07:21 AM
The bigger question is how are you using them? (Other than in the camera). When you transfer photos do you insert the cards in a card reader and then copy the photos onto the hard drive and the just pull them out?
If you remove any flash drive, be it SD, CF, or USB thumbdrive, you run the risk of damaging or complete destroying them. I am still using the CF cards I bought when I first bought my two cameras. I have an older Kodak DC3800 2.1 MP camera with a Sandisk 64MB card, and they are about six year old. The original 8MB :^0 card is still in the box. Three years ago I purchased a Canon Powershot A80 4.1 MP camera and left its 16MB :^0 card in the box and bought a Sandisk 512MB card for it.
Anytime you remove the card from the camera, the camera should be off. If you use a USB cable to transfer the photos, then of course the camera must be on. If you remove the card from a card reader, the card shows up on the machine as a removable drive, and before removing you must either eject the card electrically or use the icon in the system tray to dismount the card reader.
You must also do the same for USB Flashdrives, as otherwise you may destroy the circuitry inside the devices. When you plug the memory card/flash drive into the computer you create an electrical connection. When you pull it out, you suddenly interrupt that connection and any stray electrical static spark, no matter how minor and damage or destroy the device. Many card readers have an access light on the top that is on when the card in inserted, but will go out if you properly eject or dimount the drive. The circuitry is disconnected in the computer electronically, not mechanically right at the devices connection.
If properly treated, any memory device like that can last for years.
If you remove any flash drive, be it SD, CF, or USB thumbdrive, you run the risk of damaging or complete destroying them. I am still using the CF cards I bought when I first bought my two cameras. I have an older Kodak DC3800 2.1 MP camera with a Sandisk 64MB card, and they are about six year old. The original 8MB :^0 card is still in the box. Three years ago I purchased a Canon Powershot A80 4.1 MP camera and left its 16MB :^0 card in the box and bought a Sandisk 512MB card for it.
Anytime you remove the card from the camera, the camera should be off. If you use a USB cable to transfer the photos, then of course the camera must be on. If you remove the card from a card reader, the card shows up on the machine as a removable drive, and before removing you must either eject the card electrically or use the icon in the system tray to dismount the card reader.
You must also do the same for USB Flashdrives, as otherwise you may destroy the circuitry inside the devices. When you plug the memory card/flash drive into the computer you create an electrical connection. When you pull it out, you suddenly interrupt that connection and any stray electrical static spark, no matter how minor and damage or destroy the device. Many card readers have an access light on the top that is on when the card in inserted, but will go out if you properly eject or dimount the drive. The circuitry is disconnected in the computer electronically, not mechanically right at the devices connection.
If properly treated, any memory device like that can last for years.
#6
Spicy
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Posted 28 August 2007 - 07:31 PM
Don't know. It is like a Ram stick or any other memory stick or solid-state memory....they will eventually burn out and go bad. If you bought a name brand like Lexar Professional, Kingston, Crucial or SanDisk...you will have a good chance of them lasting a long time, because of the higher quality control and better material. I am currently using an 8 GB CF SanDisk Extreme III 133x in my Canon EOS 30D DSLR with no issue for about 16 months straight now. I pull my CF memory out from my camera every time to offload onto my computer hard drive and use my computer to delete the images off the CF memory. I have not tried to format the CF memory yet. I have only filled the CF memory once to 7.9 GB of high-resolution images. So far, none of my images shows any sign corruption.
#7
rgreen4
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Posted 28 August 2007 - 08:10 PM
Just use common sense caution when removing the cards from both the camera and computer. Camera off, computer either eject of use the Windows Safely Remove Hardware icon and you should not have problems. There should not be a need to reformat the card. I have erased the photos off of both of mine both in the computer and in the camera once they are archived.
The cycle for memory cards and flash memory sticks should be in the thousands, not in the dozens. If the memory cards were five years old and you cycled them on a daily basis then I would say there is a possiblilty they are worn out. If the card is only a year old and you moved it from the camera to the computer and back again once a week, thats only 52 cycles. They should not wear out in that time frame.
However, static charges can take them out the first time it happens. That's the real danger. That is why you are cautioned to use grounding staps when working in the computer. Static electricity can also take out the memory modules, MB components and even the CPU.
The cycle for memory cards and flash memory sticks should be in the thousands, not in the dozens. If the memory cards were five years old and you cycled them on a daily basis then I would say there is a possiblilty they are worn out. If the card is only a year old and you moved it from the camera to the computer and back again once a week, thats only 52 cycles. They should not wear out in that time frame.
However, static charges can take them out the first time it happens. That's the real danger. That is why you are cautioned to use grounding staps when working in the computer. Static electricity can also take out the memory modules, MB components and even the CPU.
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