# Low level formatting of CF Card



## RGF (Mar 31, 2013)

To those who have discussed low level formatting of CF cards, does it matter if you format the card as Fat32 or NTFS. I found out the hard way that Canon uses Fat 32 format, not the NTFS. When I formatted the card in NTFS format, the card could not be read by my 5D M3, while in Fat32 format it could be read. Of course after I formatted the card in the camera (regardless of initial format) everything was fine.

BTW - for the Mac guys/gals out there. How does Mac deal with Fat32. I thought they did not support it - for external drives to be readable by a Mac, they needed to be NTFS. Is that correct?

Thanks


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## Nick Gombinsky (Apr 1, 2013)

NTFS is a file system for Windows. Mac uses HFS. Windows can't read HFS. Mac can read NTFS but can't write (it can write if you install third party software).

Both systems support read and write FAT16, FAT32, and recent versions of their OS support exFAT (which is what is used in SDXC cards).

Pendrives, thumbdrives, USB drives, SD cards, SDHC cards, CompactFlash cards, and all other flash cards and flash drives out there (except external hard drives or SSD drives) use FAT32 or exFAT.

External hard drives or SSD drives use NTFS or HFS depending on what OS you choose to use it with.

Digital cameras use FAT or exFAT file systems.

Hope it helps.


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## dolina (Apr 1, 2013)

RGF said:


> To those who have discussed low level formatting of CF cards, does it matter if you format the card as Fat32 or NTFS. I found out the hard way that Canon uses Fat 32 format, not the NTFS. When I formatted the card in NTFS format, the card could not be read by my 5D M3, while in Fat32 format it could be read. Of course after I formatted the card in the camera (regardless of initial format) everything was fine.
> 
> BTW - for the Mac guys/gals out there. How does Mac deal with Fat32. I thought they did not support it - for external drives to be readable by a Mac, they needed to be NTFS. Is that correct?
> 
> Thanks



Why do you need to do low level formatting? Are you protecting State Secrets of Kim Jong-un?


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## RC (Apr 1, 2013)

If you are doing low level formats on CF cards, make sure you perform an in camera format after.

Speaking of low level formatting, anyone know why you can do a low level format for a SD card in camera but not for a CF? My 5D3 has an option for the SD but not the CF, and my PowerShots (SDs) can do low level as well. Not that I really care about doing a low level format but I would like to understand that.


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## J.R. (Apr 1, 2013)

dolina said:


> RGF said:
> 
> 
> > To those who have discussed low level formatting of CF cards, does it matter if you format the card as Fat32 or NTFS. I found out the hard way that Canon uses Fat 32 format, not the NTFS. When I formatted the card in NTFS format, the card could not be read by my 5D M3, while in Fat32 format it could be read. Of course after I formatted the card in the camera (regardless of initial format) everything was fine.
> ...



FWIW, it speeds up the cards performance.


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## eyeland (Apr 21, 2013)

Seems weird that there is no option for "low-level format" for CF cards in-camera if it really benefits performance.
Anyone got a link to a conclusive test showing actual improvements on format vs LL format?
Also, what utility do you guys use to do said low lvl formats?


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## marvinhello (Apr 21, 2013)

How often do you low-level format the CF card to maintain performance? every week?


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## dppaskewitz (Apr 21, 2013)

The 6D manual states: "Perform low-level formatting if the card's recording or reading speed seems slow or if you want to totally erase data in the card." Also "When the card is formatted or the data is erased, only the file management information is changed. The actual data is not completely erased. Be aware of this when selling or discarding the card. When discarding the card, execute low-level formatting or destroy the card physically to prevent the personal data from being leaked." For what that's worth. (How much money does Canon save by not providing a full print version of the manual - one you could take with you while learning the camera?) Also, again according to the manual, the 6D uses FAT format for cards up to 128 GB and exFAT for higher capacity cards.


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## RGF (Apr 21, 2013)

dppaskewitz said:


> The 6D manual states: "Perform low-level formatting if the card's recording or reading speed seems slow or if you want to totally erase data in the card." Also "When the card is formatted or the data is erased, only the file management information is changed. The actual data is not completely erased. Be aware of this when selling or discarding the card. When discarding the card, execute low-level formatting or destroy the card physically to prevent the personal data from being leaked." For what that's worth. (How much money does Canon save by not providing a full print version of the manual - one you could take with you while learning the camera?) Also, again according to the manual, the 6D uses FAT format for cards up to 128 GB and exFAT for higher capacity cards.



same thing from Canada camera - though does not speak directly to low formatting of CF cards in the computer

About Low-level Formatting 

•Do low-level formatting if the card’s recording or reading speed seems slow. 
•Since low-level formatting will erase all recordable sectors in the SD card, the formatting will take longer than normal formatting. 
•You can stop the low-level formatting by selecting [Cancel]. Even in this case, normal formatting will have been completed and you can use the SD card as usual.

IMPORTANT

When the card is formatted or data is erased, only the file management information is changed. The actual data is not completely erased. Be aware of this when selling or discarding the card. When discarding the card, execute low-level formatting or destroy the card physically to prevent the data from being leaked.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 21, 2013)

Fat 32 is the format to use, its compatible with your camera, with Windows, and with Macs. For 128GB cards, exFAT is used. Its compatible with late model cameras, Windows and Mac Snow Leopard and later.

*exFAT* (*Extended File Allocation Table*) is a Microsoft file system optimized for flash drives.[3] It is proprietary and patent-pending.[1] It is supported in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 with update KB955704,[2] Windows Embedded CE 6.0, Windows Vista with Service Pack 1,[4] Windows Server 2008,[5] Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2 (except Windows Server 2008 Server Core), Mac OS X Snow Leopard starting from 10.6.5,[6] Mac OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion.
exFAT can be used where the NTFS file system is not a feasible solution, due to data structure overhead, or where the file size limit of the standard FAT32 file system (that is, without _FAT+_ extension[7]) is unacceptable.
exFAT is also supported in a number of media devices such as modern flat panel TVs,[8] media centers, and portable media players.[9]



A low level format as its now commonly referred to is not the same lowlevel format of yester year, it basically writes 0's to all the cells on your card, and is useful for finding bad cells and mapping them out.

In Windows, its called a full format as opposed to the quick format done in the camera and in Windows. Quick format just marks the card as empty and doesn't check anything. I don't know what terminology Macs Use.


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## RGF (Apr 21, 2013)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> Fat 32 is the format to use, its compatible with your camera, with Windows, and with Macs. For 128GB cards, exFAT is used. Its compatible with late model cameras, Windows and Mac Snow Leopard and later.
> 
> 
> A low level format as its now commonly referred to is not the same lowlevel format of yester year, it basically writes 0's to all the cells on your card, and is useful for finding bad cells and mapping them out.
> ...



Nice it would actual test each sector by writing and reading.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 22, 2013)

RGF said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > Fat 32 is the format to use, its compatible with your camera, with Windows, and with Macs. For 128GB cards, exFAT is used. Its compatible with late model cameras, Windows and Mac Snow Leopard and later.
> ...


Actually, I think it does test.

You can use software like Lexar's Image Rescue 4 which will erase and then format a card. It can take a very long time to run on a big card.


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