Formatting an SD card . . .


The iphone app won't do it, and my laptop doesn't recognize either card when I plug them in.
Have you installed / updated the appropriate driver to interface with the SD card?

1.webp
Until I installed the appropriate driver, I couldn't see my SD card device either.
 

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Disk 01.webp
 

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Have you installed / updated the appropriate driver to interface with the SD card?

View attachment 121204
Until I installed the appropriate driver, I couldn't see my SD card device either.
My Device Manager doesn't have that. Closest thing is shown towards bottom . . .

Device Mngr.webp
 

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I use the microSDXC card in the adapter that comes with it except not in our phones, just the card itself. I reformat the SDHC cards in the camera it is intended to be used in, sometimes it can't read a card formatted in the computers. The largest SDHC card I have is 32GB and they all came factory-formatted as FAT32. Windows has a drive size limit of 32GB for FAT32 which also has a 4GB single-file-size limit. The limit doesn't apply in Linux. Mac OS X could usually read NTFS but not write it without adding a program, don't know about the newer macOS. I have WD My Book drive that came formatted as exFAT and marked as for PC and Mac.
 

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I use the microSDXC card in the adapter that comes with it except not in our phones, just the card itself. I reformat the SDHC cards in the camera it is intended to be used in, sometimes it can't read a card formatted in the computers. The largest SDHC card I have is 32GB and they all came factory-formatted as FAT32. Windows has a drive size limit of 32GB for FAT32 which also has a 4GB single-file-size limit. The limit doesn't apply in Linux. Mac OS X could usually read NTFS but not write it without adding a program, don't know about the newer macOS. I have WD My Book drive that came formatted as exFAT and marked as for PC and Mac.

"I reformat the SDHC cards in the camera it is intended to be used in," I tried that per my OP.

That's all way over my head, but can you explain how unplugging the camera for maybe 60 seconds unformatted the card, which worked flawlessly for 15 months before that?
 

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Was the camera actually on when the card was removed? Computers have the Safely Remove option for a reason, cameras have a type of Operating System in them. Static electricity can affect many things, my wife killed one of my motherboards simply by moving the mouse after walking across the carpeted room, I have anti-static touch-pads ever since.
 

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"I reformat the SDHC cards in the camera it is intended to be used in," I tried that per my OP.

That's all way over my head, but can you explain how unplugging the camera for maybe 60 seconds unformatted the card, which worked flawlessly for 15 months before that?
according to diskpart, its not being recognized at all. not promising.

it'd be similar to unlugging a hdd that is running.. cutting power mid operation can cause hardware failures.

quick question - do you have a phone that can take micro sd cards for storage? could try seeing if your phone recognizes it (just a different operating system, so possible) OR you could boot from a linux live usb and see if it will recognize the sd card(s).

Although, if a BRAND NEW one is not recognized by windows either, im very curious as to what could be causing that. Download the portable 64bit (under step 2) and extract to a folder. then plug in one of your sd cards. then launch "partitionwizard.exe" in that extracted folder. post a screenshot of what it detects.

 

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according to diskpart, its not being recognized at all. not promising.

it'd be similar to unlugging a hdd that is running.. cutting power mid operation can cause hardware failures.

quick question - do you have a phone that can take micro sd cards for storage? could try seeing if your phone recognizes it (just a different operating system, so possible) OR you could boot from a linux live usb and see if it will recognize the sd card(s).

Although, if a BRAND NEW one is not recognized by windows either, im very curious as to what could be causing that. Download the portable 64bit (under step 2) and extract to a folder. then plug in one of your sd cards. then launch "partitionwizard.exe" in that extracted folder. post a screenshot of what it detects.


My small iPhone does not have a slot for the card. FWIW: I tried both SD cards (with the adapter for a big slot) in another laptop yesterday and nothing happened then either.

I'm 74 and tired of learning new things. :( All I'm trying to do is keep track of my barn cats.

Why do I have to format a new card? As I noted in an earlier post, I don't recall having to format any new portable drives since floppies. I put the camera and everything together in October 2023, plugged in one of the cards I'd already had, and it's been perfect since.

If I buy a new card will I have to format it?
 

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did you try partitionmagic? apparently those cameras use linux os and will format the cards to EXT4. this has been an issue (i guess) for a while now. some people said it ended up being their cameras. once exchanged, the new cameras detected the cards immediately...

"That card should work if its really what it says it is. There are a alot of counterfeit cards on the market. Formatting in a PC won’t work because the Eufy cameras use Linux OS and Ext4 file system. If the device won’t allow you to detect and format, it’s probably a bum card."

 

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Every SD [max size 2GB], SDHC, and MicroSD card I've seen have come factory formatted as FAT32 up to 32GB [I have 2]. All the USB Thumb drives I've seen have been factory formatted as FAT32, even my HP 256GB. I've read stories of 1TB and 2TB Thumb drives being fake. Wife and I have 4GB Micro SD cards in our cellphones for storing more data than the built-in storage can hold.
 

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You may just need to assign a Drive letter to it if you're just trying to use it in a computer, like using Mini tool to do that. I've recently had this issue too. The card didn't need to be formatted. Sometime Windows just needs to see a drive letter then it will show up.
 

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If I buy a new card will I have to format it?
The SD Memory Card Formatter, link in post #20, from the SD Association is the gold standard for formatting SD cards. If that doesn't work the the card is probably dead.

No, an SD card should come pre-formatted.
 

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did you try partitionmagic? apparently those cameras use linux os and will format the cards to EXT4. this has been an issue (i guess) for a while now. some people said it ended up being their cameras. once exchanged, the new cameras detected the cards immediately...

"That card should work if its really what it says it is. There are a alot of counterfeit cards on the market. Formatting in a PC won’t work because the Eufy cameras use Linux OS and Ext4 file system. If the device won’t allow you to detect and format, it’s probably a bum card."


The card worked flawlessly for 15 months.
 

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Eufy cameras format their SD cards using the ext4 file system, which is common in Linux-based systems.
Eufy Community
Additionally, the recorded video files are encrypted for security purposes.
Eufy Community
As a result, even if you use software that allows Windows to read ext4 file systems, the encrypted video files remain inaccessible outside of the Eufy app. To view or transfer recordings, you should use the Eufy app to download the desired videos to your device, after which they can be accessed normally on your computer.

Eufy offers the Eufy Security app for Android devices, available on the Google Play Store. Google Play

For Windows users, while there isn't a dedicated desktop application, Eufy provides a web portal that allows you to view your security cameras on a computer. Eufy Support
 

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just an add on to the good advice above.
windows cant see or read ext4 you would need a live linux distro which would boot from a usb.
then within the live linux distro use 'disks' to see, remove data or re-format the sd card.

best of luck, Steve ..
 

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The card worked flawlessly for 15 months.
did you use a partitioning program like the one i linked? or AOMEI partition assistant free:

both can read/format ext4
 

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Until they break..

By unplugging the power? Pretty coincidental. 🤷

FWIW, it's working again. I stopped at Dollar General today and got another card for about $16, came home, plugged it into the camera, plugged the camera back in and Eufy formatted it (it would not format the other two cards) and it's recording fine.
 

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    36 GB ram
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By unplugging the power? Pretty coincidental. 🤷

FWIW, it's working again. I stopped at Dollar General today and got another card for about $16, came home, plugged it into the camera, plugged the camera back in and Eufy formatted it (it would not format the other two cards) and it's recording fine.
that'll do it. unplug your pc enough times while its on and one of those times your os won't boot... any electronic can get ruined by power surges. @Andy01 please mark as solved. thanks.
 
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