CF MEMORY CARD PROBLEM WITH 20D

I recently purchased a SanDisk 8.0 GB Extreme IV CF card. When I put it in my

20D it says err cf. Testing on a PC shows that it is actually a 8.0 GB card.

When I put it into a s400 or a Rebel, it works fine and gives readings that

confirm it is a 8.0GB card. Has anyone encountered this problem? If so have you

found a solution?

 

It will give the same err cf when put into a 30D.

 

Canon tech support hasn't a clue.

 

Thanks for any help...Jim

How old is your 20D, and have you upgraded to the latest firmware? I think it is 2.0.3

Hello Jim,

 

the first time I put an Extreme III 4G or 8G card in my 20D I had the same message, so did a friend. It's not a problem, just format the card in the camera and it will work perfectly.

 

You can expect to get around a thousand RAW files at iso-100 with 8G.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Pete

Jim,

 

Did it help ?

I am considering the same card...

Thanks guys for your responses.

 

Let me respond to them in order.

 

Mike, I have upgraded to 2.0.3 . It didn't help.

 

Pete, I tried to format it on a 30D and the formatted size came out at 249 MB! No matter what I try to do at this point, the card stays at 249 MB. This seems to be a strange number but that what the computer says.

 

I should say that I have two 8 Gig cards available, a 20D and a 30D to work with. I'm not willing at this point to try and format the remaining card on the 20D until I can figure out how to get the first one back to 8 gigs. All my efforts, which have been considerable, have been to naught in trying to get back to 8 gigs. Even using some programs in Linux that I have used to restore hard drive size didn't help.This may have some thing to do with it being an extreme IV card but what? That should only make the read and write speed faster. I would think the 20D and the 30D should be able to handle that. Particularly since the little S400 does as well as the Rebel.

 

Wido, I think this answers your question.

 

Jim

I had a problem with an 8GB Sandisk Ultra II. I have three altogether. I had a problem with one when I got it. I formatted it on the computer before I had used it in the camera. I could take pictures and review them on the camera but the computer generated an error with I tried to open the DCIM folder. Nothing worked to get the images off the card.

 

I formatted the card in the camera and it has worked fine since. It seems it is very important to format the card for first time use in the camera.

I use an Ultra II 8 GB card. If memory serves, I had to flip a tiny switch on the card, to have it act as an 8 GB card.

I'd call Lexar, not Canon. They should be able to help.

 

When formatting on a PC make sure the format is FAT32, not NTFS, though formating in the camera is always a safer bet (if it works!).

 

Have you tried the Lexar "Image Rescue" program? I think it comes free with their "pro" level cards. It has a card format option. If that doesn't work, I'd send the card back to Lexar.

Thanks for your responses.

 

I'm about to get up the nerve to try formatting the second card on the 20D. I can't use it like it is except in the Rebel which I rarely use any more. If I do try it I will let you know how it comes out. The thing I am concerned about is that the cards are Extreme IV and this seems to make a difference some how.

 

Bob, the card is a SanDisk not a Lexar. I have talked to SanDisk and they say it should work. It was at their suggestion that I tried formating the one card on the 30D. Their web site lists both the 30D and the 20D as being compatible with the 8 gig card.

 

I had noticed that the file system is FAT32 on the card. I tried formatting it again on the Rebel. It is a FAT16 format but the second card works great on it.

 

To be continued..Jim

My mistake, sorry! I should have read your post before I reponded...somewhow I got it in my mind you were using a Lexar card.

 

Fat 16 only supports 2GB as far as I know. To format an 8GB card at 8GB, you need to use FAT32. It's possible that early Rebels and Digicams may have used FAT16 by default and expected only cards under 2GB with their original firmware.

As far as the computer's concerned, the card is just a little FAT32 hard drive. You can't do any damage that dozens of Windows reformatting utilities won't fix.

 

As Bob points out, leaving it in FAT16 will ignore about 6 GB of the card, so alternate between computer and camera formatting utilities until you find one that works on both sides. Or, return it and buy 2 4GB cards instead. I've never heard of anyone having problems with those.

 

DI

Folks, I got a problem even with the 4GB card with my 350D. I used the camera to format the card. It is using FAT32. I got ERR 02 when the card is almost full and the camera can't write anymore.

 

See my post in another thread. Anyone having a similiar problem.

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Kfwa

David and Bob,

 

Thanks for your responses.

 

Yes, I am well aware of the FAT16 VS the FAT32 issue. I was just pointing out that was what the Rebel used but even the other 8 gig card seems to work in it. I don't know if it is reading all 8 gigs or not. Probably not.

 

I have used just about every reformatting utility that I can think of with NO luck. This includes some Linux stuff that still sees it as a 249 MB card and reformats it that way. My original thought was that the camera had created a 249 MB partition and that some thing like Q Parted would show that and it would be easy to fix. Q Parted shows it as having a single partition of 249 MB. Maybe I will yet find a way to return it to 8 gigs then I will try formatting the other card on the 20D.

 

Jim

...and you've checked that there's no switch on the card limiting the capacity (or that it's set correctly)?

M Barbu,

 

Right, there is no switch.

 

Jim

I presume you've tried a low level format? These days most formatting routines are high level. People have forgotten the old low level format routines that really did erase all the data on the disk, not just the FAT. If you do have some sort of partitions setup by accident, a low level format should wipe them out.

 

I've never low level formatted a CF card, so you might want to check with Sandisk before you try it.

 

Otherwise I guess there's always a chance that the card is simply a bad card and need to go back for exchange under warranty.

Bob,

 

I appreciate your continued thoughts on this problem. No I have not tried a low level format because all the utilities I have available to me at this time indicate there is only 1 partition on the card and it is 249 MB. Before it was formatted on the 30D, my utilities indicated that it was a 8 gig with FAT 32 file system. It worked with my Rebel as well as with the little S400 so I don't think the card is faulty.

 

Now, since then I got up my nerve and tried formatting the second card with the 20D with the latest firmware installed. It also returned from formatting with a 248 MB single partition and get this..with a FAT 16 file system put on by the 20D! I should have formatted it with the Rebel I guess. My feeling that there is a fundamental issue between the 20D/30D firmware and the extreme IV cards since some folks have successfully formatted an 8 gig extreme II.

 

Sooner or later I will find a way to get the 8 gigs back. In the mean time, I have a couple of 2 gig and a 4 gig card.

 

Keep on thinking though and let me know what you come up with.

 

Now I have a double reason for finding a way to return it to 8 gigs.

 

Later...Jim

is it conceivable that what you bought was in fact a counterfeit card - theyre very common online. Id check for a serial number or any type on the side of the card - usually that means theyre good. I think if it was a counterfeit one, formatting it would expose its actual capacity, which seems to be what happened - just a thought.

good luck!

From what I've been reading it sounds like you did get a mislabeled/counterfeit card. It's not uncommon for defective cards to get diverted from the manufacturers in asia and relabeled as something else that gets sold at tech shows, electronics flea markets, or low end online sellers.

Mark and Alex et all,

 

Here is the final answer. Mark and Alex have come up with the correct solution. I found this out in a THIRD conversation with the SanDisk customer support just a day before Mark made his post. Since then I have been doing some research on how this was possible. The main clue as Mark indicated is the absence of a serial number. Although, I have a SanDisk 2 gig with no S/N that works just fine. It was bought locally from a reputable electronics dealer.

 

Being a retired prof in Electrical and Computer Engineering, I have some contacts in industry that helped me understand how the fake was done. In the CF cards there is the memory but also there is a small microprocessor chip that acts as a disk controller just like the ones in your computer. It is possible to program the controller to tell the outside world anything you want it to. So when you look at the chip with a computer or a camera, it says I'm 8GB or whatever is put into the controller. My contacts theory is that these are discarded "bad" cards that didn't check out as 8 gigs and were passed on to crooks and thieves by some one at the factory who then programmed the controller chip and put them on the market.

 

I guess the moral of this story is one told over and over "buyer beware" particularly on the internet.

 

I paid with PayPal and they are trying to resolve the issue. I don't know what will come of it but maybe all of us who have posted to this thread will have learned something.

 

Thanks to all who have contributed to this discussion.

 

Later...Jim.

One final comment. I bought two 8 gig Sandisk extreme IV cards from a reputable dealer here in the good ole USA. They both had the S/N and made in China on them and checked out just fine in my 20D. It will allow 846 RAW or 597 Raw+.jpeg shots. Now that is a full day's shooting I think.

 

Later...Jim

One final, final comment. I received a note from PayPal and they have recovered my full refund including shipping charges! It has already been deposited to my account. How about that? If you're not using PayPal...consider doing so.