Information Addicts

The great thing about todays Phones, Smartphones and Pocket PC/Phones it that you can expand their memory with either Compact flash, SD cards, micro SD cards or other various forms of flash memory.

I was reading a magazine article sometime ago and a reader asked if he should format his newly bought flash memory card. The editor wrote that you should always format a new memory card, because this can prevent errors on the card which can lead to file or data loss, and I totally agree.

So which format should you use FAT, (which is also called FAT16 which stands for file allocation table) or FAT32?
If your flash memory card is between 16MB – 512MB and used for general purpose then format it with FAT16.
If you have a flash memory card over 512MB then use FAT32 if it is going to be used for normal use, for example reading and writing a mixture of data, music, and video.
In general and for most typical card formats the above advice will give optimum performance and maximum space.
However saying that some devices don’t seem to like FAT32 format and therefore just use FAT.

If your are unsure then I recommend that you read the manual that comes with your flash memory card.

If you already use a flash memory card and it is constantly displaying errors, or it doesn’t seem to be reading or writing correctly then it is a good idea to format it.

How do you format your flash memory card?

The easiest way is to use a memory card reader, these are inexpensive and can read various flash memory cards here are a few, USB 2.0 Hi-speed 15-IN-1 and also the 53-in-1 memory card reader
If you’re using Windows XP then simply plug the memory card reader in a USB port and Windows will instantly recognize it. Cancel any dialog boxes that appear.

1. Open Windows Explorer (Windows Key + E)
2. Right Click on the Flash Memory Card Drive
3. Select “Format…”
4. Choose the File System (FAT or FAT32) you want from the drop-down box
5. Choose the Allocation Unit Size (4096 byte or 4KB is good) if you are given this option
6. Uncheck the “Quick Format” button
7. You can give your card a name if you so wish
8. Click the “start” button
9. Once formatted you will be presented with a summary of the results at the end
10.Take the memory card out of your card reader and pop it in the Phone or device.

And that’s it, this will help to keep your memory card in tip top condition.

Popularity: 15% [?]

This entry was posted on Friday, February 15th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.