G1W card formatting issue

[Sp3aK]

New G1W owner, was having issue with card formatting. As I typed this post I ended up resolving my own dilemma but I figured I would post anyways in case others search for this issue.

Brand new SanDisk microSDHC card, 32gb size, used on-screen/camera formatting option and kept getting "Custer size wrong, please format" on the screen. I ended up assuming that they meant CLUSTER size, or also called Allocation size, which is a formatting option when you format the card on a computer.

It was at 16k to start, tried 64k (no luck), then 32k. Magic! Worked right away and started recording when I turned the car on. Playback on the camera worked fine, brought it in and played on the computer fine too.

Even with that resolved though I can't get the computer to recognize the camera in "Mass Storage" mode, but having the SD card directly into the computer works fine. I won't worry about that so much.

 

[CheckYourLights]

I had a complete memory error with this brand and size card even formatting it inside the camera it self would not work, but the card works fine in my WF1.
Glad you got your issue sorted out though.
If you happen to have anymore card issues I would suggest trying a different brand. I switched to Transcend in my G1W and it is working great now.

 

[Sp3aK]

Not sure if this is a card issue, camera issue, or both.

After a trip home I decided to take the camera out and hook it up to the TV to see how the video playback was. Camera came on into video record mode and displayed on the TV fine. Pressed mode 2x (slowly) and it froze when transitioning from camera to playback mode. Happened over and over, so I just gave up. Took it back out to the car and when it came on it wouldn't record anymore. I ended up having to format again in order to get it to work. After this mornings trip to work I just slide the card out and brought it in and the videos playback excellently. Date/time is set properly, resolution ans FPS is correct, and 5min continuous recording seems to work well.

IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE! The on-camera format function does not seem to work for me with this particular card. I have to format on the PC, then everything is fine.

@CheckYourLights - I will certainly switch brands if I have any more problems, thanks!

 

[drmdrm]

Thanks saved me a lot of guess working - had the "Custer size wrong, please format" error on a new SJ1000. Tried the format 32k and then did a test record which worked. I'd buy you a beer if you lived nearby lol. Cheers.

 

[Sp3aK]

Glad it helped someone!

Side note to my original post: Even after proper formatting and what not I continued to have issues with my 32gb SanDisk card. I bought a 16gb Transcend card and used the on-camera format function (which the SanDisk card had problems with) and it's worked flawlessly. Oh well, now I have a card for something else I guess.

 

[Gurkha9]

Was it a Class 10 UHS-1 Sandisk?

 

[Sp3aK]

I'm honestly not sure. The eBay listing for the one I bought is gone now and I don't have the package. I'm pretty sure it was not class 10 though.

The Transcend definitely WAS as Class 10 UHS-1 though. Would stand to reason that's why the sandisk didn't work.

 

[zeebob]

Several days ago new SJ1000 camera arrived. As expected, no SD card was included, so I checked my old supplies and found several years old micro SDHC 4GB card. It was recognized by camera (no "insert card" prompt) and it was recording snapshots. After making few snapshots and reviewing them O.K., I turned Video ON, but camera responded with blue screen and "custer size wrong, please format" error message. After reformatting card on two different computers, and also from Linux operating system, I was getting the same message. Having no more material to experimenting with, and suspecting that outdated card cannot keep up with current technology, I ordered two San Disk Ultra SDHC cards class 10. Three or four days later (it was yesterday) I was reading short instruction which came with SJ1000 concerning installation of SD card. Stupidly I was following manual to the letter, and after reading "before using new card, please format it on your computer", I did it. The result - "custer size wrong, please format" was a new greeting from camera. I was getting really suspicious. Possibility that I received broken camera was real, but it was making snapshots and playing them back. And I had another card not checked yet. Without formatting it, I loaded it in camera and pressed "record" button. Camera recorded without the glitch in all available resolutions. Later, on line I learned, that SanDisk cards are coming pre-formatted and need no additional formatting. Also learned, that Windows drivers are bad and cause multiple problems. The more specific questions I was asking Google, the more precise answers I was getting. After some readings I decided on downloading from SD Association the SD Formatter 4.0 for Windows (they have it for Mac too). After installation on my Win XP, the shortcut ikon was created on desktop. The USB card reader with damaged card in it, was connected to PC and Formatter icon was clicked. It immediately recognized the card and opened splash screen where after few commands, the card was formated. The camera accepted the card and without any problems started recording. The camera prompt "custer size wrong" is a misspelling of word "cluster" and gives a hint, that probably the same software is used for more than one camera. Cameras have limited number of prompts to use for information why it is not working. The same prompt "custer size wrong" can be used for more than one condition, so your problem might be different, but at least for some group of people my experience and solution might work.

 

[Screen name taken]

I have had no problem formatting cards using the camera. Both 32gb class 10 and a 4 GB SDHC (some may call this a class 4).
I have read it is advisable to format cards on the devise you are intending to use them in.

 

[Sp3aK]

@zeebob: Thank you for sharing your troubles and solution. My camera has been great using a Transcend brand for a couple of weeks now. I guess it will all just be hit or miss as to what brand and type works.

I suppose for a camera that cost $52 I shouldn't complain too much though! Other than the card formatting issue this G1W has been great.

@Screen name taken: With my SanDisk card I did attempt to format it on the camera, it didn't like it. The Transcend card formatted on the camera no problem.

 

[jwc]

I've purchased 2 G1Ws for myself and 3rd for my grandson plus 5 Transcend 32GB UHS-1 cards (so we both have a 'spare') and the cards are working perfectly. So it seems that Transcend is the 'worry free' and 'guaranteed to work' way to go with the G1W. I don't work for, nor am I related to anyone who works for, Transcend. I'm just very glad that I started with Transcend and didn't have to endure the problems that others have reported with San Disk cards.

 

[zeebob]

To make it clear. I took part in the discussion, because I saw the "custer wrong size, please reformat" prompt cited at the beginning of discussion. My camera was bearing different name "SJ1000", but belonged to apparently the same family of Chinese sport / dash cameras sharing the same software. How I know it? Because the same wording of error message with the same misspelled "cluster" word. My SanDisk card was perfect in camera when I did not messed with it. It stopped working a f t e r I, following camera manual advice, formatted it using standard Win XP Pro with all later upgrades installed, formatting program. My Windows gave me only choice of fast formatting and only in 32mb clusters, so there was nothing left for user to adjust. Also again, a f t e r I formatted it second time, using newly installed Formatter, card was recognized by the camera and works perfectly since. So the simple logic tells me that it is a bit a stretch to blame SanDisk for bad or let's call it "not properly updated" Windows formatting applet. I do not know exactly what kind of question camera was asking card during HAND SHAKE, but apparently the answer was not satisfactory. After second reformatting, camera was happy with answer and started recording. Is good to remember that every software has very limited number of error messages and often the message is unable to tell user exactly what is the problem. My guess is, that after being formatted in Windows, card lost it's ability to report it's speed to camera. This was why camera was taking still pictures but refusing record super high resolution video which demands very high speed from the card. It is just my guess and possibly it was another info, camera couldn't get. So I ended my first entry with sentence, that my problem might be different but SanDisk damaged by Windows format, which was later repaired by Formatter is a very high quality card and works perfectly in my camera which apparently is run by very similar software to Sp3aK. I just wanted to help and give the reader one more chance before buying a new card. The Formatter is free to download. And I also need to end with disclaimer that I just purchased SJ100 camera few days ago, run into troubles not because SanDisk, but because my formatting in Windows, have no connections to SanDisk, nor Formatter about which I learned from Google search engine just two days ago. These kind of discussions are being read by many people looking for help, so my 3 cents was aimed not only to respond to question asked by Sp3aK, but also to help those Googling on line with search for help.

 

[niko]

You have a point. There are ways to make SanDisk working on "fussy" dash cameras, but for Average Joe going trough all those steps, reading forums on what formatter is good what is not, downloading ,experimenting, testing etc, - this is big pain in the a ..., so average Joe chose easiest and more fool-proof way to by other brand memory cards that works "plug and play". Hope you see my point

 

[zeebob]

Perfectly agree that some of us might prefer simple answers which just work. However too simple answers might lead to bad decisions. Just for the sake of widening of our points of view, few minutes ago I made additional test. I formatted old 512MB Kingston (marked micro SD), at least one- perhaps 2 years old SanDisk 4GB (marked microSDHC, class unknown), and purchased few days ago 32GB SanDisk Ultra (marked microSDHC I, and sold by Amazon as Class10). Class10 SanDisks are two-colored with SanDisk Ultra inscription on red background and 32MB microSDHC I on gray background with additional number 1 in U letter in bottom left corner. All those cards reformatted again to regular SD format using quick format and standard 32MB clusters, the only available option on my desktop computer. All cards stopped working on the camera giving me the same, well known error message.. Next I reformatted them on camera with following results: Oldest, Kingston 512MB card gave still the same message. Taking the snapshots manually was still O.K. Obviously the problem was not a bad formatting but just too slow card, camera however had only this one message to offer. Two other SanDisk cards were recording normally on highest video settings. I could offer only results of my experience and test only cards in my possession. If this info helped somebody to solve his/her problem, I would be glad to hear.

 

[niko]

Perfectly agree that some of us might prefer simple answers which just work. However too simple answers might lead to bad decisions. Just for the sake of widening of our points of view, few minutes ago I made additional test. I formatted old 512MB Kingston (marked micro SD), at least one- perhaps 2 years old SanDisk 4GB (marked microSDHC, class unknown), and purchased few days ago 32GB SanDisk Ultra (marked microSDHC I, and sold by Amazon as Class10). Class10 SanDisks are two-colored with SanDisk Ultra inscription on red background and 32MB microSDHC I on gray background with additional number 1 in U letter in bottom left corner. All those cards reformatted again to regular SD format using quick format and standard 32MB clusters, the only available option on my desktop computer. All cards stopped working on the camera giving me the same, well known error message.. Next I reformatted them on camera with following results: Oldest, Kingston 512MB card gave still the same message. Taking the snapshots manually was still O.K. Obviously the problem was not a bad formatting but just too slow card, camera however had only this one message to offer. Two other SanDisk cards were recording normally on highest video settings. I could offer only results of my experience and test only cards in my possession. If this info helped somebody to solve his/her problem, I would be glad to hear.

Thanks for finding time to do those tests. For those people who are not lazy to spend 5-10 minutes for formatting, - it is good advice to try before changing / buying a new flash card

 

[zeebob]

Thank you Niko. One more thing worth mentioning for full clarification. These cameras when working alone, are designed to follow their own menus. However when connected to PC by USB cable, they are programmed to surrender themselves to PC. Sensing USB connection, camera displays two options to chose from: "do you want me to be your eye?" or "do you want me to be your mass storage drive?". If no choice is made, camera will be charging its battery from USB, and stop charging automatically when full. If "mass storage" option was chosen, camera will open its storage card to the computer and lose its control of it. Computer, once access was granted, can copy, play back and erase some or all content of card. Also if we chose to format card on camera from the computer via USB connection, formatting program on the computer will do the job. So, if something is wrong with computer program, the card could be disabled regardless of being physically on the camera. On these cameras "formatting on the camera and by the camera" is only true when formatting is executed using "FORMAT" command from camera menu. Oh and in my previous post, when describing look of the class 10 SanDisk, I wrote 32MB instead of 32GB. Sorry for that, it was about 2:00am

 

[Joe D]

To Format an SD card simply plug in the device and co to "computer"
Right click the device then click "format". Then select 32kj or something along the lines of that
Then click Start and it will format your device to work
Hope this helps people who Don't have a clue what formatting is
Joe

 

[Duke]

I put in a 64gb sdxc class10 and it formatted it to exfat. It was previously fat32 as it was used in another device that couldn't read more than 32gb. After g1w formatted it, it was put in a computer and it read 64gb size.


Regards
Duke

 

[TOAN NGUYEN]

Hi all,

I bought a G1WH from foxoffer 2 days ago.
I also bought a Kingston 32G class 10 from them.
It worked fine at first. But know it is showing "memory error" after 2, 3 min of recording.
Sometimes it shows this error just after 20 , 30 secs.
I used the FORMAT function on the camera, it was formatted OK. The camera recognized the disk afterwards but it did not help with the error.
I used the FORMAT in windows 7 ( 32 K cluster size ), same story.
I used guiformat , same story .
I alsready send an email to the foxoffer support team but so far no reply .

Please help !

REGARDS,
TOAN NGUYEN

 

[jokiin]

First step would be try another card