Is reformatting really necessary?

Velvetfoot

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I'm using an A119V3 with 256gb (non endurance) card.
I'm wondering if I should format it every 2 months or just let it ride.
 
You should check the recordings occasionally, I don't think there is any reason to format an A119 V3 regularly, although there isn't much harm in doing so while you are checking it. I don't bother with mine.

Sometimes cards can slow down, and be speeded back up by a format, so for 4K multi channel cameras, people do sometimes see a reliability advantage.
 
I'm using an A119V3 with 256gb (non endurance) card.
I'm wondering if I should format it every 2 months or just let it ride.
The only time I reformat my cards is when installing new firmware - and that only in case there may be some possibility of an incompatibility between firmware versions. I've been doing this for years and never encountered any issues. I have CF cards in my dSLRs that haven't ever been formatted other than when I initially bought them.

Now, that said, if you suspect performance issues with a card a reformat might be a good first step. I had a new 512GB mSD card that was writing well below the advertised speed specifications. It took 2 low-level formats to correct the problem and it's been good since.
 
#1 is looking at your footage captured, and see if it correlate to what you drive.
And if you are anything like me you will find you drive the same routes again and again, so if drive sessions suddenly start to start or end in uncommon places you have a issue of some sort.
And that might be fixed with a format of your memory card, at least it should be one of your first things to do if something are not right.
I park my car in the back yard, and with my getting ready to go i know the first footage of a drive session starting at home is me driving thru the building and onto the street.
I have deliberately slowed my get going time down, so even if i use a 5 second boot delay i have footage from the moment i start moving.
In the old days i had the engine cranked before i got the door closed, im older now and no longer in such hurry.

If you drive like most do, you can push a format back longer than 2 months just fine

Depending on how long and so how many drive sessions you have on a full card, it will probably take 15 minutes or so looking over your files. Personally i tend to have 2X more short drives ( 1-2 miles ) over my long drives that are still pretty short ones with just 30 - 35 minutes to complete.
So even using a 128Gb card in a dual system i still have quite a few days of driving stored on the memory card, and using the event button to lock in events, well just copying off the new ones once every month are fine.

I have no idea WTH are wrong with the Danish drivers ATM, everyone seem to drive acceptable enough for me to not press the event button, so not much youtube worthy footage captured these months.
 
PS. with good systems looking over my driving are most often a "waste" of time, but as i retired person i have plenty of time on my hands and i gladly spend some of it looking over my footage now and then ( just a few seconds from each file i inspect )

And i spend a lot of time in front of the computer, and believe it or not, i actually do other things than this forum too :) it might be open and so me signed in, but i am doing other stuff in another window
 
I'm using an A119V3 with 256gb (non endurance) card.
I'm wondering if I should format it every 2 months or just let it ride.
formatting occasionally can help to keep things healthy, there is no negative aspect aside from the 10 seconds out of your day every two months
 
I was under the impression the occasional format gets rid of all the files that are marked as keepers/events. However, I have a smallish (32) card, drive 1800 to 2400 miles a month and go without formatting for ~4-6 months with never an issue.
 
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I was under the impression the occasional format gets rid of all the files that are marked as keepers/events. However, I have a smallish (32) card, drive 1800 to 2400 miles a month and go without formatting for ~4-6 months with never an issue.

Fully formatting a card erases all the vid files on it including the locked ones. So if you need or want to save something, do that before you format.

My cards get formatted about every two months or so, and sooner if I am having issues with that particular cam. If a card goes into my laptop for any reason it gets formatted before it comes out, then gets formatted in the cam when it goes in there. This seems to work well as I've had nearly zero card problems except for ones which have worn out which all of them will eventually do.

Fun Fact: The type of contacts used in card sockets are 'self cleaning' meaning that when the card (or a similar plug) is removed and reinserted, the contacts rub across each other and wipe away mild corrosion, dirt, or dust to ensure a good connection. So even just removing and reinserting a card occasionally has a benefit for you ;)

Phil
 
I was under the impression the occasional format gets rid of all the files that are marked as keepers/events. However, I have a smallish (32) card, drive 1800 to 2400 miles a month and go without formatting for ~4-6 months with never an issue.
locked files are only marked to not be overwritten, formatting in camera is like a quick format in your computer, it looks empty but it just resets the file allocation table and tells the device that all the memory is available for use
 
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