16GB Format Error

[J P]

After emptying my new 16GB P2 cards on my Mac the usual way, I get a FORMAT ERROR when I reinsert the cards in the camera. I have to format the cards in camera now.

Noticed this on multiple HVXs and multiple 16GB cards.

Why? Solution? (Yes I searched)

[J P]

Noone else has had this problem?

[THoff]

Appears to be something the Mac is doing, there were also reports of problems with the Mac version of P2 Genie when the 16GB cards came out.

Are you absolutely certain that the card was formatted using the FAT32 file system? Do you have a tool that can display the cluster size?

[David Saraceno]

You can't format the card on a Mac.

I tried it several times, and get that error.

[THoff]

That's a serious problem and needs to be addressed immediately.

David, what do you do for the time being? Select all items and delete them? I recall reading of problems resulting from the Mac writing hidden files to the cards when this is done. If Mac owners cannot format or erase P2 cards, they cannot shoot continously because they have to use the camera to format the cards.

[Barry_Green]

Can you format through P2CMS? P2 Viewer lets you format cards, so surely the Mac version lets you format cards?

[mbrand]

Can you format through P2CMS? P2 Viewer lets you format cards, so surely the Mac version lets you format cards?
Just got my HPX500 yesterday. Love it. I am also having some probs with P2 formatting errors. After I dumped the (4) 16 GB P2 cards on my mac using FCP 5.1. I started to notice when I put them back in the camera I got a message that says FORMAT ERR! In slot 2. I moved the card to another slot and I was able to format it, However one of my cards gets a FORMAT ERR! message when inserted in any slot. Bad card? Can I format on my mac? Prob a simple thing I am overlooking. Any ideas?

Mike Brand
mbrand@lafayettehillstudios.com

[krestofre]

In P2CMS go to Tools, then P2 Card Properties. There should be a format option there. Of course I haven't tried it to make sure that the camera can read the cards after this process.

EDIT TO ADD:

Well, despite the PDF manual for P2CMS saying that it can format a P2 card, having sat down to try it I can't figure out how to do it. The "format" button is not where it should be based on the manual.

[Brian@202020]

Just had this same problem. What is the deal Pany? What is the deal Apple?

[tlorenzo]

Seems like the HVX won't automatically format cards anymore (maybe only 16gb) if you delete the LASTCLIP.TXT and the CONTENTS folder from the card. It used to do that, but after the lastest firmware update it won't accept it. I suppose there's a reason why Panasonic has chosen to implement that in the new firmware release.

[J P]

Well, that sucks. Is there a work around?

What is P2CMS?

[jen_luk]

I have been looking for the exact same thing (being able to erase or format P2 cards on my Mac so as to allow shooting continuously w/o having to go into MCR mode on the HVX to format cards) and I believe the following works, as posted by Arrik on post #12 on the thread titled " What's the best way to delete data from a P2 card?":

"in P2CMS you can simply go to Edit>Select ALL then Delete. It prompts you, saying you will lose it for keeps before it actually deletes it."


P2CMS can be found here:
https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/pro-av/support/desk/e/download.htm#p2cms

It looks like Panasonic just put this out 'cuz i have been looking for something like this for the past month and only just noticed it yesterday. It seems to be basically like P2Viewer (Windows-only), but for the Mac.

[oceancoral]

I am having the same problem FORMAT ERR, however it is with only one of my two new 16GB cards. Both bought at the same time... One works just fine. The other, when placed into either slot reads FORMAT ERR on the camera. I tried connecting the camera to my MacBookPro, but it will not recognize it - instead I get an error on the mac saying DISK INSERTION - THE DISK YOU INSERTED WAS NOT READABLE BY THIS COMPUTER. I tried formating the card in the camera several times, but no joy. I can not format the card using the computer because the computer will not recognize it.

I have read the threads on this subject closely and have the current driver version 4.06-00-0.00 loaded in the camera.

This may have nothing to do with it, but I noticed that the serial number on the bad card is lower then the serial # on my good card. The bad serial number is AAE07G372- and the good serial number (a little later) is AA07G384-. I wonder if the bad cards were made in an earlier bad batch? In any case, I think I have a bad card....? :(

[David Saraceno]

Just had this same problem. What is the deal Pany? What is the deal Apple?

Panasonic wrote the program and the manual, not Apple.

Start my normal rant about Panasonic's support for Macintosh.

end rant.