My flash card is not seen by my device or shows a card error in the device, but it works OK in another device. Why?

Depending on what the device supports, you may be running into a incompatibility related issue. To confirm, you should refer to your device’s user manual for assistance. Please see below for more details. Card Type - With various card types available, it's important to make sure you are using one that is supported by your device. For example, some card types include: SDHC, SDXC, and SDUC. Although some devices may support all three card types, older devices may only support one or two. Please check your devices user manual to confirm which card types it supports. Card Capacity - Along with card types, there is also card capacity. With card capacities ranging from less than 2GB up to 128TB and above, it is important to confirm which capacities are supported by the device in question. File System - The File System can also cause support related symptoms. With the various card capacities comes different File Systems, such as FAT, NTFS, and exFAT to name a few. Please check your devices user manual to confirm which File Systems are supported. If your card is utilizing an unsupported File System, you may be able to resolve by reformatting the card with a compatible File System.

My flash card that is above 32GB shows up as not formatted in my device after formatting it in Windows. Why?

Many devices that use flash cards may only recognize a FAT32 file system. However, the Windows format utility will automatically default the file system to exFAT for any removable storage device above 32GB. Additionally, it will not give the option to format with FAT32 file system. Therefore, due to the exFAT file system, your device may not see the file system and therefore identify the card as not formatted. The best practice is to reformat the card in the device you primarily use the card with.

Why is the available storage capacity of my product slightly less than the advertised capacity?

This is common for flash storage, whether internal SSD or external USB storage. It is due in part to a variance in how flash memory vs spinning platter hard drive manufacturers calculate megabyte. Hard drive manufacturers calculate a megabyte (or 1,000x1,000 bytes) as 1,000KBs, whereas the binary calculation for flash-based storage is 1,024KBs. Example: For a 1TB flash-based storage device, Windows will calculate it as having a capacity of 931.32GB. (1,000,000,000,000÷1,024÷1,024÷1,024=931.32GB). Furthermore, Kingston reserves some of the listed capacity for formatting and other functions, such as firmware and/or controller-specific information, and thus some of the listed capacity is not available for data storage. <div class="clearfix"></div>

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This is common for flash storage, whether internal SSD or external USB storage. It is due in part to a variance in how flash memory vs spinning platter hard drive manufacturers calculate megabyte. Hard drive manufacturers calculate a megabyte (or 1,000x1,000 bytes) as 1,000KBs, whereas the binary calculation for flash-based storage is 1,024KBs.

Example: For a 1TB flash-based storage device, Windows will calculate it as having a capacity of 931.32GB. (1,000,000,000,000÷1,024÷1,024÷1,024=931.32GB).

Furthermore, Kingston reserves some of the listed capacity for formatting and other functions, such as firmware and/or controller-specific information, and thus some of the listed capacity is not available for data storage.

FAQ: KDT-010611-GEN-06

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Warning: Formatting your flash card will erase all data files!

FORMAT ON DEVICE (i.e. Digital Camera)
Most devices that support flash cards (i.e. camera) will have a format utility. Before using this feature, make sure the flash card capacity and type is supported by the device. Also make sure the format (e.g., FAT32) options offered by the device are compatible with other device you might plan to pair the flash card with. To format the card, follow the Format instructions provided in the user's manual of the device.

FORMAT ON WINDOWS PC/NOTEBOOK
Type "This PC" in the Windows search window and press Enter. Locate and highlight the drive that corresponds with the card reader containing the flash card. Then with the right mouse button, right-click the drive and select "Format" from the pop-up menu to access the format utility.

Choose the file system that is appropriate for the card size and the device you plan to pair the flash card with. Note, 2GB and below (standard capacity) should use FAT, 4GB to 32GB (High Capacity) typically use FAT32. With capacities 64GB and above (Extended Capacity), we recommend using exFAT. Once you make this selection, click Format to complete the format process.

FORMAT ON macOS PC/NOTEBOOK

If you are using a card reader connected to a macOS system, open the "Go" menu and double-click on Utilities (If you do not see Utilities, double-click on Applications and then double-click the Utilities folder). Double-click on the Disk Utility icon. On the Disk Utility Dialog box, select the flash card's active partition. Note: There will be two listings for the card, the first one is the active partition and the second is the volume label. Click the erase tab located on the right side of the screen. Using the Volume Format drop-down, select “MS-DOS File System” from the list. Click Erase.

FAQ: KFC-012611-GEN-07

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