When formatting a SD card, should I use the "official tool"?

[pes2013]

Hello

Im wondering if I should use the "official tool" to format my SD card.

https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/

[FiB3R]

Only if formatting via your OS is causing you some sort of problem.

[articuno1au]

Pretty much dead on.

Some times it'll cause the device to be unreadable after moving between devices. If you find this is the case, use the tool :)

[pes2013]

What I ment by the question (sorry that I wasn't clear) is that should I format thru

My OS

This tool

My mobile device

?

[articuno1au]

If you have the official tool, you may as well use it O.o

[xendrome]

a format is a format is a format.... not really sure why anyone thinks one utility over another is formatting it any differently.. FAT32 is FAT32 and NTFS is NTFS...

[FiB3R]

a format is a format is a format.... not really sure why anyone thinks one utility over another is formatting it any differently.. FAT32 is FAT32 and NTFS is NTFS...

When doing stuff like "soft modding" a Wii, using Windows to format the SD card has been known to cause problems. That's why in most guides, regarding said mod, you will see Panasonic's SD card formatting tool being recommended.

[articuno1au]

Same is true of a lot of top end DSLRs.. There are definitely compatibility issues, although I suspect it's due to the card designs >.>

[ingramator]

a format is a format is a format.... not really sure why anyone thinks one utility over another is formatting it any differently.. FAT32 is FAT32 and NTFS is NTFS...

Not entirely true. Different tools can only pickup certain filesystems and so when you go to the format the card it will only format the viewable allocation. Using the official tool will endure the ENTIRE SD card is formatted as opposed to just the viewable section. I highly recommend the official SD card tool for formatting if you are changing filesystems or using it for embedded devices which can sometimes soft corrupt the card! Otherwise if you are just using it on your PC formatting using Windows will work perfectly.

[pes2013]

Not entirely true. Different tools can only pickup certain filesystems and so when you go to the format the card it will only format the viewable allocation. Using the official tool will endure the ENTIRE SD card is formatted as opposed to just the viewable section. I highly recommend the official SD card tool for formatting if you are changing filesystems or using it for embedded devices which can sometimes soft corrupt the card! Otherwise if you are just using it on your PC formatting using Windows will work perfectly.

Great post :) Ill use the official SD card tool then.

[Polarman]

I use several SD cards (lexar) for my Canon camera. I just use the format option inside the camera. Mixing SD cards with several cameras or others would be inadvisable and would lead to errors.

I also use the lexar usb3 reader when i have to transfer the pictures. It's much faster than the cable.