Symptoms Related to GoPro SD Card Problems No.1

• You only set the camera running three times, but my card has an excessive amount of files to download.

Doctors Pep Talk:

This is a common concern for many. They have hit the record button only once, but when they come to the download they can’t understand why they have so many files. Obviously this can raise several questions:

• Is the camera stopping and starting to record on its own?
• Did you download or delete the previous batch of video?

Don’t sweat; what you’re seeing is normal operation of the camera as it controls it’s filing system.

Most Successful Actions.

[icon size=”tiny” icon=”icon-medkit” /]None required!

WHY:

Caused by the formatting of the SD card, this is no cause for concern. Cards are formatted in FAT32 (exFAT for 64GB) and have a maximum file size of 4GB. At this point the data file will be terminated and new file will begin. If it bugs you and you’re worried that you might miss some of the action, try to be more proactive whilst filming. Consciously switch the camera off and back on again if you’re just hanging around to ensure that when something worthwhile is happening the GoPro is unlikely the being swapping to a new file. Be aware that each setting has different data amounts so the time-span to reach the 4GB max will be different on each setting and the Protune will reduce this time if it’s ON.

We recommend firstly formatting the card in the camera and take a quick photo to ensure that it worked. It’s not a big issue and takes only a few seconds. Download your files after every outing especially if you use a 64GB (which we don’t always recommend – see After Hours Clinic); you don’t wait for the drought before you start trying to collect water. At some point every form of data storage will fail, so get into good habits.

Symptoms Related to GoPro SD Card Problems No.2

• Camera keeps switching off.
• Sometimes it’s after 10 or 20 secs, sometimes it’s a matter of minutes.

Doctors Pep Talk:

Not unknown on previous versions, and can be as random as the Paris Metro.

Most Successful Actions.

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• If your Protune is ON, switch it OFF.
• If you using one of the higher HD formats bring it down a notch onto a lower resolution setting.

WHY:
You need to reduce the data rate. If the card can’t write as quick as the camera is capturing it will flag “Game Over” and recording will stop. Protune can be the main offender here, but if you reduce the capture area of the camera that often does the trick. It’s up to you to decide as you experiment with the editing; what’s working better for you less HD and Protune, or higher HD without Protune. It’s most likely that your choice of editing software will help you decide, as there’s no using recording with Protune if your editing suite isn’t capable of processing the extra information

GoPro seem to be addressing this issue, with newer updates placing more control over the data rate functions.

Symptoms Related to GoPro SD Card Problems No.3

• GoPro doesn’t recognize my SD card.
• “no sd” when I switch the camera on.

Most Successful Actions.

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• Remove the battery, count to ten and put it back in.
• If the Sd Card still doesn’t show check the software level. This should now flash up when you switch on.
• If it’s up to date, read on.

WHY:
If the card was originally formatted in another piece of hardware before you’ve decided to drop it in your GoPro, or it arrived pre-formatted from the seller, that could be the root of your problems. If you haven’t already ran the card in your computer, do so. Right-click in explorer and then format in FAT. Choose the FAT option that corresponds to your card. If your computer doesn’t see the card, the possibilities are the following:

• You do have a problem card.
• The card is formatted in FAT, FAT32 or exFAT and the camera has an issue.
• You may want to read the After Hours TAB if your computer is getting “old”

Symptoms Related to GoPro SD Card Problems No.4

• Computer doesn’t recognize my SD card.

Most Successful Actions.

[icon size=”tiny” icon=”icon-ambulance” /]Check out the After-Hours Clinic for Computer Surgery.

WHY:

If you have a 64GB card, it will be exFAT formatted in the GoPro. If your computer does not see it you may have a compatibility issue on the computer side which will give you later editing problems; both PC and mac users should be aware that older OS versions won’t recognize an exFAT format on a 64GB.