Memory card issues

Not sure if this is the right place for this post. I have a 16 gb sony pro duo memory card that seems to have files hidden on it is the only way I can describe it. I used recuva to retrieve some lost files and now when I take pics with it some of them will be ok and some will be a mix of the intended pic and a pic that has been deleted from the card.

When I open the card there is nothing on it to delete. Is there any way to completely erase it or re format it? What should I do?

Thanks
Ironhead

ps If anybody knows of a good digital camera forum I would appreciate a link.

 

Have tried to format it but I get the error message that windows could not format this disk.

The format menu choices are as follows,
Capacity: 15.4 Gb
File System: FAT32
Allocation Size: Default
Volume Label: none

These are the only choices available on the drop down menus

Thanks

 

Are you in XP? If you are, you can get NTFS available by flipping a switch in the OS.

Plug the card into the PC using your card reader, then go to your Device Manager (the button on the Hardware tab in System Properties). Right-click on the card there, and select Properties. In there, go to the Policies tab, and move the little black dot to the white circle next to "optimize for performance". Now NTFS should be available as a format option in the drop-down menu.

Have you tried formatting from Device Manager? Sometimes that works better than in File Explorer.

 

I am in XP. Went to the device manager as you said but there is no clear heading that I recognize as my K drive which is where the memory card is plugged into. What heading should I be looking for?

Thanks

 

Hmmm... odd. Try going into Disk Management instead. Right-Click My Computer and pick Manage, and look for a drive of the right size in there. Right-click on it and assign it the drive letter X (or some other letter you know for sure is free) and then try to format it from Disk Management.

 

How do I format the card in the camera plodr? It won't format in windows

 

The format command may be called "erase" in your camera... like plodr says, check the manual.