Formatting a SD memory card?

[shivvy]

I bought a SD memory card to put into a digital photo frame. I loaded pictures on to it from my laptop and it worked in the frame ok.
However when I put the card back into the laptop to add some more photos it said that the card wasnt formatted. What does this mean? I didnt know so I clicked to start the formatting but another box popped up to say that if I did that then all the photos would be erased. Can I not open the SD card unless I format it? And what does formatting do?
Thanks.

[sarah_louise]

Not sure if you did a USB cable transfer the first time but yes Formatting deletes everything.
You must have the copies on your PC originally.
Format the card ( FAT32 if you get an option not NTFS) and try copying the whole batch across.

[gobbledegeek]

Formatting basically wipes the card. For the less technically-minded it's a bit like wiping the chalk off a blackboard, i.e. everything is clean and ready to start afresh. So, if you format the card you will lose all the data (i.e. the photos that are on there).
Presumably you already have the original photos on your laptop so go ahead and format the card then just copy the photos back on afterwards.
Begs the question though why it needs formatting when it worked fine before. Might be a faulty card. If it does it again I'd ask for a replacement (of course if that has the same problem then it could be the digital photo frame that's the culprit).

[shivvy]

Thanks sarah_louise.
I didn't use a USB, I just put the card directly into the laptop and then straight into the photo frame.
Just to clarify - I will click to allow formatting and just reload the photos after it is done?

PS - What does formatting do and do I only need to do it once?

[shivvy]

Sorry gobbledegeek - I didn't see your answer when I was typing my last reply.

I tried formatting but a box has popped up to say that "windows was unable to complete the format".

Any ideas?

[gobbledegeek]

Certainly sounds like a faulty card if Windows couldn't complete the format. You could try running format from a command prompt if you feel comfortable doing that.
Go to Start, Run, type in CMD
In the box that opens up, type FORMAT /? for a list of options
Just make sure you don't format the C: drive or it's bye bye laptop!

[shivvy]

Dont think I'm brave enough for that gobbledegeek!
I will bring it back to the shop and see what they say.
Thanks for the help.