Hi folks. Today, after my fifth flight, I removed my SD Card from my Mavic Air 2 (as I normally do), I plugged it into my Windows PC... and I've got this error message: "Warning: you need to format the disk in drive J: before you can use it".

I ran CHKDSK, and it said "Corruption was found while examining the boot region.". Full result at the end of the message.

I then tried CHKDSK /F (in Admin mode, of course), but it could not fix it: "An error occurred while examining the boot region."

The funny thing is that if I plug the SD in my Mavic Air 2, I can see pictures & videos, I can play them, I can download them on the connected iPhone... but the SD is not readable at all from my Windows PC.

Thankfully I've been able to recover all pictures & videos using a recovery software (Recuva): all files were there, in perfect shape. The tool was able to recover all of them in a snap.

But I am definitely concerned now. The SD is a brand new SandDisk Extreme 128Gb, v30 A2 Class 3. Now I will format it before each future flight, but I am afraid it could not be enough.

Any idea about a possible reason for this terrifying experience?

Bye!
A.-

P.S. below the result of CHKDSK:

C:\Users>chkdsk J:
The type of the file system is exFAT.
Windows found errors on the disk, but will not fix them
because disk checking was run without the /F (fix) parameter.
Corruption was found while examining the boot region.
Windows is verifying files and folders...
File and folder verification is complete.

Windows has checked the file system and found problems.
Run CHKDSK with the /F (fix) option to correct these.

124864640 KB total disk space.
   2804096 KB in 89 files.
      1664 KB in 13 indexes.
         0 KB in bad sectors.
       256 KB in use by the system.
122058624 KB available on disk.

    131072 bytes in each allocation unit.
    975505 total allocation units on disk.
    953583 allocation units available on disk.

Your card reader may not support SDXC cards. Just because the card fits in the reader doesn't mean it's supported.

Same here. Same card, same problem.

Recovery software which I use (CardRecover) was able to recover files but they were unusable. However, I was able to download them from MA2 directly to my mobile (with the exception of H.265 files for which download is not supported) and than from mobile to PC.

Seems like MA2 is doing something to the card which may corrupt it and make it readable only to MA2.
This is random. Happened to me only once - but it is enogh to lose faith.

DJI, please check.

Mirek

Hi. What version of Windows are you running? I am running Windows 10 and I always seem to get some type of error message when hooking up removable storage devices but I just disregard the messages and my PC will still access the data.

Magicdroner Posted at 6-22 17:31
Hi. What version of Windows are you running? i am running Windows 10 and I always seem to get some type of error message when hooking up removable storage devices but I just disregard the messages and my PC will still access the data.

Yes, that has been my experience also, I just ignore the message and get on with it. I have never needed any sort of recovery software, and frankly, I would not risk using it. The other method, which is better than going through your phone, is to connect the aircraft to your PC using a USB cable, and download the data that way. But it requires the aircraft to be powered on during the process.

Assuming the MA2 can read the files, just hook up the usb-c cable to the MA2 and PC and download the files. Once done, reformat the card using the FLY app and test with card reader and PC . Maybe the MA2 was still recording a video when it was turned off.

MisterFrag Posted at 6-22 16:42
Your card reader may not support SDXC cards. Just because the card fits in the reader doesn't mean it's supported.

Hi MisterFrag. It is the card reader I am always using (and used in the past to read this card)...

Pappy3 Posted at 6-22 20:02
Assuming the MA2 can read the files, just hook up the usb-c cable to the MA2 and PC and download the files. Once done, reformat the card using the FLY app and test with card reader and PC . Maybe the MA2 was still recording a video when it was turned off.

No folks, you cannot use the drone as "Card reader". I've tried it: you can only download data from the "internal memory" of the drone. The SD does not appear...

MisterMagoo Posted at 6-23 02:33
No folks, you cannot use the drone as "Card reader". I've tried it: you can only download data from the "internal memory" of the drone. The SD does not appear...

False, I have personally done this. On Windows 10 it shows two drives from the MA2 and I have downloaded videos files in this way. It is not as fast as putting the microSD card in a card reader, but it possible.

Geebax Posted at 6-22 17:35
Yes, that has been my experience also, I just ignore the message and get on with it. I have never needed any sort of recovery software, and frankly, I would not risk using it. The other method, which is better than going through your phone, is to connect the aircraft to your PC using a USB cable, and download the data that way. But it requires the aircraft to be powered on during the process.

We are talking about two different things:

• PC warning that the SD card needs fixing - you can ignore it.
• Corrupted card which PC cannot read and asks to format - you cannot ignore it.
  

There is nothing you can do in second case since Windows 10 does not recognize the card at all. You can either use recovery software or you can put the card in MA2 and download files from there to mobile and than reformat the corrupted SD.

MA2, for some reason, sometimes causes card corruption which PC (Windows 10) cannot deal with, yet, this corruption is OK with MA2.

Mirek

Pappy3 Posted at 6-23 05:50
False, I have personally done this. On Windows 10 it shows two drives from the MA2 and I have downloaded videos files in this way. It is not as fast as putting the microSD card in a card reader, but it possible.

Pappy3, sorry about that: yes, you're right, I've just tried now once more, and checked more carefully.
I can see two disks (one is the internal memory, the second is my SD): unfortunately, the  SD is still not readable... therefore: the drone can USE the card, but it cannot let Windows use it :-)

Pappy3 Posted at 6-23 05:50
False, I have personally done this. On Windows 10 it shows two drives from the MA2 and I have downloaded videos files in this way. It is not as fast as putting the microSD card in a card reader, but it possible.

Pappy3,

There is an issue with MA2 and SD cards.MA2 uses SD in such a way that they are not readable when MA2 is connected to PC and, occasionaly, they may become corrupted and not being readable when connected to PC card reader (while still being readable by MA2).

Here is what happens when I connect my MA2 directly to PC. The SD card is not corrupted (I can read it from PC card reader) but it is not recognized by Windows 10 when it is inside MA2 and MA2 is connected via USB to my PC.

Mirek

--------------------------------------------

1. First of all, try a different USB port. Plug in and restart the PC.

2. I think the system volume information is corrupt. You should format the SD card (Quick)

Fat 32 is OK for some things or needed.

exFat is better than Fat32 and more perks like NTFS but has its drawbacks.

But before reformatting, try using a 3rd party app to recover lost data.
The following two threads will be helpful:
https://iboysoft.com/data-recovery/fix-corrupted-unreadable-sd-card.html
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/chkdsk-help/8e6a3650-5d02-4033-acd3-3c1ded557c96

I am experiencing the exact same problem. Using a SanDisk Extreme Pro Micro SDXC 256GB card in a Lexar Professional USB Dual Slot Card Reader. I have used this card reader to download many thousands of photos from my cameras memory card over quite a number of years without a single issue. It has worked maybe once on the MA2 card before giving the error 'Warning: you need to format the disk in drive before you can use it'.

I have tried the card on other laptops I have. Sometimes it works, more often than not it throws this error. Extremely frustrating as the only way to download is via the phone. I emailed MA2 support directly over a week ago, not only did I not even receive an acknowledgement that they received the email, but I have heard nothing from them.

Given the cost of this drone you would expect being able to read a card so that you can download the RAW files and use ones normal photo workflow as a given. The phone does not provide an ability to download RAW files and anyway the workflow is very cumbersome to have to go from phone to PC to Lightroom. Feels like DJI needs to post quite an urgent firmware update to address this.

If DJI are monitoring these forums would be good to have their direct input here rather than remaining silent on an issue clearly others are experiencing as well.

djiuser_Awzs9b6brLlH Posted at 9-26 22:10
I am experiencing the exact same problem. Using a SanDisk Extreme Pro Micro SDXC 256GB card in a Lexar Professional USB Dual Slot Card Reader. I have used this card reader to download many thousands of photos from my cameras memory card over quite a number of years without a single issue. It has worked maybe once on the MA2 card before giving the error 'Warning: you need to format the disk in drive before you can use it'.

I have tried the card on other laptops I have. Sometimes it works, more often than not it throws this error. Extremely frustrating as the only way to download is via the phone. I emailed MA2 support directly over a week ago, not only did I not even receive an acknowledgement that they received the email, but I have heard nothing from them.

"If DJI are monitoring these forums would be good to have their direct input here rather than remaining silent on an issue clearly others are experiencing as well."

DJI have forum moderators on here, but they have almost no technical skills at all, all they will advise you to do is open a case with the support people. No DJI technical staff whatsoever appear on this forum - ever!

Oh, and I have a P3 and a Mavic 2 Pro, and I have no issues with either of them gaining access to the SD card through a reader, and I have two computers running Windows 10.

Buy a Mac problem solved

I have opened a case with DJI Support and they are escalating to their engineering team. Should hear back within the next 48 hours. Will post further updates to help others experiencing this.

Folks, whoever is getting this issue with Windows, please read my first message: you can solve it really in a snap installing & using Recuva, a freeware software by CCleaner.

https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva

Waiting to get a fix to this, this software recovers all the files from the unreadable-not-unreadable SD card, with no issues at all.

Same problem here! Second flight - PC wants to format the card. Transfer from drone to smartphone possible but slow. Also tested on two MACs - same issue. Never had any problems with the Mavic 2 pro drone. Any solution yet?

Chris246 Posted at 10-1 08:52
Same problem here! Second flight - PC wants to format the card. Transfer from drone to smartphone possible but slow. Also tested on two MACs - same issue. Never had any problems with the Mavic 2 pro drone. Any solution yet?

No response yet, was promised a reply within 24 - 48 hours, it's now day 5... What worked for me is that I ran chkdsk /f which reported it fixed the boot region and then I could read the card fine. Still seems to be working in the MA2, but quite concerning and unsure if this will lead to futher issues down the line.

I just tried to download more photos and had exactly the same issue, after running chkdsk /f again I can now access and import from the card.

This is what I see after running chkdsk:
chkdsk e: /f
The type of the file system is exFAT.
Volume Serial Number is C26D-D158
Corruption was found while examining the boot region.
Windows is verifying files and folders...
File and folder verification is complete.

Windows has made corrections to the file system.
No further action is required.

Have same problems on digital FPV goggles after connecting to pc usb (W10) . Next time connected sd is not recognized.

Same problem here, no solution yet. SDCard working on MA2 with DJI Fly i see the files. But it is not readable on PC.

And yes i have a solution. I connected the SDcard to my Synology NAS Drive. It read the SDcard well and copied all files. Then i connect the SDCard to my pc and format it (exfat) on Windows10. I put the card back to MA2 and recorded files, tried to read with my pc. And wola it works.

Final advice "Do not format your SDCard via MA2. Otherwise your pc will not read the sdcard. There is something wrong with formatting on MA2.

I just experienced this problem with my MA2, after 30 some flights.  I removed the SD card from MA2 after a flight, plugged it into my card reader like I always do on my Windows 10 machine (note: the buit in card reader on a Macbook Pro is also unable to mount the card). and got the error message "Warning: you need to format the disk in drive I: before you can use it".  Now I had updated the firmware and controller firmware yesterday before my flight today, having never had the issue before that with the same SD card and reader (which is on the recommended list).  That said I do not believe it to be related to the firmware upgrade, as others appear to have been experiencing this issue for a while now.   I was always able to mount the SD in my PC or my Mac before this, but this time the card is not readable by either OS.  Attempting to recover files with recuva now.

edit: recvuva "found" 579 files, but all were showing as ignored and I couldnt recover them.  

I then tried running chkdsk and it fixed the issues on my card and I can see it and transfer data in windows.  

This is not good though, this shouldnt be happening with a recommended card that is only 1 month old.

Chkdsk info below:
Windows has checked the file system and found problems.
Run CHKDSK with the /F (fix) option to correct these.

123900032 KB total disk space.
  12747392 KB in 578 files.
      1280 KB in 10 indexes.
         0 KB in bad sectors.
       256 KB in use by the system.
111151104 KB available on disk.

    131072 bytes in each allocation unit.
    967969 total allocation units on disk.
    868368 allocation units available on disk.

C:\Users\james>chkdsk i: /f
The type of the file system is exFAT.
Volume Serial Number is F826-A756
Corruption was found while examining the boot region.
Windows is verifying files and folders...
File and folder verification is complete.

Windows has made corrections to the file system.
No further action is required.

123900032 KB total disk space.
  12747392 KB in 578 files.
      1280 KB in 10 indexes.
         0 KB in bad sectors.
       256 KB in use by the system.
111151104 KB available on disk.

    131072 bytes in each allocation unit.
    967969 total allocation units on disk.
    868368 allocation units available on disk.

It may be the card reader you are using that may be incompatible?

David Martin Graff Posted at 1-1 19:19
It may be the card reader you are using that may be incompatible?

Perhaps...but ONLY if we consider the card reader introduced the corruption I suppose.   The card can't be read under Mac OS or Windows 10, but it was first tried on Windows 10 with a card reader.  It was also tried with the built in card reader on a MacBook Pro.  Personally I don't feel its an issue with the card reader as this card reader has been working fine for reading SD cards from my MA2 for a month or so, and from my digital cameras for 2 years now.   
I have opened a detailed case on this.

jimbennett Posted at 1-2 07:41
Perhaps...but ONLY if we consider the card reader introduced the corruption I suppose.   The card can't be read under Mac OS or Windows 10, but it was first tried on Windows 10 with a card reader.  It was also tried with the built in card reader on a MacBook Pro.  Personally I don't feel its an issue with the card reader as this card reader has been working fine for reading SD cards from my MA2 for a month or so, and from my digital cameras for 2 years now.   
I have opened a detailed case on this.

Good luck with your case.

So far they asked me to try another card, and then possibly send in my SD cards for testing.  

Before considering that, I did further testing that leads me to believe the issue is definitely with the MA2, and not my SD card and I see no need to try another card.  

After removing the Lexar card card from my card reader, I put it in my Sony A7iii camera and formatted it. I took some images and then took it out and put it back into the same card reader on my windows 10 machine.  It mounted with no issues or errors and transferred images fine.  

Having logged this issue in October and being promised a response within 24 - 48 hours I have never heard anything further from DJI on this matter, however, I can still only use my memory card after running Chkdsk /f every time. Most disappointing that this has yet to be addressed or acknowledged as an issue.

So I experienced this issue about a month ago. I went to go for a flight again and still received the same issue. I tried two different PC's running windows 10. I tried using 2 different card readers and STILL the same issue. The only thing that worked for me was chkdsk. I will open another ticket with DJI because this issue dates back to June of last year and there still has not been anything addressed. This is ridiculous especially when some of us use these photos or videos for our livelihood. When I spent $1000 on a product with issues that many have addressed it should 100% be fixed asap.

Agree with Watts4Dinner, still a problem even after applying the most recent firmware update. Have yet to receive any response from DJI even though I reported this in detail to them in October and they committed to respond with 24 - 48  hours.

Here is my experience. Formatting the sd via a digital camera provides the correct format for the drone. Formatting via windows 10 or 7 seems to render it it unreadable in the drone, similarly the drone format isnt readable by the computer. The solution as recommended in this thread is to power up the drone, attach it via USB cable to the computer, and download the video or photos from the sd card to the computer this way. Problem solved!

MisterMagoo Posted at 2020-6-23 02:33
No folks, you cannot use the drone as "Card reader". I've tried it: you can only download data from the "internal memory" of the drone. The SD does not appear...

Well thats odd.....i just download images from the card in my mavic air to computer running windows 7

Darthyone Posted at 3-6 16:24
Agree with Watts4Dinner, still a problem even after applying the most recent firmware update. Have yet to receive any response from DJI even though I reported this in detail to them in October and they committed to respond with 24 - 48  hours.

I have still yet to get a reply. I have another flight tomorrow and need to do a test run before hand to see if anything has changed.

Here is a fix that work for me when I was having the same problem, I was able to recover my media from the sd card

youtube.com/watch?v=mupiRyQTgEM

Could be a bad or loose usb cable.

Or the power supply to the drive has crapped out.

Or the usb to sata adapter in the enclosure could have crapped out.

So i'd try a different usb cable

Make sure to check with another USB Cable/Port. Sometimes even a failed Connection to the device makes windows think the drive is unformatted. But i only had that issue with usb 2.0

Dissasamble the external drive if possible and connect the hdd direct to s-ata/power.

Any solutions yet?... Have you tried formatting in PC/laptop instead of drone to see if that fixes the problem?....  We've just come across the same problem with Mini 2, bought a new card as thought that was the problem but same has just happened on new card.  Going to try to recover pics and video via a programme in a bit and then try formatting in PC to see if that solves the issue, also used different devices and 2 card readers to no joy.... Have just updated firmware too but don't think that was the issue, will take her out later and fingers crossed, although not holding out much joy, that one of the above sorts it out.

I have this issue as well and was able to work around it.

I connected my Mini3 to my phone instead of the RC controller and manually downloaded each video.  

This was the only way I could both see and transfer the videos, using the app.  Since I can't download the vids to the RC controller, I had to bounce/stage the file copy through my phone.

Hope that helps!

Holy ..., this issue still exists.
I formatted the card with Windows 10 as exFAT, works in the Mini 3.
Someday I formatted the card inside the Mini 3.
After that it was only able to read the content with MacOS. Windows refused the card.

Solution:
Copy content from MacOS to Windows
Format the card with MacOS or Windows as exFAT and not within the DJI app.

@DJI thanks for wasting my lifetime.