Dashcam is leaving file artifacts on SD card

[DaveC426913]

TL;DR Summary

My dashcam has worked for a year or more but now it's filling up the SD card and stopping

My Dashcam is telling me the memory card is full. It has done this a couple of times now over the last month or two.

The SD card is a Class (10) 16Gb NEXXTech MicroSD (The class 10 relates to how fast it can record; the Dashcam requires at least a 6 or 8 or something. A 4 is too slow and it won't work.)

What the dashcam should do - and has done until recently - is delete the oldest video clips on the system as-needed so it always has the last 45 minutes or so (depending on the card's capacity).

Troubleshooting:

Chip was Full (not Quick) Formatted after the last time this happened. At the time, it said it had 14.4Gb free. So I'm starting fresh.

• Drive D: (the chip) has 98.6Mb free of 14.4Gb. (That tells me it does think it has the capacity for ~16Gb (as it should), but is full.)
• File system in Drive properties agrees: Used: 14.3Gb; Free: 98.6
• Diving into the files: D: contains one folder/subfolder: DCIM/DCIMA/
• Folder contains one file: MOVA0116.avi (383.5Mb). (Normally, it would be full with about 14 avi's, each 3 minutes long)
• Turning on hidden files shows there are additional files hiding from me.

Because it chokes on a weekly/monthly scale and not on an hourly scale, that leads me to suspect that it is deleting the files as-needed, but is either leaving some small invisible artifact behind each time, or otherwise not freeing up a small section of memory back to the FAT Table. i.e. it might take hundreds or thousands of delete/record cycles before the drive fills up.

I don't think it's a corrupted card. If it were, I'd expect to see the capacity to be lower than 14.4Gb. (Or is it smart enough to reflect faulty blocks in its properties? )

I have bought new SD cards (Lexar) and will see what it does with them, but I suspect the problem is the dashcam, not the chip.

Does anyone have an suggestions what it might be, and/or what I might do to further troubleshoot it?

 

[Baluncore]

If the fault is in the dashcam, it might help to know the make and model of the dashcam.

 

[jedishrfu]

Could it be an issue of defragging?

As files are deleted and written, the card gets scrambled to the point where the dashcam can’t find contiguous space to record.

 

[DaveC426913]

If the fault is in the dashcam, it might help to know the make and model of the dashcam.

You know what else would help? If the manufacturer put any of that information on or in the device anywhere...

I can't remember where I bought it. I can't find it on Amazon or Best Buy.

 

[DaveC426913]

Could it be an issue of defragging?

As files are deleted and written, the card gets scrambled to the point where the dashcam can’t find contiguous space to record.

But if it were as simple as that, I would expect to see lots of files on the drive, not just one.

Regardless:
Error checking says it detects no errors on D: drive.
Optimize disables 'Optimize drive' and 'Analyze drive' buttons for D: drive.

 

[jedishrfu]

Found this article that mentions the loop record function and something about a g sensor where files aren’t ever deleted If it’s sensitivity is too high.

https://www.easeus.com/computer-instruction/fix-dash-cam-says-sd-card-full.html#1

 

[Borg]

There's a forum just for dashcams. They have been helpful when I had questions.
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/

 

[DaveC426913]

Found this article that mentions the loop record function and something about a g sensor where files aren’t ever deleted If it’s sensitivity is too high.

https://www.easeus.com/computer-instruction/fix-dash-cam-says-sd-card-full.html#1

Thanks for that, but neither case would result in a card that's virtually empty of files, even as its properties indicate all the file space is used up.

 

[Mark44]

Could it be an issue of defragging?

As files are deleted and written, the card gets scrambled to the point where the dashcam can’t find contiguous space to record.

But if it were as simple as that, I would expect to see lots of files on the drive, not just one.

If the files were deleted, you wouldn't see them listed in the SD card's directory. The one file you see could be spread out over many non-contiguous blocks, not leaving enough contiguous memory for the dash cam to store its ouput.

 

[DaveC426913]

If the files were deleted, you wouldn't see them listed in the SD card's directory. The one file you see could be spread out over many non-contiguous blocks, not leaving enough contiguous memory for the dash cam to store its ouput.

If that were the case, it would be an industry-wide problem. It would be a spike driven into the foot of the whole dashcam industry, grinding it to a halt.

Clearly, that cannot be the case.

 

[Mark44]

If that were the case, it would be an industry-wide problem. It would be a spike driven into the foot of the whole dashcam industry, grinding it to a halt.

Clearly, that cannot be the case.

You could be leaping to an incorrect conclusion. Earlier you said this:

Chip was Full (not Quick) Formatted after the last time this happened. At the time, it said it had 14.4Gb free. So I'm starting fresh.

• Drive D: (the chip) has 98.6Mb free of 14.4Gb. (That tells me it does think it has the capacity for ~16Gb (as it should), but is full.)
• File system in Drive properties agrees: Used: 14.3Gb; Free: 98.6
• Diving into the files: D: contains one folder/subfolder: DCIM/DCIMA/
• Folder contains one file: MOVA0116.avi (383.5Mb). (Normally, it would be full with about 14 avi's, each 3 minutes long)
• Turning on hidden files shows there are additional files hiding from me.

If you're starting fresh, with a full format, why do you have less than 0.1 GB of free memory available? (Bullet 1)
Why are there hidden files remaining after doing a full format? (Bullet 4)

 

[MikeeMiracle]

SD Cards have a limited number of write cycles before they start to fail. SD cards are not great when you need to write a lot of data all the time which cause them to fail prematurely. Could it simply be that you have had a lot of usage out of them already?

I see this in the IT industry fairly frequently. Proper computer storage have controllers on board which can detect bad sectors and mark them as unavailable, I do not believe that intelligence exists on SD cards.

 

[DaveC426913]

You could be leaping to an incorrect conclusion. Earlier you said this:

If you're starting fresh, with a full format, why do you have less than 0.1 GB of free memory available? (Bullet 1)
Why are there hidden files remaining after doing a full format? (Bullet 4)

Sorry, I was not clear. Big gap between the start and the follow up:

Chip was Full (not Quick) Formatted ... it had 14.4Gb free.

...(a week of driving passes)...

Drive D: (the chip) has 98.6Mb free of 14.4Gb.
Shoot. I messed up bullet 4!

• Turning on hidden files shows there are no additional files hiding from me.

 

[DaveC426913]

SD Cards have a limited number of write cycles before they start to fail. SD cards are not great when you need to write a lot of data all the time which cause them to fail prematurely. Could it simply be that you have had a lot of usage out of them already?

I see this in the IT industry fairly frequently. Proper computer storage have controllers on board which can detect bad sectors and mark them as unavailable, I do not believe that intelligence exists on SD cards.

Yeah, I wonder about this.

 

[DaveC426913]

OK, now that we've sort of exhausted the options of analyzing the state of the chip as it is, I can move on other tests. Tests that require formatting the chip, thus losing any data I might have analyzed.So I'll load a pile of files onto this disk from my laptop.
If the chip's memory is the problem, then I won't be able to load it up for 14.4Gb.
If the camera is the problem, I should be able to load it up with 14.4Gb.

 

[Mark44]

If it's the SD card that's at fault, they're pretty cheap. Here's a SanDisk card with 32 GB, class 10, for $9.20 US -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GYG6T12/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[pbuk]

If it's the SD card that's at fault, they're pretty cheap. Here's a SanDisk card with 32 GB, class 10, for $9.20 US -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GYG6T12/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Yeah,

Class (10) 16Gb NEXXTech MicroSD

Never heard of them, false economy.

 

[DaveC426913]

If it's the SD card that's at fault, they're pretty cheap. Here's a SanDisk card with 32 GB, class 10, for $9.20 US -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GYG6T12/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Yeah. I bought two 64Gb for $28CAD each.
(Two so that I don't have a gap if one runs out.)

Never heard of them, false economy.

NEXXTech is "The Source"'s house brand of tech accessories. The "Source" is what defunct Radio Shack is now called, here in The Great White North.

 

[DaveC426913]

Proper computer storage have controllers on board which can detect bad sectors and mark them as unavailable, I do not believe that intelligence exists on SD cards.

OK. I did my tests.
I formatted the chip and added 14Gb of my own files.
It has shown no sign of choking.
That seems to rule out massively bad sectors as the problem.

 

[MikeeMiracle]

Would suggest you try a different SD Card, if the issue persists then you know it's something to do with the dash cam itself. Perhaps the actual CCD sensor which collects the light is playing up intermitently. Sometimes the only option is to swap components to troubleshoot each one.

 

[.Scott]

"Smart" SD Cards maintain "Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology" (SMART).
However, I do not believe that is your problem because those chips normally go into "read-only" mode when they run out of spare blocks ... And I don't believe you can unmark their bad blocks with just a full format.

So I would guess that that the camera is checking for bad SD Card segments and marking them as unavailable as part of the file system maintenance.

If so, replacing the SDC you will get one of two results:
1) Now it works - so the original SD Card was bad - or bad enough to be incompatible with the camera.
2) Still eventually fails: So its clearly the camera, or the environment: What is happening is that there are occasional errors - perhaps when the unit gets hot - and each failure causes a segment to be marked as unusable. When you do a hard format, the SDC segments will be retested and potentially restored.

 

[Borg]

Just an anecdotal story of mine about misbehaving dash cam cards.

In my previous car (2006 Prius), I had my dash cam wired directly to the fuse panel. I had numerous instances of it not starting correctly or the camera flashing messages about a bad SD card. Usually, I could unplug the camera, pull the card, rub the contacts a bit and it would start back up OK. However, there were times when I would have to reformat the card to get it to work again.

That same camera and flash card are now installed on my current vehicle (2020 Audi) but this time it is connected to a cigarette lighter plug. Since then, I haven't had any issues with the card or the camera not starting correctly.

I thought that using a hard connection to the fuse panel would be better but I couldn't route the wiring to it in the current car. I still don't know if it's the car or the way that I wired it but I do know that the exact same camera and card are working flawlessly after having constant issues in my previous vehicle.

 

[DaveC426913]

Yeah, that tracks.
Between the cigarette lighter adapter popping in and out (even though it's got a short battery backup), and the bounciness of the ride, it wouldn't surprise me if the recording s/w is constantly interrupted.

 

[Borg]

Oddly for me, it works better with the cigarette lighter adapter. Maybe I've got one that's a snug fit.

 

[DaveC426913]

The adapter I have is a double outlet, and it's at least four inches long. Both things make it very top-heavy and prone to wiggling loose. Up till now, it hasn't been enough of a problem to consider replacing it.

 

[anorlunda]

I had a similar experience on my boat. I had NiMh batteries, and a charge station permanently mounted on the wall. I had terrible trouble with short battery lifetimes (1-2 weeks). Sometimes, the batteries would get too hot to hold in a bare hand.

After 2 years, and hundreds of dollars wasted on new batteries and charge stations, I finally came to understand that it was the pounding of the boat on the waves. The bounce caused a momentary interruption that reset the overcharge logic in the charge station. Once reset, it would put full charge into a fully charged battery for 50-100 seconds before detecting that it was fully charged. But if a new bounce happenes more often than 100 seconds, full charge continues forever.

I solved it by putting carbon impregnated grease on all contacts. The grease prevented most shock induced interruptions. You can buy conducting grease impregnated with carbon, or silver, or gold to suit your taste. One small tube will last you a lifetime.

 

[DaveC426913]

Well that sucks honkin' donkey chunks.

These 2 64Gb chips I bought don't record at all in my dashcam.

 

[sysprog]

Well that sucks honkin' donkey chunks.

These 2 64Gb chips I bought don't record at all in my dashcam.

Could they be counterfeits? https://photographylife.com/fake-memory-cards

 

[DaveC426913]

I bought them in-person from BestBuy.

Also, I dropped a file from computer on them to check if they could store. It was fine.

 

[sysprog]

I bought them in-person from BestBuy.

Also, I dropped a file from computer on them to check if they could store. It was fine.

I think that some of the fake SD cards have made it into mainstream sales channels. Typically, the counterfeits can be used to store and retrieve files, but don't have the capacity that they via normal inquiry report. Maybe some of them don't have sufficient speed, either, so that even though they could accept files from a computer, they could be not writeable from a device that required the storage card to be faster.

 

[Borg]

For my dashcam, I had to format the SD card with the camera and not on my computer.

 

[sysprog]

For my dashcam, I had to format the SD card with the camera and not on my computer.

The default formatting options $-$ e.g. file-system type, block size, probably differ.

 

[DaveC426913]

For my dashcam, I had to format the SD card with the camera and not on my computer.

Well tie me up pass electrical current through my body and call me Wiggly, that worked!

 

[Borg]

Dash cams are a good security feature. 6 months after I got mine, I recorded an accident in a parking lot.



The guy in the van and his wife got out and were yelling that the other guy hit him. The other guy clearly had the right of way. I got the contact info for the guy in the car and sent the video link to his insurance company which they said was very helpful.

 

[DaveC426913]

Yep. I've helped other people more than myself.