DashCam: ScanDisk SD card now working, TeslaCam folder keeps disappearing

[rdestefa]

Hi,

I received my Model 3 last week. I live in Oslo, Norway. I bought before car delivery a ScanDisk USB 3.0 reader and a ScanDisk Endurance Micro SD card 64GB. I formatted the SD card to FAT32 using a free third party software called "guiformat". I performed initially a quick format. I created the "TeslaCam" folder. I plugged the usb in the car, it worked fine. After few hrs. the dashcam icon disappeared. I plugged the usb drive into my PC. The usb drive needed to be repaired. Ok, I let Windows repaired it. I plugged it in the car and my DashCam icon was back. The day after it disappeared again. This time I performed a full format (not the quick format). DashCam was back for 1 day. Same story again…I plugged it into my PC and repaired the usb drive. It worked fine for few hrs and it disappeared again.

I decided to try with a new sd drive. This time I got a Scandisk 64GB Extreme. I formatted, added the "TeslaCam" folder and plugged in the car. DashCam icon is not showing at all this time. I reformatted the SD card and I repeated same process. DashCam in the car is simply not showing. I believe there is something wrong with the car software. The car is new and it has software v.9. installed. I have not upgraded to v.10 yet. Did not get notification to do it. What do you think I should do?


Riccardo

 

[user212_nr]

Hi,

I received my Model 3 last week. I live in Oslo, Norway. I bought before car delivery a ScanDisk USB 3.0 reader and a ScanDisk Endurance Micro SD card 64GB. I formatted the SD card to FAT32 using a free third party software called "guiformat". I performed initially a quick format. I created the "TeslaCam" folder. I plugged the usb in the car, it worked fine. After few hrs. the dashcam icon disappeared. I plugged the usb drive into my PC. The usb drive needed to be repaired. Ok, I let Windows repaired it. I plugged it in the car and my DashCam icon was back. The day after it disappeared again. This time I performed a full format (not the quick format). DashCam was back for 1 day. Same story again…I plugged it into my PC and repaired the usb drive. It worked fine for few hrs and it disappeared again.

I decided to try with a new sd drive. This time I got a Scandisk 64GB Extreme. I formatted, added the "TeslaCam" folder and plugged in the car. DashCam icon is not showing at all this time. I reformatted the SD card and I repeated same process. DashCam in the car is simply not showing. I believe there is something wrong with the car software. The car is new and it has software v.9. installed. I have not upgraded to v.10 yet. Did not get notification to do it. What do you think I should do?


Riccardo

Is there a reason that you are using SD cards instead of flash drives? Looking at the specs of your drive, all looks fine, but most people use Flash Drives and rarely, an SSD. Remember to avoid FAKES by buying from a VERY RESPECTED source and not looking too much for deals. It is very common to purchase a fake drive that works for 1 day and then fails.

 

[C141medic]

Congrats and welcome to the forums. It looks like you’ve pretty much done everything you can at this point. Perhaps rebooting the car? Or a different usb drive? If same thing occurs with V10 I’d contact the SC.

 

[DopeGhoti]

If you're tech-minded, you can also avoid some of the pitfalls of the easily-corruptible FAT32 filesystem by formatting the partition with the ext4 filesystem (commonly used in Linux, which the car is running natively). ext4 is journaled, which means that if the power is suddenly cut, the filesystem is, to an extent, self healing; FAT32 will just kind of throw its hands in the air and say "welp, that file's dead now".

 

[user212_nr]

If you're tech-minded, you can also avoid some of the pitfalls of the easily-corruptible FAT32 filesystem by formatting the partition with the ext4 filesystem (commonly used in Linux, which the car is running natively). ext4 is journaled, which means that if the power is suddenly cut, the filesystem is, to an extent, self healing; FAT32 will just kind of throw its hands in the air and say "welp, that file's dead now".

Its a good idea (probably not their only problem), but the infrastructure for using EX4 on Windows and MacOS is weak. It would be difficult reading and writing to that format except on Linux. I've installed the fuse drivers, etc, and don't think they are worth using.

 

[rdestefa]

Congrats and welcome to the forums. It looks like you’ve pretty much done everything you can at this point. Perhaps rebooting the car? Or a different usb drive? If same thing occurs with V10 I’d contact the SC.

Hi and thank you. Yes. I rebooted that car once by holding the 2 buttons on steering wheel. No improvement, problem remains. Yes, I should wait to install v.10 but I am not sure this will fix. I hope this is not an hardware problem in the car. If it is a software issue I am not so worried about it....

 

[rdestefa]

Is there a reason that you are using SD cards instead of flash drives? Looking at the specs of your drive, all looks fine, but most people use Flash Drives and rarely, an SSD. Remember to avoid FAKES by buying from a VERY RESPECTED source and not looking too much for deals. It is very common to purchase a fake drive that works for 1 day and then fails.

Hi. I made some research. I read it is recommended to use a micro sd drive with USB adaptor because more reliable and faster. I have not tried with a standard flash drive. I should test it and let you know. Thank you

 

[rdestefa]

If you're tech-minded, you can also avoid some of the pitfalls of the easily-corruptible FAT32 filesystem by formatting the partition with the ext4 filesystem (commonly used in Linux, which the car is running natively). ext4 is journaled, which means that if the power is suddenly cut, the filesystem is, to an extent, self healing; FAT32 will just kind of throw its hands in the air and say "welp, that file's dead now".

Thank you for your reply. I am not so "Tech-minded. All my PC are running Microsoft OS. What I should do is testing my USB drive in another car. If it works something is wrong with my M3...

 

[jjrandorin]

Thank you for your reply. I am not so "Tech-minded. All my PC are running Microsoft OS. What I should do is testing my USB drive in another car. If it works something is wrong with my M3...

As you mention, many people tend to recommend SD cards that are made for lots of write cycles. The symptoms you have sounds like you have bad SD cards to me. There are many counterfeit cards out there. Did you buy this from a retail store, or amazon or some reputable vendor, sealed in the original manufacturers package (not bulk, etc)?

 

[rdestefa]

As you mention, many people tend to recommend SD cards that are made for lots of write cycles. The symptoms you have sounds like you have bad SD cards to me. There are many counterfeit cards out there. Did you buy this from a retail store, or amazon or some reputable vendor, sealed in the original manufacturers package (not bulk, etc)?

Hei. Yes. Sd cards are absolutely original and of a good brand (ScanDisk)

 

[C141medic]

Hi and thank you. Yes. I rebooted that car once by holding the 2 buttons on steering wheel. No improvement, problem remains. Yes, I should wait to install v.10 but I am not sure this will fix. I hope this is not an hardware problem in the car. If it is a software issue I am not so worried about it....

I have a Anker 5 port hub and I have a Verbatim Mediashare device with an SD card inserted for sentry/dashcam and another USB drive plugged into the Anker for my music. Both work flawlessly. Is it possible you have a malfunctioning USB port in your car? Possible, but most likely it’s an issue with the sd card or even the reader that you’re plugging it into. Definitely test it in your other vehicle and/or try using a USB flash drive to see if that works.

 

[rdestefa]

I have a Anker 5 port hub and I have a Verbatim Mediashare device with an SD card inserted for sentry/dashcam and another USB drive plugged into the Anker for my music. Both work flawlessly. Is it possible you have a malfunctioning USB port in your car? Possible, but most likely it’s an issue with the sd card or even the reader that you’re plugging it into. Definitely test it in your other vehicle and/or try using a USB flash drive to see if that works.

Hi. I tried 2 different sd cards. I tried both usb ports on my car. Can both ports fail? Maybe the issue, as you said, is just on the usb reader but I doubt it.....
Monday I will test it on another vehicle.

 

[SMAlset]

Is there a reason that you are using SD cards instead of flash drives? Looking at the specs of your drive, all looks fine, but most people use Flash Drives and rarely, an SSD. Remember to avoid FAKES by buying from a VERY RESPECTED source and not looking too much for deals. It is very common to purchase a fake drive that works for 1 day and then fails.

Believe all USB devices are flash based including SSDs. OP said he was using a microSD card. MicroSD cards are used in traditional dashcams and the Endurance are the choice for dashcams as they are designed for multiple rewrites.

I've been using a Samsung Pro Endurance microSD card in a U-Green reader and have had no problems with it for many months now. Was using on v9 software and recently upgraded to v10 and still no issues. I'm on a Mac however when formatting and that's the only difference I can think of besides device brands and capacity. Mine is a 128GB card but a 64GB should record for a while unless it's getting filled up with files. Another thing to try might be to see if someone can format it for you on something other than Windows.

Curious what have you seen on your card in the way of files when it was working? Are your cameras recording around 30MB each and getting a good video or have those been corrupt? Does your ScanDisk reader fit snuggly in your USB Tesla connector? I saw a video review on Amazon from a user who said in his computer the drive didn't go in all the way and was "wobbly" and he showed it was able to be moved from side to side. When it moved it would disconnect. Made me wonder if you could have a similar problem and going over a road bump shifted it. I would also try another card reader. They are pretty inexpensive here and hopefully same there.

 

[user212_nr]

Hi. I made some research. I read it is recommended to use a micro sd drive with USB adaptor because more reliable and faster. I have not tried with a standard flash drive. I should test it and let you know. Thank you

I've not heard of such research, and seems a bit odd to me. I think it sounds more like someone's opinion that they gave out as "expert advice". Everything I see says "flash drive" and buying both an adapter and a card seems like an unnecessary chore. The USB Flash drives we have have more capacity and more speed than we could ever want, plus convenient and cheap.

Just saying.

 

[SMAlset]

I've not heard of such research, and seems a bit odd to me. I think it sounds more like someone's opinion that they gave out as "expert advice". Everything I see says "flash drive" and buying both an adapter and a card seems like an unnecessary chore. The USB Flash drives we have have more capacity and more speed than we could ever want, plus convenient and cheap.

Just saying.

If you are referring to the standard USB flashdrive stick, have you looked at the operating temperature specs and compared to typical range of car temps? They also are not rated for high use applications like dashcams, more for file sharing and music, what they call general use. This subject has already been covered quite a bit on the forum.

 

[rdestefa]

Believe all USB devices are flash based including SSDs. OP said he was using a microSD card. MicroSD cards are used in traditional dashcams and the Endurance are the choice for dashcams as they are designed for multiple rewrites.

I've been using a Samsung Pro Endurance microSD card in a U-Green reader and have had no problems with it for many months now. Was using on v9 software and recently upgraded to v10 and still no issues. I'm on a Mac however when formatting and that's the only difference I can think of besides device brands and capacity. Mine is a 128GB card but a 64GB should record for a while unless it's getting filled up with files. Another thing to try might be to see if someone can format it for you on something other than Windows.

Curious what have you seen on your card in the way of files when it was working? Are your cameras recording around 30MB each and getting a good video or have those been corrupt? Does your ScanDisk reader fit snuggly in your USB Tesla connector? I saw a video review on Amazon from a user who said in his computer the drive didn't go in all the way and was "wobbly" and he showed it was able to be moved from side to side. When it moved it would disconnect. Made me wonder if you could have a similar problem and going over a road bump shifted it. I would also try another card reader. They are pretty inexpensive here and hopefully same there.

Hi
When dashcam was working with sd Scandisk Endurance I could see all the videos. Both folders "recent files" and "saved" were ok. The problem was that the dashcam was disappearing as I explained in my first post. Now that I swap to sd Scandisk Extreme the dashcam is not showing at all. I tried to move a little the sd card (left - right) and did the same with USB reader in the car. The dashcam is not there. I believe something wrong with car usb port. I hope the warranty will cover. The car is 1 week old.....

 

[rdestefa]

Hei. By the way, are we sure that the 2 front usb ports in the car are compatible with usb 3.0 drive?

 

[user212_nr]

Hei. By the way, are we sure that the 2 front usb ports in the car are compatible with usb 3.0 drive?

Yes. The one on the left has more power, ie. for smartphone charging.

 

[user212_nr]

If you are referring to the standard USB flashdrive stick, have you looked at the operating temperature specs and compared to typical range of car temps? They also are not rated for high use applications like dashcams, more for file sharing and music, what they call general use. This subject has already been covered quite a bit on the forum.

"operating temperature" of car == about 72 degrees, maybe 80 in winter. Maybe sentry mode might get a few writes in the 110+ range. They're rated for 113 F.

They also cost only $10, so can buy a few if they should fail.

Otherwise, interesting that SD cards would be better quality. It must be due to popularity with Android and dashcams.

 

[jjrandorin]

"operating temperature" of car == about 72 degrees, maybe 80 in winter. Maybe sentry mode might get a few writes in the 110+ range. They're rated for 113 F.

They also cost only $10, so can buy a few if they should fail.

Otherwise, interesting that SD cards would be better quality. It must be due to popularity with Android and dashcams.

The inside of a car can easily reach 120+ degrees when sitting in the sun. Also, most of those $10 usb drives are not ment for constant writing as @SMAlset said. Just like there is a difference in a "desktop class" computer hard drive and a "network storage" hard drive of the same physical platform, there is a difference in memory storage devices ment for "occasional writing" and "constant writing".

The SD cards that are ment for video cameras / dash cameras are for "constant writing". Your typical cheap USB drive is not. Sure, they are cheap... but on something like a dash cam, why would someone want to take a chance that the one time they want to have the footage from it might be the time it failed... especially when we are talking about a difference of (in US dollars) your stated $10 or so, and $30-40 or so?