CF Card - Reformat or Erase All?

OK, so let’s say that I fill up my compact flash card and then I copy the entire contents to CD. Is it better to then do an Erase All or to reformat the card? What are the pros and cons for either option? Thanks for your opinions.

In theory at least...reformat is best (only in camera)since erasing will still leave a very small amount of data (empty folders) on the card which over time would build up, in practice it probably doesn't matter......what I do know is that reformatting
on the G5 (and I guess others) is a lot quicker than erasing.

I always start with a freshly formatted card whenever possible. If you end up with "holes" where you've deleted or moved some files but not all, and leave old folders around, the card can become fragmented just like your computer's hard drive and performance could be affected.

Thanks for your replies. Your suggestions make sense... reformatting it is!

Erase all will not erase the protected pics in the card. Thus, even if you have downloaded the files, and choose erase all, the protected file/s remains. Protected files will be erased if the CF card is formatted or the protection removed.
If you do choose to format, do check whether you have protected files, otherwise it will be lost.

Regards
GunaM

Guna,

You mentioned before writing this that formating will erase all pictures in the camera protected or not, which is true, but you contradict it with the quote above....so just to make it clear...If you format-you loose everything, you bring the card to its first position ( like brand new).

Regards,
Artan.

Good advice, mguna. Thanks

"If you do choose to format, do check whether you have protected files, otherwise it will be lost."
Sorry if the language is out!, what i'm trying to say is you do need to verify whether you have placed protected files in the CF card before formatting otherwise the files will be erased.

Actually, I re-format my cards in the computer after downloading images. That way, it doesn't make any difference which of my cameras I use them in---it won't mess up my numbering. Otherwise, I'd have to have two sets of cards---one for the 1DMkII, and another for the 20D.

Good point Belmondo.

Have tried the method of re-formatting the card in the computer but with the IBM 1Gb drive, found that at times the camera does not recognize the card and the message "CF card error" appears. The error will disappear once the card is re-formatted via camera. Thus, I always format the card via camera.

Regards
GunaM