Sanyo VPC-GH4 Owners Manual - Page 146

Formatting (initializing) A card must be formatted with this camera: i After purchasing, when used for the first time, or i If it was formatted using a personal computer or another digital camera. The card cannot be formatted if the lock switch is set to the "LOCK" position. Proceed with the format procedure after setting the lock switch to the unlocked position. CAUTION Caution during formatting i Do not turn off the power to the camera or eject the card during formatting. Formatting erases the data i When a storage medium is formatted, all recorded files on the medium are erased. Protected data (pages 53 and 103) is also erased, so before formatting a card, any data you want to keep should be copied to your personal computer's hard disk or other storage medium. Caution regarding disposing/transferring the card (recovering data from a reformatted card) i If a card is reformatted or the data is erased from the card using the camera or a computer, the card's control data may be merely modified and the data itself may not be completely erased from the card. i In some cases it may be possible to recover the data from a reformatted card using special software for that purpose. i If you are disposing of a card, it is recommended that you physically destroy it. If you are transferring the card to someone else to use, it is recommended that you use commercially available software for erasing card data. Managing data is the responsibility of the user. 137 English