CFast Card unusable after filming - "ARRI UDF"

[enrique34]

Hi!

How are you! I was filming the other day with an Alexa Mini, and the second card we used in camera worked well filming, but was empty when we plugged it onto the computer. It said "Arri UDF" on the card name, and had nothing inside, but 0 kbs available.

We filmed perfectly with the card, as we can even see in the videoassist recording, but dont know why we can't access to the card. I've never seen anything like this before! It didnt got erased because it would be called "A003" instead "ARRI UDF". It seems to have lost its access format maybe.

The DIT told me it was a Sandisk Card but its lettering is completely blown, so i cant be sure about the brand.

Does anybody know something about it? Would appreciate any help, as a big part of the filming was on that card :S

Thanks a lot in advance!

Enrique

[Jan Heugel]

Dear Enrique,

send a log-file of your camera to digitalworkflow@arri.de.
Please specify the shooting date. The reel you are looking for is A003 - do you roughly know how many clips we should expect on that card?

Best regards,
Jan

[cardsoundroad]

Hi,

Just encountered a similar issue. Card is named ARRI_UDF, and has 0kb available upon mounting to a mac. As far as I know it has never been mounted to a PC (I know there was a formatting issue on windows recently regarding udf media). I am almost certain the card was not touched or mounted on any system since it was ejected from the camera.

[fugazi]

Hi, I've got the same problem. Are there any solutions? I've taken out the card from a turned off Alexa 35, and put it into a CODEX reader. I'm talking about a CODEX 1TB card.

[Oliver Temmler]

If you work with a data wrangler or DIT, please ensure that the drive or card was not just formatted on a computer and named ARRI_UDF. If that were the case, there is a chance that the data can be recovered.

If the drive or card was erased in the camera, then the data is gone. The erase command triggers a secure erase on the media controller which wipes all data from the memory. Removing the media or power from the camera once the command was triggered will not stop the process. This behavior is the same for AMIRA, ALEXA Mini, ALEXA Mini LF and ALEXA 35.

If you are certain that no one triggered the erase card command in error, please:
1) take note of the date/time and reel number
2) export the current camera log file (typically the latest .LOG in the exported zip)
3) ideally also generate a Codex Issue Report, which you can generate from the Mac System Preferences > Codex Tab
4) send this information via email to service@arri.com

Finally, please revise your media rotation workflow. Always clear cards with Codex Device Manager or the great o/Parashoot which is the most effective way to stop these accidents from happening.