ARRI Forum

Hi Guys,

one of our CFAST 2 cards (128 GB) seems to have failed already. When mounted on our alexa mini it says that "Lifetime of recording medium has ended. Please exchange." is this a safety precaution of the new CFAST 2.0 card standard? How does this work? Can the camera detect how many read/writes has been done to the CFAST 2.0 card that it can give an approximate time of failure? I am just wondering because this card is relatively new. And also if this is a new feature that prevents possible data loss on set.

We did experience one SxS 32 gig card failed on set on the Alexa classic and there was no workaround except to redo the take.

Thanks in advance.

Hi,

this is a self diagnosis feature of the cards. Most modern storage media is using this system now. You can learn more about it by looking up: S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology)
It is indeed there to prevent data loss due to the storage media failing suddenly. As you discovered in your case it is not simply a record of read/write cycles or the age of the card.
You can have the card replaced at your convenience.

best regards
Silvan