Simple answer is - No. Prefer erasing files.
Long answer:
- SD card: it is not our recommendation to format a SD card as it may change the compatibility with the receiver unit and possibly damage it.
Solution:
If an SD-card has been formatted by a an operating system that created a format not compatible* with your MTU/RXU unit, then the following software can be used to format the card back to operable standards**:
https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/index.html
What about CF cards for older equipment?
- CF card: by formatting the card especially in Windows10 it will not format it correctly even though at first glance it seems to be correct, i.e. FAT. The reason for this is that it is not set to the 16-bit formatting and therefore will not be recognized by the receiver unit.
* While many versions of Windows 10 (and probably Windows 11) can format SD cards with the format required by Phoenix receivers, Linux and macOS will need special configurations to format the card in a way that is compatible with your MTU/RXU. In general, formatting with Linux and macOS is discouraged, and formatting with Windows 10 or 11 should be a last resort option.
** Phoenix Geophysics is not responsible for damage to the memory card or the geophysical receiver due to the misuse of the memory card.