Flip Mino / Ultra: Camera has no video but won't show correct time remaining

A practical tip today. I had been experiencing problems with my Flip Mino camera. The videos I took had all been removed. There was clearly nothing on the camera except the software. No video files to be seen.

But the timer / clock on the camera reflected the "remaining time" that was left after the previous videos (those I removed) had been shot. And the time left was far less than the 60" that an empty camera is supposed to show.

I tried to reboot / reset the camera the way Flip recommends:

1. The quickest method to reset the Mino is to hold the power button down for 10 seconds.  This should unfreeze the Mino and allow for its normal function.
2. Another method to reset the Mino is to simply take a pin and insert it into the reset hole within the camera's tripod mount, wait five seconds before powering on, and then power on without touching any of the buttons on the back of the camcorder for an additional five seconds.

I tried this several times. But no luck. Then I found something that worked. This is how the makers of the Flip, Pure Digital Technologies, advises customers to format their Flip:

Please follow the below stated instructions to reinstall the program, and to reformat your camcorder if necessary. Please note that you will need to move your videos to a safe location, such as your desktop, prior to reformatting.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PC:

Please go to your Control Panel and select Add or Remove programs, also called Programs and Features on Vista, and remove any instance of 3ivx and Muvee.

After this is done, please reboot your computer and reconnect your camcorder.

If the problem persists, we suggest reformatting your camcorder and then try to load the updated software again on your camcorder.

*Please note*

If you have videos on your camcorder that you wish to save, you will need to open your DCIM>101VIDEO folder that resides in your camcorder's root directory. Copy the files into another folder outside the DCIM>101VIDEO folder, and outside the Flip Video directory. You need to do this before reformatting your camcorder because once your camcorder has been reformatted, all data resident will be erased.

Please follow these steps to format your camcorder on your PC:

Then, after quite a search, I found the following information. You need to reformat the camera and reinstall the software.

1. Connect your camcorder to your computer
2. Close any window that pops up asking what you would like to do
3. Open My Computer.
4. Right click on the Flip Video icon.
5. Click on Format.
6. Under File System, open the drop down list and choose FAT.
7. Click Start and then click OK.

After this is done, please go to the following link to re-install the updated software: http://www.theflip.com/app/prius/37/update/
http://www.theflip.com/app/fvsw/45/update/index.aspx

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAC:

Please open your HD and in the search field type "3ivx". Drag all 3ivx files into your trash can, and empty it. Then, start a search for "Muvee" and drag all Muvee files into your trash can and empty it.

After this is done, please reboot your computer and reconnect your camcorder.

If the problem persists, we suggest reformatting your camcorder and then try to load the updated software again on your camcorder.

*Please note*

If you have videos on your camcorder that you wish to save, you will need to open your DCIM>101VIDEO folder that resides in your camcorder's root directory. Copy the files into another folder outside the DCIM>101VIDEO folder because once your camcorder has been reformatted, all data resident will be erased.

Please follow these steps to format your camcorder on your Mac:

1. Connect your camcorder and wait for the icon to show on your desktop.
2. Go to HD>Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility.
3. In the left hand column, you should see Flip Video.
4. At the top, you should see Erase.
5. Make sure that you have selected Flip Video, and that the File
6. Format reads MS-Dos FAT16. Keep the name column the same.
7. Click Erase.

After this is done, please go to the following link to re-install the updated software: http://www.theflip.com/app/prius/37/update/
http://www.theflip.com/app/fvsw/45/update/index.aspx

If this does not alleviate the issue you are experiencing, please do not hesitate to contact us further.

Worked like a charm. So now I'm passing the information on to you and hoping that I'll be able to make this posting easier for folks to find since I had quite a time find the information in the first place.

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