Do CF cards 'slow down' on repeated use?

[Stew]

Dear All
Recently, it seems that the download time for my POI 1gb compact flash
card has increased.

Is this common, common to this card only or just my imagination?

I've had it for a year and have used it for about 3000 pictures (200
fits on the 1gb card so I guess I've downloaded from it around 30-40
times)

[Randall]

Ever thought of formatting it?

[Whatevah]

a thought... it could be your hard drive slowing down. I've used twin
40GB 7200rpm drives for 2 years, and I can tell the difference. I added
a new drive, 120GB 7200rpm and it's a huge difference.

[Andrew]

Have you formatted the card recently? Perhaps it has internal directories
(folders) with lots of deleted entries, which might still contribute to
search time.