1st time card failure

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Geoff Brown
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p.1 #1 · 1st time card failure

Shot 174 images today. Stopped on the way home to grab some dinner, and looked thru some of the pix on the camera as I ate. No problems. Get home, put the card in my reader, and I have 1 image showing. These are all NEF files taken with a D40.
On the computer, the file names show, but when I check info on a file, it says 0 kb on disc (except for the first one, which appears to be reading normally).
I put the card back in the camera, and now it won't review the images (except for the first one). Screen says, "File does not contain image data".

Card: Sandisk Extreme III 4GB

First problem I've had with this, or any other card in the D40. I've used the card many times. I'm looking for advice, here. Does it sound possible to get these images to show? Could the lost data possibly be retrieved, or am I SOL?

I have no idea what happened between looking at these on the camera while having dinner, and what's going on now.

Nov 04, 2009 at 12:32 AM

EB-1
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p.1 #2 · 1st time card failure

Try some image recovery software.

EBH

Nov 04, 2009 at 01:05 AM

Geoff Brown
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p.1 #3 · 1st time card failure

I was just getting ready to post...I used RescuePro, and it restored all the files. Amazing. I'm lucky

I wish I knew what caused this. Feeling a bit leary about using the card again.

Nov 04, 2009 at 01:10 AM

Adam Bavier
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p.1 #4 · 1st time card failure

I haven't used this on nefs but had good luck with my JPGs and Fuji raf files when I needed it. PC Inspector Smart Recovery: http://www.pcinspector.de/Sites/smart_recovery/info.htm?language=1

Nov 04, 2009 at 01:20 AM

runamuck
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p.1 #5 · 1st time card failure

Sandisk has a "lifetime" guarantee. Get hold of them and let them give you a new one.

Nov 04, 2009 at 01:51 AM

snegron
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p.1 #6 · 1st time card failure

Geoff Brown wrote:
I was just getting ready to post...I used RescuePro, and it restored all the files. Amazing. I'm lucky

I wish I knew what caused this. Feeling a bit leary about using the card again.

I have had a couple of CF cards go bad on me. One went bad filled with a series of shots I had taken during a wedding ceremony. I was lucky to recover the images. My guess is that deleting a few pics here and there with the card still in the camera is what caused mine to become corrupt. I tried an experiment; never erase any images in the camera until after I download all the files into my computer. Even with the bad shots I avoid the temptation of erasing while still in the card. The only time I erase images is when I'm done downloading them, then I format the entire card in the camera prior to using it again. So far (knock on wood) I have not had any more card failures.

Nov 04, 2009 at 02:06 AM

DavidWEGS
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p.1 #7 · 1st time card failure

Firstly, this is why I just upgraded my D300's to the D300s'.

Image rescue 4 is a great bit of software that I would reco.

Nov 04, 2009 at 03:54 AM

EB-1
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p.1 #8 · 1st time card failure

DavidWEGS wrote:
Firstly, this is why I just upgraded my D300's to the D300s'.

How much does Nikon charge for that?

EBH

Nov 04, 2009 at 12:12 PM

Pavel
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p.1 #9 · 1st time card failure

The card is rarely trouble after you format it again. The shots go corrupt. I have this happen once or twice a year (with 50,000 frames+) and though have no proof that it is the cause, I no longer delete files out from the middle of the card - only the last frame. There seemed to be a correlation.

Rescue pro has never yet let me down.

Nov 04, 2009 at 01:26 PM

Pavel
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p.1 #10 · 1st time card failure

DavidWEGS wrote:
Firstly, this is why I just upgraded my D300's to the D300s'.

Image rescue 4 is a great bit of software that I would reco.

Is that what ya tell to the wife?

Yeah, honey, my D3 corrupted my card. I need a D3x. Two ... just to be safe!
Brilliant!

Nov 04, 2009 at 01:28 PM

Geoff Brown
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p.1 #11 · 1st time card failure

I did a full wipe of the card w/ RescuePro. I format the card every time I dump images onto my HD. I rarely delete images from the camera during shooting, and didn't delete any yesterday.

The only thing that happened yesterday that was out of the norm for me, was that I changed a lens once without turning the camera off. I suppose that could have done something, but the camera operated perfectly afterwards.

I'll do some test shooting on this card for a while before it sees active duty again.

Nov 04, 2009 at 04:05 PM

Pavel
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p.1 #12 · 1st time card failure

I regularly change lenses without turning the camera off. I think it is just one of those random things likely. Let us know if the card behaves now or not, Geoff.

Nov 04, 2009 at 05:16 PM

j.curtis
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p.1 #13 · 1st time card failure

Do you delete images in camera?

Nov 04, 2009 at 07:17 PM

Gregg Heckler
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p.1 #14 · 1st time card failure

I suggest you also reformat the card in-camera not from the computer.

Nov 04, 2009 at 07:44 PM

DavidWEGS
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p.1 #15 · 1st time card failure

I sold a couple D300's for about $2k and got two D300s' for about $3,500. Net cost to me: $1,500.

But I had two cameras with about 30k shots or so and got fresh bodies.

After using them I sold my D3 too as the only reason I wanted it was for critical work where a 2nd card backup was great insurance.

Nov 04, 2009 at 10:40 PM

j.curtis
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p.1 #16 · 1st time card failure

DavidWEGS wrote:
I sold a couple D300's for about $2k and got two D300s' for about $3,500. Net cost to me: $1,500.

But I had two cameras with about 30k shots or so and got fresh bodies.

After using them I sold my D3 too as the only reason I wanted it was for critical work where a 2nd card backup was great insurance.

Nov 05, 2009 at 12:42 AM

Geoff Brown
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p.1 #17 · 1st time card failure

Update: Shot about 300 frames today. No problem with the card.

I formatted the card in-camera, as I always do. Deleted no images from the camera...something I rarely do anyway.

Still thinking about contacting SanDisk for a replacement.

Nov 05, 2009 at 02:20 AM

traveler
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p.1 #18 · 1st time card failure

Generally speaking I typically ALWAYS have formatted the cards in the camera ONLY and not on a computer. I've been using DSLR's and CF cards now for over a decade. I've had probably no less than at least a dozen cards over the years from 2gb up to 16gb. All Sandisk brand. Never lost a shot and never had a card hiccup once. Not sure if it's because I left all formatting to "In Camera" as opposed to doing it on the computer or card reader. But it has worked perfectly for me this way and I'll continue.

Nov 05, 2009 at 02:26 AM

EB-1
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p.1 #19 · 1st time card failure

I do the opposite, i.e., always format cards in a computer. Different cameras do weird things like mess up file numbering, and don't always abide by the standards. I don't want to worry about a card that may be used in any one of 5-6 Nikon and Canon cameras after formatting each time. I just pick it up and go.

Maybe if we only used a couple of cameras it would a lesser concern, but logistically I'll always prefer to format each card in the computer immediately after downloading.

EBH

Nov 05, 2009 at 06:23 AM

Pavel
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p.1 #20 · 1st time card failure

I've presently got 12 cards, though I don't use half anymore because they are 1 and 2 gig. Four more are on the way.( 16 gig and much faster) All at one time or another over the years have probably had these corruption issues. This has happened with many different camera bodies. My though is that it is simply something that happens once in a rare while. Just a fact of digital life. The fat file system that is used on all digital formatting is not a very robust file system - to start off with. It is only here because it was first here and does the job well enough.

Nov 07, 2009 at 01:00 PM

DavidWEGS
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p.1 #21 · 1st time card failure

j.curtis wrote:

When you loose images that you could have had in a second card, images that are critical to your survival as a tog., then you won't have the question as to the wisdom of my purchase (I dare say).

Nov 07, 2009 at 09:28 PM

Guidenet
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p.1 #22 · 1st time card failure

I've usually found the errors to be the reader. Sometimes reseating the card fixes everything. Sometimes rebooting and reinitializing the reader fixes everything. There's no way to know in your case, just my experience.

Nov 07, 2009 at 11:28 PM

ishootsports3
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p.1 #23 · 1st time card failure

Glad you got em off, i lost half a game and rescue pro did nothing

turns out my 3 cards were a bad batch but sandisk is replacing them, id give them a call if the problem comes up again

Nov 08, 2009 at 03:41 AM


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