[Ratmagiclady]

Hrm, looks like I've possibly gotten a bad SDHC card: Just lost a whole bunch of data.

(Seems to have crashed while shooting and then started getting spotty, unfortunately, there was stuff I really actually liked that I got while tying to diagnose, which I'd been hoping to keep. ) I realized I never actually applied the firmware update to my K20D, (Cause I've been waiting on another backup drive to feel OK about clearing cards...budget: this was an Ultra II or purportedly one I'd gotten to tide me over, as I've been doing, ) ...and I'm not sure that's related, or not, but I'd *really* like to get access to some of my shots from tonight, at least.

Windows 7 seems to insist the card's got no files, but still claims it's partially-filled... Any way to get in there and see if anything survived?

Also, if I go to apply said firmware update, will it help?

Anyway, I'd appreciate it if anyone's got ideas. Should be thinking more clearly with a bit of rest, but this is stressy.

[imtheguy]

The first 2 things I would do is run RescuePro on the card to see if it could reconstruct it. It used to come free with the Sandisk Extreme but now is a subscriiption model utility. Regardless, it seems to work very well. There are surely some free but less developed utilities available on the web. The other thing I would do is take a snap and a crop of the card, expecially showing the serial number, and email to Sandisk support to find out if it is counterfeit. Not likely if you bought it boxed in a retail store but a strong posibility if it was an ebay special (which I buy and then let Sandisk verify for me). Finding out its counterfeit obviously won't restore your pics but its something you should know. Good luck!

[BillM]

sorry to hear that RML, only card Ive lost was the expensive one, figures!
I buy the cheapest I can,sandisk,but cheapies, withhout recovery software Lee mentions. Soon as Read/Write lock tab loosens, I go cheap again. numbers are numbers to me, hardly need burst mode or high frame rate where hype says got to have the pricey ones.
probably have higher priorities now,& doesnt get your data back,but if it helps,just looked at various firmware updates for my K20 & ver.1.04 only 8.25 mb.(Binary file) plus a little text overhead for install ,text doesnt load on card.

Cant remember what exactly ver. 1.04 did for me, think it helped with AF a little.

[photolady95]

I've used this free program with success.

Recuva (pronounced recover)

[Ratmagiclady]

Thanks, everyone. Yeah, actually, I don't know if this one's counterfeit or not, (grabbed one over Amazon along with some Yule shopping, ...Seems it may have been crashy without me noticing, possibly, even: to my surprise, I seem to have not got the backups that I thought I'd made on the computer, unless I managed to totally-forget or think I'd backed up when I didn't. (I'll have to see if anything went to the secondary backup without leaving a copy on the main drive. I guess we'll see what kind of mess it might have made of the card: my fear is that the card crashed rather than actually transfer the images when I last backed up, and I never even noticed.

(When I encountered problems last night, I decided to troubleshoot it by shooting fresh images: I'd thought anything decent/important was already backed up. ( )

A couple of those images, though, I really thought had some potential: ...just getting those back would be good. So, I'll try some recovery program when I can get on the newer machine. Suggestions there very welcome.

[Ratmagiclady]

Hrm, tried the Recuva program, (Hey, btw, I'm from Boston. How else would you pronounce it? ) ... but it seems to think the card's empty just like everything else...

I'm not being too hopeful, here. Maybe there's something just failed about the card itself, indeed, rather than a glitch. Anyone think trying a different program would help?

[JeffJS]

This is a sandisk? Did you get the Rescue Pro that comes with some of them? Would you consider sending the card to someone else for a try?

[photolady95]

I had a boyfriend once who was from Boston and he never pronounced the R in my name.

Here's another software recovery and it's also free. Looks like it gets good ratings on snapfiles site:

MjM Free Photo Recovery Software download and reviews from SnapFiles

[Ratmagiclady]

Arright, meanwhile, cleahed a cahd t update that fihrmweah.

(Hard to try typing your own accent without sounding like a cartoon, isn't it? )


I'll look for that Rescue Pro, most of my cards are in fact Sandisk. I presume it'd be a CD? I don't think I've seen any of those at least in a long while. Let me check my pile. (Nope.) Ah. Perhaps a free download from Roxio? (No, that's not it) I've still got this one that arrived broken in its original packaging, cause I keep thinking I'll take it apart to see what's inside, one day. I probably have just ignored free downloads in the packaging, last ones I had, assuming it's be, well, stuff that looks like it's probably junk.

Anyway, I dunno, I don't seem to have any. If they're that common maybe I can look for one with it or see if anyone has a bunch they'd otherwise use for coasters or something.

I suppose I can try another freeware version, first. So far everything just looks to be claiming the card's empty, I wonder if it's functioning at all, even to try to read.. anything that'd say if there's really data at all might be a good next step.

I may as well take the opportunity to learn about this, I do suppose, ..I've never had a card failure before. Hopefully won't again, now that I've updated the firmware. I got too overconfident about that glitch not appearing, I suppose, if that had anything to do with it. Or, shoulda been careful about unknown sellers.

[JeffJS]

Arright, meanwhile, cleahed a cahd t update that fihrmweah.

(Hard to try typing your own accent without sounding like a cartoon, isn't it? )


I'll look for that Rescue Pro, most of my cards are in fact Sandisk. I presume it'd be a CD? I don't think I've seen any of those at least in a long while. Let me check my pile. (Nope.) Ah. Perhaps a free download from Roxio? (No, that's not it) I've still got this one that arrived broken in its original packaging, cause I keep thinking I'll take it apart to see what's inside, one day. I probably have just ignored free downloads in the packaging, last ones I had, assuming it's be, well, stuff that looks like it's probably junk.

Anyway, I dunno, I don't seem to have any. If they're that common maybe I can look for one with it or see if anyone has a bunch they'd otherwise use for coasters or something.

I suppose I can try another freeware version, first. So far everything just looks to be claiming the card's empty, I wonder if it's functioning at all, even to try to read.. anything that'd say if there's really data at all might be a good next step.

I may as well take the opportunity to learn about this, I do suppose, ..I've never had a card failure before. Hopefully won't again, now that I've updated the firmware. I got too overconfident about that glitch not appearing, I suppose, if that had anything to do with it. Or, shoulda been careful about unknown sellers.

They do have a 'trial' version but it's pay to use as a full featured software. I just renewed my license ($20) because it has saved me a few times in the last year. It doesn't always get Everything though. Sometimes the card is just plain empty. It managed to save a bunch of my sister's photos, on a going bad card, just before it completely gave up the ghost.

[monochrome]

I'll look for that Rescue Pro, most of my cards are in fact Sandisk. I presume it'd be a CD? . . .

I think it is a mini-CD, black ink on white background.

[Ratmagiclady]

They do have a 'trial' version but it's pay to use as a full featured software. I just renewed my license ($20) because it has saved me a few times in the last year. It doesn't always get Everything though. Sometimes the card is just plain empty. It managed to save a bunch of my sister's photos, on a going bad card, just before it completely gave up the ghost.

Hrm, yeah, Oh, I misread, too, I never had an Extreme card, these are Ultra IIs, pretty much all I've used apart from a PNY that I grabbed up on the run once. Assuming this one's real. I guess, would the trial version let me know if there's anything here, maybe save my stuff the once?

*trying the RescuePro* Yay, it looks like the data's still here. TOo bad none of what the free trial selected for being-able-to-save-ness is worth anything. Tests of new strobe, looks like mostly. The thing is, I'm not sure it's putting out all of even the ones you're allowed to save as images the computer can handle.

--Problem here would seem to be that while some will load in the other viewers, most of the allowed ones, they appear as just a grey block with maybe a black line at the top edge: the ones not allowed to be saved say it's not a format the viewer can read. DOes that mean that the thing mostly doesn't work for that anyway, or needs a fix?

If I can make it work, I might just subscribe, if it's twenty dollars (Erk. FOurty, that's probably too much for me. ) or save this for later, money coming out of other things, and all..

[imtheguy]

Yes, I think the trial allows you to see what it detects without allowing you to save the files.

[Ratmagiclady]

So, anyone with any idea what's up with this situation where I can see mostly all the images in preview, ...it lets you move any of the twenty five first ones to your own drive, but of these, very few appear as much more than grey blocks in any other program. (One's got a couple of misaligned chunks at the top, mostly just half of a black line, with the most of them.)

Kind of wondering if it'll even work if I shell out, or if I can try another option. There must be some way to make something work if the previews can work.

Ah, here's one bit of info, it seems the recovery program's only got around 75-100 kb files for the ones not coming out in the viewers. One is smaller than it should be in MB and is the one cut up into odd blocks. Formatting, perhaps? Not sure what can be done for that...