[jpzk]

Here it goes:

I have a set of images taken this morning, all in DNG (RAW), with my K5 and a 8GB Sandisk Extreme Pro SDHC (with the small 1 inside a "U") ... never had a problem until this batch from this morning.

Problems:

1. two files are showing in PDCU 4 (which I always use with no issues at all) but will not open; they do not show as "corrupted" (no little "broken" orange-coloured icon).
2. six(6) files showing the orange "broken" icon ... cannot open that either.
They will not open in CS5 either.

I am including a screen shot of the PDCU 4 program showing the files in question.

I noticed this only after having downloaded the RAW images from the card to my hard drive. They did show on the camera monitor uopn review shortly before uploading them to the computer.
I use a card reader to upload the pics from the card to the comp.

Has anyone have any idea if this can be "repaired" (probably not ? ) and any idea about what could have happened?

Any help would be appreciated.

I am about to transfer more files (pics taken this afternoon) (RAW-DNG) from that same card to the computer, using the same method, and see if any of those files will show as broken-corrupted.

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Last edited by jpzk; 01-15-2013 at 07:58 PM.

[jpzk]

FURTHER NEWS ABOUT THE PROBLEM ...

I have uploaded some images (RAW - DNG) from the same SD card to the computer: absolutely NO problem this time ! ????

I have another "Print Screen" shot below, showing all the DNG files as they should.

Go figure !!

It would be nice to have an idea about this ... I would hate to go out there, taken 100 shots and come back home with a full set of bad files.

So, you techies out there, come and help solve the mystery please.

Cheers.

JP

As an aside: I just discovered having forgotten to switch the K5 metering back to "spot" ...I have been shooting away in full matrix for the past two days !!!

[rawr]

Too many variables:

- bad card write (from camera memory to card)
- bad card handling (eg electrostatic charge from hand to card on card removal)
- bad card filesystem (eg file allocation table damaged, bad sectors etc)
- bad card contacts (eg crud or oxidation of card contacts)
- bad card condition (eg card physically damaged by heat or bending)
- bad card reader (crud or oxidation or rust inside card reader)
- bad USB cable from card reader to PC
- bad USB cable contact/seating from card reader to PC
- bad HDD disk write upon transfer to PC due to device contention, bad sectors etc
- bad PC RAM
- corruption of DNG file by software

etc etc

My bet would be the external card reader though. I had a good Sandisk one fail for no reason and it caused similar problems. Re-formatting your SD card(s) in camera would also probably be a good idea now to avoid any possible SD card file system corruption issues being responsible for the problem.

[jpzk]

Too many variables:

- bad card write (from camera memory to card)
- bad card handling (eg electrostatic charge from hand to card on card removal)
- bad card filesystem (eg file allocation table damaged, bad sectors etc)
- bad card contacts (eg crud or oxidation of card contacts)
- bad card condition (eg card physically damaged by heat or bending)
- bad card reader (crud or oxidation or rust inside card reader)
- bad USB cable from card reader to PC
- bad USB cable contact/seating from card reader to PC
- bad HDD disk write upon transfer to PC due to device contention, bad sectors etc
- bad PC RAM
- corruption of DNG file by software

etc etc

My bet would be the external card reader though. I had a good Sandisk one fail for no reason and it caused similar problems. Re-formatting your SD card(s) in camera would also probably be a good idea now to avoid any possible SD card file system corruption issues being responsible for the problem.

Thank you RAWR !

Sure looks like all kinds of things can go wrong indeed.
I would agree that this may be from file system corruption (SD card) ... what makes me lean toward this is the fact that I haven't formatted the SD card from within the camera for a very, very long time !

However, althought his may not be the cause, I remember having checked the files in the card, using PDCU, so I could see them all before uploading to the comp.
But, I don't remember if I did look at them all !! ... shows you how good my memory is.

I have, as I explained above in my second post, used that same setup this afternoon and all went well.

For what it's worth, here is my workflow when I transfer files from the camera to the comp.:

1. take card out of the camera and insert into the card reader (Lexar ... rather old: 3 years)
2. connect card reader to the USB; I have a USB cable running from the back of the computer then into the card reader. I did in the past used a direct connect from a USB port but that was really a pain in the butt.
3. computer reads the card and I open the folder ... look at the files (images) in PDCU and after that, I COPY/PASTE to an external HDD. I was told to go that way rather that just drag/drop to the folder as this may sometimes cause some irrgularities. True?
4. click on a small icon on the desktop to allow for "the (whatever device) can now be safely removed ... "

I suppose it would be time to get a new card reader ? Is 3 years too old or asking for trouble ?
I also ought to clean the contacts of the USB cabling/connections ... which I procrastinate doing.
Of course, at not the least, format the SD card in-camera, something I have neglected doing.

I appreciate your input.

Cheers.

JP

[SpecialK]

I have uploaded some images (RAW - DNG) from the same SD card to the computer: absolutely NO problem this time ! ????

I have another "Print Screen" shot below, showing all the DNG files as they should.

Do you mean the original "bad" files are now good?

[post_eos]

My guess would be the USB cable. I've had corruption copying from external hard drives before because of a bad cable. Changed the cable and the same files came over just fine. The cables that come with card readers are some of the lowest quality cables you can get, especially if they are Micro USB. I've never had a problem with a cable that had full size connectors on each end. So, if your cable has a Micro or Mini connector on the reader side, I'd replace it. It's also the cheapest fix to try.

[jpzk]

Do you mean the original "bad" files are now good?

Sorry about the confusion ...
No, the "bad" files are still bad ! I don't expect some sort of miracle either ...


From my first post:
"I am about to transfer more files (pics taken this afternoon) (RAW-DNG) from that same card to the computer, using the same method, and see if any of those files will show as broken-corrupted."
.... so I did take more pics in the afternoon and the resulting files are fine.

From my second post:
"I have uploaded some images (RAW - DNG) from the same SD card to the computer: absolutely NO problem this time ! ???? "

JP

[jpzk]

My guess would be the USB cable. I've had corruption copying from external hard drives before because of a bad cable. Changed the cable and the same files came over just fine. The cables that come with card readers are some of the lowest quality cables you can get, especially if they are Micro USB. I've never had a problem with a cable that had full size connectors on each end. So, if your cable has a Micro or Mini connector on the reader side, I'd replace it. It's also the cheapest fix to try.

Thanks or the reply.

The cable I am using was bought at my favorite tech store (the guys are real computer "geeks") and it is a full-size USB connection at both ends.
They don't (usually) sell me junky equipment. They know I'll come back to haunt them if they do !

If the cable is at fault, I am wondering why the second set of pics I have transfered (with the same workflow) were fine ... no corrupted files at all.
Maybe it is a random thing which will get worse?
Maybe just a "fluke" ... bad fluke though.

JP

[post_eos]

Thanks or the reply.

The cable I am using was bought at my favorite tech store (the guys are real computer "geeks") and it is a full-size USB connection at both ends.
They don't (usually) sell me junky equipment. They know I'll come back to haunt them if they do !

If the cable is at fault, I am wondering why the second set of pics I have transfered (with the same workflow) were fine ... no corrupted files at all.
Maybe it is a random thing which will get worse?
Maybe just a "fluke" ... bad fluke though.

JP

If it's full size USB A connectors (the flat ones) at both ends, then you're right, it's probably not the cable, especially if it's aftermarket.

If it was the cable though, it could be bad one time and good the next because of a faulty connection from the wire to the connector. These wires are really small on mini and micro USB plugs and that's the weak point. The reason I guessed the cable is because you said the cable is plugged in to the back of the computer. That means it probably gets moved when you plug in the reader. And that can cause a bad connection if it's moved just right (or just wrong ).

[jpzk]

If it's full size USB A connectors (the flat ones) at both ends, then you're right, it's probably not the cable, especially if it's aftermarket.

If it was the cable though, it could be bad one time and good the next because of a faulty connection from the wire to the connector. These wires are really small on mini and micro USB plugs and that's the weak point. The reason I guessed the cable is because you said the cable is plugged in to the back of the computer. That means it probably gets moved when you plug in the reader. And that can cause a bad connection if it's moved just right (or just wrong ).

Gotcha!

Well, the cable doesn't really move that much at the back of the computer because it is long enough so that the end that connects to the card reader sits on my desk.
Indeed it is the large USB size at both ends.
But, as you say, it just might move enough (albeit a tiny bit each time) so that there could be a cumulative effect of slowly loosening it ??

I guess the best thing is to check the connection every so often and make sure it is clean. There is an awful lot of dust collecting behing this computer and I have not been very good at cleaning up down there !!

I hope this will not happen again ... if it does I may just have to get a brand new USB cable + card reader.
Other than that I can't figure what exactly happened on that day.
rawr made a list of what can happen ... quite a few variables -- scary.

Cheers, and thanks again for the reply.

JP