CF Card Error Question

[pritchett]

Just got back from a short trip to New York and when reviewing my files there are a group of them that have gibberish as file names and I'm unable to open them. Some appear as empty folders and some appear as files of unknown type. The other files on the card are fine so I'm assuming it is not a fried CF card. I have tried to rename the files but it won't let me. Anyone had this problem or have any ideas? I would hate to lose these shots. They showed up fine on the LCD. Thanks.

Michael

[dang]

Here's a thread on another forum that might help answer:
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a ... _id=003bKr

I can also vouch, that by changing lenses and/or removing the CF card while still powered up, you can corrupt the bodies firmware and cause a lot of odd problems.

Hope this helps.

[pritchett]

Thanks for the suggestion. I did not change the lens or play with the CF card while powered on at all. I am now remembering that when I was taking shots, all of the sudden the camera was unresponsive. I turned it off then back on and it was fine. No photos after that point recorded properly to the card.

I have since tried the card in both my cameras and it works fine. Not sure what went wrong but lost some good shots.

[madlights]

Here is a link to a free file recovery program. I used to have that happen on my SM cards and sometimes I could recover with this (sometimes) You may be already aware of similar programs
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm
If you have something to do..like take a vacation while running this, It does take a while. Sometimes it worked at least partially for me. And even if you've taken some shots there still might be some of your old ones on there that can be recovered, since a lot of times the data is on there but the locations in the card's directory are erased. It's kind of an amazing program. Good luck

[pritchett]

Holy #^$#!. It worked! I tried another file recovery program (that I paid $40 for) and it didn't work so I wasn't very optomistic about this one, BUT...it worked!!! I can't thank you enough.

Michael

[dang]

Michael,
It sounds like your camera acted the same as Conon's err99. This is probably when the files became corrupted. Be sure and clean your body, and lens contacts just in case. And if you don't mind me asking, what body and lens you were using?

[pritchett]

At the time I was using my Canon 400D with a Sigma 10-20. I have had that error code on my 20D in the past with my Canon EF 24-105L but it only happened once and after turning the camera off then back on, it worked again and no files lost. Oh well. The program that was recommended worked well although it takes time (especially on a 4GB card working with big RAW files).

Again, I am greatful to madlights for the suggestion. I'll be sure to post the pics on my site when I get time to go through them (after my next trip to Yosemite this week). We'll see if everyone else thinks they were worth saving.

Thanks again to all of you.

[ericvision]

Those are the exact symptoms that I had with the only duff CF card I ever experienced. My advice would be to send it back to the manufacturer if its a shiny expensive one like a Sandisk Ultra IV or some-such, or if its a cheap one just chuck it and buy some Ultra IIs which are almost free these days

[dang]

Michael,
It's great that you saved the shots, Barri has taught me a heck of a lot about digitals, and I always trust what he says. If you experience any more problems, you might consider what Steven says also. I hope you have other cards to take with you, at any rate...

Most times, err 99 happens when the light is too low to trigger the auto focusing properly, if it's not a contact or lens problem. So if it's low light, you can use manual focus to avoid the problem.

If you don't mind, please keep us updated so we'll know in case others experience the same thing.

Happy shooting, and I look forward to seeing the shots from your trip.
tom

[madlights]

Hi Michael
Yeah I've had that happen on SM (on an Olympus)cards which were notorious for not making good contact, either since the contacts were dirty or the cards were bad...So although I haven't had that experience with my microdrive, or any of my CF cards, it does make it sound suspect. A glitch can erase a directory very easily, or a power surge or I suppose lack of power at the correct time, or a faulty card (microdrive) If it does it again I'd try to duplicate it with another card and see if it's the camera or card. Hopefully the card. By the way I just got a 1gb CF at B&H for 11.95 after a 5.00 rebate...I can remember when they were 100.00.

[ralf]

By the way I just got a 1gb CF at B&H for 11.95 after a 5.00 rebate...I can remember when they were 100.00.

Heh, my first CF cards were $120 each -- for 32MB. That was in November 1998. I can now get two 8GB SD cards for less than that.... (A-DATA brand, from Newegg: $50.99 plus shipping; I bought one of these for $67+s&h at the end of January.)

[glamourfish]

Will this program work for CF cards too? Or can anybody advise which program is best to use?
I acidentally deleted a pic & desperately want it back!

[madlights]

http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/uk/welcome.htm
Yep...works on CF or anything...even with broken headers...if you have a pc.
I think it'll work with anything even a hard drive (it would take a long time for that) It's an amazing program and FREE. it will work where others won't...it takes a bit of time. If you've used your card after a problem though, your file may be overwritten...so nothing will work then.