Can't download photos - Says card needs to be formatted

Dogdots

I have a SanDisk Extreme card that I can't get to download photos onto my computer. It tells me that the card needs to be formatted. I've looked online for software to retrieve my photos, but there are many out there and I'm wondering which software is the safest and the best to use.

I've downloaded 2 software programs - AppleXSoft, CF Card Reader and Rescue Pro. Rescue Pro let me keep the first 25 photos in the demo, but didn't show me the rest of the photos on my card like the AppleXSoft program did. Any suggestions on which program would be greatly appreciated.

**If posted in the wrong area - please move me

David_S85

How old is the card? Within a year of purchase, SanDisk offers a free download of one year usage RescuePRO Deluxe. If you still have the packaging, there should be a card with the offer and ID number within.

Dogdots

David_S85 wrote: »

How old is the card? Within a year of purchase, SanDisk offers a free download of one year usage RescuePRO Deluxe. If you still have the packaging, there should be a card with the offer and ID number within.

Its past the one year warranty so I'm out of luck there. I'll downloaded Rescue Pro so now I'll just have to pay to get the photos. Wonder tho if I should try using the card again??? What are your thoughts when something like this happens? Use it or throw it away?

David_S85

Dogdots wrote: »

Its past the one year warranty so I'm out of luck there. I'll downloaded Rescue Pro so now I'll just have to pay to get the photos. Wonder tho if I should try using the card again??? What are your thoughts when something like this happens? Use it or throw it away?

Never had it happen, actually. And I only use SanDisk. Knock on wood.

Dogdots

David_S85 wrote: »

Never had it happen, actually. And I only use SanDisk. Knock on wood.

Never had this happen before either - hope it never does again.

ziggy53

Mary, do you review and delete images on the card while the card is in the camera?

Dogdots

ziggy53 wrote: »

Mary, do you review and delete images on the card while the card is in the camera?

I will review photos in camera, but I never delete in camera. I download my photos onto my computer and then put the card back into my camera and format it. I'm wondering if this card was in my 7D and I took it out when I sold it back to BH. I may of forgotten to format it when I put it into the 40D. When I ran the card through the trail version of Rescue Pro I see photos I've taken awhile back that I've already downloaded to my computer.

What I find really odd is when I was out shooting with the card I could view the photos I was taking while shooting. It was only when I went to download the photos onto the computer that the 'card needs to be formatted' will occur. I did put the card into the camera again to see if I could still see the photos and the camera told me then too that the card needed to be formatted.

David_S85

For what it is worth, here's what I do. I've never lost images across 7 camera bodies and more than a dozen cards and over 15 years. Lucky so far. I have two or more cards per camera to limit data loss if it ever happens. I don't use huge cards for the same reason. Those I do use each hold about 300 RAWs max. Those are never placed in any other camera body. I format the cards in the camera they are paired to, and then only when they're nearly full. I never ever fill a card to capacity. 90-92% full and then I stop. It is that last image that might corrupt the file table. I try not to delete images off cards in-camera, but yet I still do, even though I know it isn't a wise thing to do. I have never formatted a card from the computer. I don't even attach a camera to a computer to offload - always removing the card to offload images with a card proper card reader.

Another thing… I only buy name brand cards from known retailers like B&H that I'm pretty sure avoid counterfeits. I don't buy the latest and greatest highest end cards either - maybe because I want to be economic (yes, that's it) - but I'm most afraid that jamming hundreds of megabytes from the buffer down the throat of an ultra super duper speed card in a couple seconds and there might be a lost bit in there somewhere. Ziggy will tell me that the controllers on the cards and in the camera should prevent that, and I'm sure he's right. But I have to throw in some paranoia into my beliefs somewhere.

vlherring

I wish I had known that because it doesn't say so on the SanDisk sheet that came with the card = I went ahead and bought RescuePro [not deluxe] and am a bit irritated but at least I got myt pics back.

vlherring

This is what I said in my reply to my own post, of about the same time! - "I reached SanDisk via Chat last night, explained the issue, the guy told me about LGTechnologies which they say is best about data recovery and I found RescuePro on the website so decided to 'risk it' and downloaded [bought - no where in the information supplied with the card did it tell me there was a one year RescuePro subscription, so I'm ticked about that] and even tho the card never did show up on the desktop when I put it in the card reader again, it was seen by the RescuePro software and I was able to recover the pictures == I imported them into Aperture and they look okay at first glance [lots of mb each so they're not without any data or image] - I'll be able to send the SD card back for replacement....but it is irritating there was no indication ref. the warranty coverage with free software to do the trick." -- of course, this was a brand new card - lst usage, 850 shots [it's a 32G card...I might drop back to 16 to force myself to change cards, as I think I was going to lose 1/2 the trip if this card went bad.

Don Kondra

I'm on Windows 7 Mary and have got that message before

Just close the message window and continue as normal..

If you believe the message and reformat you will lose your images and need a recovery program to get them back.

Cheers, Don

Don Kondra

Little more info...

In my case, the card reader in my computer seemed to be getting loose in that the card did not seem to slide in as smoothly anymore.

If I gave it the old jiggle or reinserted it as smoothly as I could it would connect. I would still occassionally get "the message".

As I said, I would simply close the window and continue downloading as normal.

So I purchased an external card reader and still would get "the message" the odd time.

It seemed to be related to how smoothly and firmly the card was inserted ?

Sandisk 32MB Extreme Pro.

Cheers, Don

vlherring

I have to just add in that sometimes the card reader is defective = = but in this case the card [same one] wasn't recognized in several different card readers and not in the camera either. I did solve it with Rescrue Pro, thankfully.

Dogdots

David I never thought of not filling a card to capacity. That's a good idea though and I'll admit I'm known to do that often. All my cards were bought from BH - I too believe that's the best place to buy my camera products.

Don I tried your suggestion to just close out the box. I did that and then opened up Adobe Bridge to download the photos from the card and it comes up 'Not detected or is busy'. I've used my SanDisk downloader with other cards and it's working fine.

I've still not bought the RescuePro yet, but I'm thinking I'm going to have to do that.

Don Kondra

Okay,

I always download to a folder on my desktop and then open the files in whatever editing program i choose/need.

Old school accounting, don't care to put all my stuff in one catalgue/library

Cheers, Don

Dogdots

Don Kondra wrote: »

Okay,

I always download to a folder on my desktop and then open the files in whatever editing program i choose/need.

Old school accounting, don't care to put all my stuff in one catalgue/library

Cheers, Don

I only use Adobe Bridge to download my photos to a file on my desktop. I'm like you - I don't like all my stuff in one place

kofa

You may try the free software photorec, it reads the card directly, looking for headers used in camera files (such as JPG, raw, movie formats), and can even find files you shot before you formatted the card the last time (provided they have not been overwritten):
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec_Step_By_Step
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec

Dogdots

kofa wrote: »

You may try the free software photorec, it reads the card directly, looking for headers used in camera files (such as JPG, raw, movie formats), and can even find files you shot before you formatted the card the last time (provided they have not been overwritten):
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec_Step_By_Step
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec

Thank you -- I'll give it a try