Damaged Memory Card: Hi I'm new to this forum and have a question/problem. I went out and took pictures all day yesterday. Almost through the day and my memory card reads damaged and I...

Lauri Buchanan Folkins

Hi I'm new to this forum and have a question/problem. I went out and took pictures all day yesterday. Almost through the day and my memory card reads damaged and I can't access anything now. Does anyone have any suggestions on the possibility of retrieving the photos? I have a Nikon D7000, a Mac and the memory card is a PNT 16GB. I am very low tech, so the simpler the solution, the better for me. I am very grateful for any suggestions. Thank you!! I enjoy this forum!

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

Look in SEARCH at the top of the Forum header and type in Damaged Memory card recovery.

Wahawk Loc: NE IA

Stop using it, use Google to search for Recuva and it should help.

Then either replace the card or make sure you format it in the computer and then reformat in the camera before trying to use it again.

Wall-E Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Wahawk wrote:

Stop using it, use Google to search for Recuva and it should help.

Then either replace the card or make sure you format it in the computer and then reformat in the camera before trying to use it again.

WAIT!!!!!!!

Do NOT even ATTEMPT to format the card until you've recovered the images.
A local computer shop will be more use than anything we tell you here, as you've indicated that you're low tech.

And after you DO recover the images, THROW THAT CARD AWAY!

Edit: Since you're using a Mac, the Genius Bar experts at an Apple store should be able to help.

Lauri Buchanan Folkins

Thank you all so much!!

JamesCurran Loc: Trenton ,NJ

Wahawk wrote:

Stop using it, use Google to search for Recuva and it should help.

Recuva is (as far as I can see) a Windows-only program. The persn asking for help indicated she uses a Mac.

Lauri Buchanan Folkins

Yes, I have a mac and I don't think the recova program works for mac. Also just called camera store and they would charge $100 to get photos if they are able. $7 if not. It is not worth it to me. The camera store did say that the PYN cards are notorious for these type of problems. Ah, live and learn.

Wall-E Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Lauri Buchanan Folkins wrote:

Yes, I have a mac and I don't think the recova program works for mac. Also just called camera store and they would charge $100 to get photos if they are able. $7 if not. It is not worth it to me. The camera store did say that the PYN cards are notorious for these type of problems. Ah, live and learn.

And that's why I suggested a COMPUTER store.
Heck, if I lived nearby I'd do it just for the practice.

If your profile had a location in it, we could maybe suggest more specific places/people to assist.

And their comment about PNY is just garbage. They're just as good as any of the other second tier suppliers.

Lauri Buchanan Folkins

OOPS. Computer store. I will make an appointment with an Apple Genius. And this has been my first problem with this brand of memory card. Thanks for your help!!

JamesCurran Loc: Trenton ,NJ

Lauri Buchanan Folkins wrote:

They would charge $100 to get photos if they are able. $7 if not.

Yikkes! That's a big mark up. Especially when the difference in effort between being successful & unsuccessful in retrieving the images is about 30 seconds. (i.e, Once you know you can get them, getting them takes about 30 seconds)

Note, also, the memory cards (like USB thumbdrives, CDROMs and DVD) all use a standard format, which can be read by both Mac & Windows. So, if you have a friend with a Windows PC, they could run Recuva on it.

Lauri Buchanan Folkins

Great idea! Thanks James.

MDI Mainer

There are image recovery programs for MACs.

http://www.cardrescue.com/

I've only ever done it with PCs, but it's not difficult. If Apple costs too much, perhaps you can get a friend to help.

singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

Lauri Buchanan Folkins wrote:

Hi I'm new to this forum and have a question/problem. I went out and took pictures all day yesterday. Almost through the day and my memory card reads damaged and I can't access anything now. Does anyone have any suggestions on the possibility of retrieving the photos? I have a Nikon D7000, a Mac and the memory card is a PNT 16GB. I am very low tech, so the simpler the solution, the better for me. I am very grateful for any suggestions. Thank you!! I enjoy this forum!

First thing is to make sure this SD card isn't a fake. Where did you purchase this card? If the computer geeks can't recover your photos on this card, try to exchange it for another brand card where you purchased it or ask for a refund. There's a lot of fake cards out there and lots of sellers of these cards on Ebay and other websites. It's always a good idea to buy all your memory cards from reputable dealers or electronics stores that honor their exchange or refund poiicies. But, if all else fails, trash this card and buy one to replace it from a reputable store. You live and you learn that "Cheap" may actually mean "useless" but it's a lesson everyone needs to learn at one time or another.
Sorry to hear about your problem. Is this indication of "DEFECTIVE CARD" shown from your camera display or is this from your MAC? Did you format this card before using it in your camera or on the MAC? HINT: cards need to first formatted in the camera you intend to use them in. Every camera has it's own format method and file system for photo storage header on the card.

Wall-E Loc: Phoenix, AZ

singleviking wrote:

HINT: cards need to first formatted in the camera you intend to use them in. Every camera has it's own format method and file system for photo storage header on the card.

If it wasn't formatted for the camera, the image counter wouldn't have incremented.

amehta Loc: Boston

As you were shooting, did you occasionally look at past images? If so, that means that the card was working, but at some point it became corrupt.

The one time I had a card become corrupt, I got some recovery software online and got about 95% of the images back. This is more common than we would like.