Steve'sDigicams

mygirls2 · Apr 27, 2009, 9:58 AM

I have a cannon SD870 IS camera, and I went to take pictures yesterday and it says "memory card error". I read the instructions for the previous user and downloaded the photo recovery software from cgsecurity, and can not get it to work. When I open it, it brings up a DOS looking program and doesn't have my SD card as a selection to chose from. I am not sure this is right? Please help!

JimC · Apr 27, 2009, 10:12 AM

Are you using a card reader? With a Canon model, you'll need a card reader to see a card using any utilities.

Also, if you're using an SDHC card, the card reader will need to specifically support SDHC cards using the SD 2.0 specifications. Many card readers are based on the original SD 1.0 specifications and are not going to work with cards over 1GB in size.

mygirls2 · Apr 27, 2009, 10:32 AM

No, I am not sure what a card reader is? I am using the USB cable and have it attached to the camera and the computer as opposed to just putting the SD card into the computer. Is there something different I need to purchase?

I have a lexar SD card 512MB.

JimC · Apr 27, 2009, 10:50 AM

You'll need a card reader to see if any file are recoverable using utilities designed for that purpose.

Your Canon camera will not act as a card reader, since it's not USB mass storage compliant (instead, it's using a PTP protocol to transfer photos via USB).

A reader that works with both SD Cards (like your 512MB Card), as well as newer SDHC cards (which are available in capacities up to 32GB) are relatively inexpensive now (under $10 at online vendors).

Card reader list at newegg.com, searching for matches containing USB and SDHC

Note that you can also get a much larger SDHC card including a reader for very little money now. Here are some examples:

Transcend 4GB Class 6 SDHC card with card reader for $12.99

Transcend 8GB Class 6 SDHC card with card reader for $20.75

Transcend 16GB Class 6 SDHC card with card reader for $40.00

If you have a friend or coworker that has a card reader, you could also use their PC to see if any images are your card are recoverable Many PCs, including laptops and netbooks have SDHC card readers built into them now.

JimC · Apr 27, 2009, 10:56 AM

mygirls2 wrote:

Quote:

...as opposed to just putting the SD card into the computer.

If your computer already has a card reader built into it, use it.

mygirls2 · Apr 27, 2009, 10:57 AM

Thank you! I use a laptop, and I do not think that it has that capibility. We the the computer as a refurb, and i don't know half the things on here. i will try and figure it out before I purchase anything. I appreciate your help, Thanks!

mygirls2 · Apr 27, 2009, 10:58 AM

I tried, and nothing would open.

JimC · Apr 27, 2009, 11:02 AM

mygirls2 wrote:

Quote:

I tried, and nothing would open.

Did you see the card show up in the list of media when using Photorec?

Just because the operating system can't mount the card (which it probably can't if the file allocation table is corrupted) doesn't mean that recovery utilities like photorec can't see it.

If a 512MB drive (your card) doesn't show up in the list of media you see using photorec, unplug the card, reinsert it, and try again (without trying to view it's contents using Windows Explorer or any other utility first).

JimC · Apr 27, 2009, 11:09 AM

Just to make sure you understand the concept, you're not going to "see" your images using Photorec. It's designed to recover them from corrupted media (saving them to your hard drive so that you can view them with image viewers and editors *after* you recover them).

Use a card reader (if you have one built into your PC, that should work fine).

Select your memory card from the list of media it finds (hard drives, etc.). It will be the one that's the same size as your card, showing up as around 500MB), and give it a place to save the photos to on your hard disk when you are asked "Where to Save Recovered Files" (it defaults to saving recovered files in subfolders under Photorec named recup_1, etc.), but you can change it to something else if desired.

If your card is not showing up in the list of media it finds, let us know (but, try removing it and reinserting it and restart photorec to make sure it's not showing up).

Don't worry about changing any of the other options. Just leave everything else at the defaults (Partition type, file types to recover, etc.) and it will try to recover any images that haven't been overwritten yet (and don't try to do anything like take more photos or you may overwrite some of them).

It doesn't care about the file system at all, so any FAT (File Allocation Table) problems won't matter if you got any contiguous images saved before your FAT was corrupted (the most likely issue).

Here's a page showing you how to use this software:

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec_Step_By_Step

There are some other free programs around that do a pretty good job in most cases., too. Here's one example (and it also has a nice Graphical User Interface). I usually prefer photorec. But, if you're not comfortable with a text based interface, you may want to try this one first instead.

http://www.pcinspector.de/Sites/smar...htm?Language=1

JimC · Apr 27, 2009, 11:41 AM

If you have any issues understanding the concept (or the card is not showing up in the list of media detected using Photorec when using a card reader), let me know and I'll try to answer any questions.

The idea is to save any images from the card to your hard drive using this utility. Then, you can use other software to view/edit them (or copy them to any other folder on your hard drive that you want to store them in after they are saved to a folder on your hard drive by photorec).

After you recover any images from the card (and I'm assuming you took some with your camera that you want from it), you'll need to format it before using it again. If your camera's menu choice for format is unable to format it, try this utility (you'll see a download link at the bottom of the page):

http://panasonic.jp/support/global/c...formatter.html

But, make sure your images are recovered from it first.

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Apr 27, 2009, 9:58 AM	#1
mygirls2 Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 5	I have a cannon SD870 IS camera, and I went to take pictures yesterday and it says "memory card error". I read the instructions for the previous user and downloaded the photo recovery software from cgsecurity, and can not get it to work. When I open it, it brings up a DOS looking program and doesn't have my SD card as a selection to chose from. I am not sure this is right? Please help!

Apr 27, 2009, 10:12 AM	#2
JimC Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Savannah, GA (USA) Posts: 15,159	Are you using a card reader? With a Canon model, you'll need a card reader to see a card using any utilities. Also, if you're using an SDHC card, the card reader will need to specifically support SDHC cards using the SD 2.0 specifications. Many card readers are based on the original SD 1.0 specifications and are not going to work with cards over 1GB in size.

Apr 27, 2009, 10:32 AM	#3
mygirls2 Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 5	No, I am not sure what a card reader is? I am using the USB cable and have it attached to the camera and the computer as opposed to just putting the SD card into the computer. Is there something different I need to purchase? I have a lexar SD card 512MB.

Apr 27, 2009, 10:50 AM	#4
JimC Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Savannah, GA (USA) Posts: 15,159	You'll need a card reader to see if any file are recoverable using utilities designed for that purpose. Your Canon camera will not act as a card reader, since it's not USB mass storage compliant (instead, it's using a PTP protocol to transfer photos via USB). A reader that works with both SD Cards (like your 512MB Card), as well as newer SDHC cards (which are available in capacities up to 32GB) are relatively inexpensive now (under $10 at online vendors). Card reader list at newegg.com, searching for matches containing USB and SDHC Note that you can also get a much larger SDHC card including a reader for very little money now. Here are some examples: Transcend 4GB Class 6 SDHC card with card reader for $12.99 Transcend 8GB Class 6 SDHC card with card reader for $20.75 Transcend 16GB Class 6 SDHC card with card reader for $40.00 If you have a friend or coworker that has a card reader, you could also use their PC to see if any images are your card are recoverable Many PCs, including laptops and netbooks have SDHC card readers built into them now.

Apr 27, 2009, 10:57 AM	#6
mygirls2 Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 5	Thank you! I use a laptop, and I do not think that it has that capibility. We the the computer as a refurb, and i don't know half the things on here. i will try and figure it out before I purchase anything. I appreciate your help, Thanks!

Apr 27, 2009, 10:58 AM	#7
mygirls2 Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 5	I tried, and nothing would open.

Apr 27, 2009, 11:09 AM	#9
JimC Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Savannah, GA (USA) Posts: 15,159	Just to make sure you understand the concept, you're not going to "see" your images using Photorec. It's designed to recover them from corrupted media (saving them to your hard drive so that you can view them with image viewers and editors after you recover them). Use a card reader (if you have one built into your PC, that should work fine). Select your memory card from the list of media it finds (hard drives, etc.). It will be the one that's the same size as your card, showing up as around 500MB), and give it a place to save the photos to on your hard disk when you are asked "Where to Save Recovered Files" (it defaults to saving recovered files in subfolders under Photorec named recup_1, etc.), but you can change it to something else if desired. If your card is not showing up in the list of media it finds, let us know (but, try removing it and reinserting it and restart photorec to make sure it's not showing up). Don't worry about changing any of the other options. Just leave everything else at the defaults (Partition type, file types to recover, etc.) and it will try to recover any images that haven't been overwritten yet (and don't try to do anything like take more photos or you may overwrite some of them). It doesn't care about the file system at all, so any FAT (File Allocation Table) problems won't matter if you got any contiguous images saved before your FAT was corrupted (the most likely issue). Here's a page showing you how to use this software: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec_Step_By_Step There are some other free programs around that do a pretty good job in most cases., too. Here's one example (and it also has a nice Graphical User Interface). I usually prefer photorec. But, if you're not comfortable with a text based interface, you may want to try this one first instead. http://www.pcinspector.de/Sites/smar...htm?Language=1

Apr 27, 2009, 11:41 AM	#10
JimC Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Savannah, GA (USA) Posts: 15,159	If you have any issues understanding the concept (or the card is not showing up in the list of media detected using Photorec when using a card reader), let me know and I'll try to answer any questions. The idea is to save any images from the card to your hard drive using this utility. Then, you can use other software to view/edit them (or copy them to any other folder on your hard drive that you want to store them in after they are saved to a folder on your hard drive by photorec). After you recover any images from the card (and I'm assuming you took some with your camera that you want from it), you'll need to format it before using it again. If your camera's menu choice for format is unable to format it, try this utility (you'll see a download link at the bottom of the page): http://panasonic.jp/support/global/c...formatter.html But, make sure your images are recovered from it first.