Smartmedia "card error" message

[voxmagna]

You might (if you can), look at all files and
folders on a new 128 MB card. Then compare
files and folders in the to the "problem"
smartmedia card.
Then edit copy paste folders and files on
a "good" card to a folder on your hard drive.
Then delete the files and folders on "problem"
smart media (presuming no pics on it!)
Then edit copy edit paste the files and folders
from your hard drive folder to your "problem"
smart media.

Card Error message usually arises when the FORMAT is wrong, so I'd doubt if moving files around will solve the problem. When you put a fresh card in a cam, as long as the format is OK, it usually makes the directories on the first shot.

With WinHex I've taken a problem card, filled the whole card with 00's (or was it FF's?) put it back in the cam and reformatted it. I've also modified the cluster size in DOS to 512 bytes, it wouldn't read, so wiped the first sector with all the DOS boot stuff on, it then would reformat and remain a 512 cluster card. Gutsy eh!

I think these cams expect to see headers on the card (not just the directories you see in Explorer) - my 602 seems happy if the data is zero, but unhappy if something else is there. Format seems the same. Unlike a floppy which can be re-freshed by a re-written format, the cam 'format' does not appear to write over everything, if data it doesn't expect is present already.

[eric s]

Older versions of format in dos (and early windows) had a hidden option called /MBR. That option would not only reformat the drive, it would also erase the master boot record. This has gotten me around problems which nothing else would solve. It might be a safer way than using WinHex. Then again, the point is to completely wipe data from the drive, so other than physically damaging it everything is "safe"

I don't know if this option still exists in modern Microsoft OSs. I hope so!

Here is a link to the definition of the MBR, if people care:

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definit...214086,00.html

Eric

[voxmagna]

Eric s..., thanks. What I didn't say was I was frustrated not being able to use all the format switches for FAT and cluster size etc. in Win98SE DOS. However, Win2K DOS looks like what I was used to -with DOS help as well!

I've just answered a post from somebody who has a damaged card. This is not newbie stuff, but WinHex does allow you to fill a card with your own data byte, and this might be a good way to check the card before the camera finds a part of memory it can't write to. Afterwards as you say filling with 00's or FF's definitely wipes it clean. A 'walk pattern' of bytes would be better. What I found was that a camera format doesn't put much in the first sector, however a pc DOS format via the reader does, and marks it as Bill G's!, and it's this data the card objects to. - so I wiped it and the card was fine afterwards. From your link, I think my pc format put on the MBR by default, which my Fuji cam didn't like, and I flushed it away.

[Mr.B]

Would you be using an s602z? I had a similar problem with my Xp + USB card reader and SM cards. My problems occured after I used my pc to delete pix from the cards via the reader. I returned two 128MB cards as defective and now suspect there was nothing wrong with them. Using the original 16MB Fuji card that came with the camera, I did a destructive format from my pc through the reader (FAT not FAT32) then placed it back in the camera. The camera still showed !CARD ERROR! but I then went to playback, press the MENU/OK button and chose format. Suddenly, everything returned to normal!

I'm not sure you had/have the same problem as mine. My dificulty only showed up when I deleted pix from the SM via my pc. What I thought was strange is I could not find any information anywhere on what to do, either locally or on the internet. Anyway, if this helps, great, if not, I tried. 8)

[voxmagna]

Mr.B Thanks - I posted something similar on your other post. Yes I have a 602. But apart from the CF compatibility issue, it is remarkably easy to do it in several ways and I now know all the 602 error messages it chucks out! But, as I've posted in this and other threads, I've become competent at fixing and can deliberately screw up any card and bring it back to life! I haven't messed with my Microdrive yet, but I have a compressed saved image of the drive, new out of the box - just in case!

[Mr.B]

Thanks voxmagna, for your replies. A few weeks ago I was all over the internet on manufacture's sites and several different forums (obviously not this one) and only came across one site where someone mentioned the possibility of having this problem. Their suggestion was to only use the camera to delete the pix files.

It still puzzles me why I have this problem only with the SM cards, not the CF cards. I even use the CF cards to carry data files back and forth and then delete the files and stick the cards back in my camera with no problems? :?

[voxmagna]

I'm running Win98SE. I shoot a batch of files to 128 Mb SM, get back home, copy not move ALL files from card in a reader, to hard disk. Rename,file lock and check the files on HD with ACDSee thumbnail viewer, then using Explorer delete ALL files off card, just leaving the Fuji directories. Put card back in cam.

Now I'm using Microdrive and because I don't like the fragile pins, I leave in cam and copy to HD using the cam USB link. When MD is full or shows any sign of slowing - I reformat drive. I've learned that 'reformat' in cams is not like floppies where a disc can start with anything on it and all data just gets 'wiped' with a full format and nothing is recoverable.

I think these cams do a 'Quick Format' to be quick and save on batts - and that's the problem. It means stuff is still left on the card and only the first part of the card structure is re-built. In the case of the 602, if it sees a format structure on the card say off an MP3 player or PC's 32 bit FAT, It says stuff this, leave it alone and issue a card format or unreadable error message.

You could say that's good if you accidentally tried to reformat a card used in your laptop remote drive and it had valuable stuff on it. However, it creates a big problem - you have a card which seems totally unuseable.

So to be sure, If I get a problem I either use WinHex 32 and fill the entire card with '00's then reformat in the reader with SM or CF prep. Alternatively, I know my saved compressed images of the new cards were all filled '00's, so I just write this back to the card through the reader. Bingo the card is now 'as delivered new'. You probably need to do this if you want to make sure you're card is absolutely 'cleaned' because your cam format won't do it for you.

If you want to prove this, download WinHex32 trial (you can't write back on the trial version), reformat a card in your cam then look at sectors after the first dozen - you'll find the card still stuffed with data. Try a never used new card (unless it was a return they didn't tell you about) and you should find lots of '00's or 'FF's. Cheers - VOX

[slobo]

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