SD memory card - what's happened?

Question

i have an 8GB SD memory card that i use in my digital camera, has been working fine (only 3 weeks old) until i changed my batteries yesterday (changed them many times before without a prob) only now when i power up my camera it says "card not initialised"?? i have inserted the card into my lap top and it says "not formatted" - "do you want to format?" - but if i do i will lose everything that is on it.

can anyone suggest anything to retrieve my data (holiday photo's and video footage)

Answer 1

Did you change batteries while the camera was stillon.If you did, you may have inadvertently flashed the card, causing it to error..

Answer 2

Find a friend with a Macintosh and a USB card reader. Sometimes Macs can retrieve files that Windows can't even see.

Answer 3

go to yahoo search

type photo rescue

Answer 4

I had a similar problem a few weeks ago. The card was unreadable by the camera or my Mac or Windows laptops. I downloaded a program from Sandisk (cant remember its name, try their website). When you run it it scans your card and tells you what files are retrievable. If there are files that can be saved you then have to pay for the software so it is unlocked and you then get your files.

You must use a card reader though for these recovery programs to work.

I tried it on my failed card and it wouldn't recover anything, then for some unknown reason the card came back to life a couple of days later !!.

Good Luck

Answer 5

You may have managed to "flash" or destroy or erase the SD.  You can check it out anyway you can, but if all else fails; reformat the card and maybe you won't have lost the SD. The pictures may still be on the SD, but don't know any way to get them back.  Think it is best to download pictures and reformat the SD often.

The link below will help you with battery problems.  You may not have to change batteries so often if the batteries are fully charged and the battery to camera contacts are good. In the past when my batteries were too low, the camera would cut off. Have never removed batteries when the camera was operating so guess that is not a good idea. Thanks for teaching me something new.

The secret to making digital cameras work better is having good electrical contacts between the batteries and the camera.

Digital cameras require lots of power. If electrical contacts are not really good, this can cause lots of problems so battery and camera contacts must be cleaned properly.  Batteries may have a full charge, but will be viewed by the camera as low if contacts are not really good. The LCD display is a low steady load, but with extending the lens, focus, optical zoom, and flash charging in the capture mode; it is like starting a car.  With bad contacts, cameras can do strange things like making bad pictures or shutting off with the lens out.