Bad SD Card, Help Wanted

[SteveM]

Good morning.

A friend gave me a San Disk 512 MB SD card which she has images on but could not access. I told her that I'd try and recover the images for her. The problem is that the disk will not stay mounted on the file system.

When I put the card in the card reader the computer recognizes it. However, after a couple of seconds it disappears. The card stays mounted long enough for me to see the top level items: DCIM, Capture Log and NIKON001.DSC. And I was once able to open the DCIM folder and see the thumbnails. But the card does not stay mounted long enough to copy any of the files.

I see the same behavior in both OS X 10.5.x and Windows XP.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how I can get the images off of the card?

Thanks,

SteveM

[peterkrogh]

Steve,
You might try to access the card with PhotoRescue.

Was this a new card, or one that has been used for a while?  A new card might indicate faulty hardware, while a known-reliable card might just indicate directory damage.
Peter

[SteveM]

Hi Peter,

Thank you for the reply.

I've tried PhotoRescue. The problem is that the card does not stay mounted long enough for PhotoRescue to grab any data. It goes through the motions, but in the end, after many read errors, it reports failure. Attempt to backup the card using PhotoRescue have also been unsuccessful.

The card has been used successfully in the past. Most recently on a trip to Costa Rica.

I was hoping someone might know of a utility that would keep the card mounted.

Thanks again,

SteveM

[peterkrogh]

Steve,
Sounds like it's in need of some kind of direcory or volume repair.  How about something Like Disk Warrior?
Peter

[SteveM]

Peter,

That was what I was thinking as well. I do not have a license for Disk Warrior, or any other such utility, and the several I looked at all cost about US $99. I don't have a problem spending that amount if it will solve the problem, but I have not been able to find any info on which, if any of these utilities, might be able to do the job.

I may just have to bite the bullet and try one.

Thanks again,

SteveM

[SteveM]

Alas, Disk Warrior was not the answer.

I can get Disk Warrior to see the drive, albeit fleetingly, but Disk Warrior reports that the file system is not supported, so it cannot repair the disk.

Bummer.

Anyone else have any ideas?

SteveM

[ScottBuckel]

Steve -

I overheard another photographer telling another one that Sandisk helped him out in a situation like yours.  So, maybe give them a call, and see if they can help you out.  I have been lucky PhotoRescue has worked for me and I have successfully help a couple of others out as well.

Good luck,

Scott

[SteveM]

Thanks Scott, we'll give it a try.

SteveM

[SteveM]

Before giving the card back to my friend, I loaded it into my Canon G9. And much to my surprise and pleasure, I was able to download 200 files. Unfortunately, only 40 of these files are viewable images (but 40 is better than 0!). The remaining flies are somehow corrupted.

So now the question becomes, can anyone recommend software which can fix corrupted image (JPEG) files?

Thanks,

SteveM

[peterkrogh]

Steve,
In my experience, the possibility of fixing those is low.

Did you try to put the card back in a reader after putting it in the camera?

If you are giving up on it, you could try a few other things -
you could format the card, and then try to recover the files with Photorescue

Peter