Help recovering lost CF images - D700

<p>I took my Nikon D700 on my family vacation this week and took around 463 Images which were stored on a Sandisk Extreme 8GB CF card. I came home today and uploaded the card to Lightroom using a Lexar CF reader.<br>

I received an error message indicating that some of the images could not be read. I can see now that there are about 100 images which I can see on my camera preview LCD which were not uploaded. I have had this issue intermittently with the D700 using various CF Cards and have had Nikon Australia look at the Camera in an attempt to diagnose the fault. They were unable to find any problem with the camera and I quarantined that particular CF Card. When this has occured in the past I have been able to retrieve the images with the Sandisk File Recovery Utility. I ran it tonight over the card tonight and it stopped at the point where the missing images begin.<br>

When I put the card back into the camera I can still see all of the images. There are some great shots of my children which I would dearly love to recover. Can anyone suggest what else I may be able to do or know of other software which might assist. I have tried copying the images to my HDD but I get a similar error.</p>

<p>It must be something wrong with the CF reader. Try to download directly from the camera using an USB cable.</p>

<p>When you tried to copy the images from your card to the hard disk manually, which error did you get (and on which operating system)? It would sure help to understand what is going wrong (and which remedies to try, though there is always a risk of a damaged CF card and consequent loss of data).</p>

<p>Try <a href="http://uk.transcend-info.com/support/DlCenter/DLSoftware.asp?SID=4">RecoverRX from Transcend </a>(free). There's also Wondershare photo recovery and Stellar Pheonix Photo Recovery. You could also try connecting the camera direct to the computer via its USB lead. If none of that works, I'm afraid it's pretty much a lost cause.</p>

<p>FWIW, the only make of card that's ever given me trouble is Sandisk. That's on two or three separate CF cards now. I much prefer Transcend's products.</p>

<p>Have you change card reader since you started having this issue?</p>

<p>Isobuster is a $40 software that might be able to help you. I have used this software to retrieve image files that was written in an old file format that was no longer supported.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.isobuster.com/isobuster.php">Link</a></p>

 

<p>All those programs suggested still rely on Windows to read from a disk (with different levels of error-handling). So ultimately, they won't do anything more than what was already tried with copy/paste. Knowing which error the OP saw is much more useful than attempting a number of programs on a CF card that has issues. It could even make matters worse. Blindly assuming it is the card reader also makes little sense here, but trying to connect the camera and using that would sure help to determine whether or not it is the card reader.<br>

First understand a problem, then try solutions. Not the other way around. Especially not when you risk loosing data you are actually trying to retrieve.</p>

<p>If on Windows, do try the following: Open (my) computer, right-click the removable drive for the CF card, select Properties. Click the tab Tools and then Error Checking.</p>

<p>Are your images still visible on your camera's monitor?</p>

<p>Just out of curiosity, why would you continue to use a 'known' bad CF card?</p>

<blockquote>

<p>All those programs suggested still rely on Windows to read from a disk (with different levels of error-handling). So ultimately, they won't do anything more than what was already tried with copy/paste.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Have you read the specifications for all of those programs, Wouter? That does not apply to Isobuster, for one.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>From <a href="http://www.isobuster.com/isobuster.php">the Isobuster specification</a>:<br>

<br /> All device access, media access, data gathering and interpretation is done exclusively by the software. It does not rely on Windows to provide or interpret the data and so can work completely independent from Windows' limitations.</p>

<p> </p>

</blockquote>

<p>Ann, I have used ISOBuster for years, and I know what they write on their website. The thing is that ISOBuster can especially do its "magic" on CDs and DVDs (and that's what I used it for). CDs and DVDs do not quite work the same as memory cards, though. Filesystems on CDs and DVDs are different, for starters. ISO in the name refers to ISO9660, a standard that memory cards do not use at all. <br>

On memory cards, the issues are normally either the filesystem (which ISOBuster cannot circumvent), file corruption (which again ISOBuster cannot circumvent) or true memory corruption, which would be hardware failure, so no software fixes for that either. So, for this specific case of the OP, I do not think it is a program that will bring much to the table.</p>

<p>Well, they say they can do it, Wouter. You say you haven't tried it on memory cards. And even if you had tried it, you would probably not have gone through every type of error that can happen to memory cards.</p>

<p>I don't know if Isobuster can help Jason. Maybe it can, maybe it can't.</p>

<p>I can only suggest using the USB cable from camera to computer. If the camera can read the image then it can send it along the USB cable.</p>

<p>My main point was: <em>First understand a problem, then try solutions. Not the other way around</em>.<br /> Any program here could possibly be a solution. Point is, the cause of the problem isn't clear. Now I do know a fair bit on file systems and how operating systems treat storage and file systems, and what I read on that page of isobuster (and most other tools) does not convince me. They try to recover filesystems, and recovery data from backup tables of the filesystem, no more. They cannot fix corrupted files if they are corrupted on the source media (nor do they claim that actually). Now, quoting the op:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>There are some great shots of my children which I would dearly love to recover.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>This is not an exercise of what might make nice software. So, I would advice most of all to take things easy step-by-step, and determine what went wrong first. Maybe Isobuster can do the trick, maybe not. I would try to figure that out later after trying some more logical steps:</p>

<ol>

<li>Try downloading via the camera, instead of the card reader (<em>edit: crossed posting with Lorne there!</em>)</li>

<li>If this also does not work, try the error-checking option (scandisk) in Windows.</li>

<li>If still nothing, try software recovery tools. They all make the same promise, so it's a bit a wash which one you choose.</li>

</ol>

<p>But if you prefer to randomly try a piece of software because their marketing department made some claims, by all means.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I have had this issue intermittently with the D700 using various CF Cards and have had Nikon Australia look at the Camera in an attempt to diagnose the fault.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Since Jason's D700 seems to have problems with various CF cards, it doesn't sound like a card problem specific to 1 or 2 cards. Unfortunately, Nikon OZ has not found any problem with the camera either.</p>

<p>At a minimum, I would let Nikon check the format of the files on this card and see whehter they find any errors. Since the OP can still view the images on the camera's LCD, it looks like at least the embedded JPEGs are still there (assuming that the OP shoots RAW) so that something can be recoverd.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>When I put the card back into the camera I can still see all of the images.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Have you tried using the camera with a USB connection to download the images? And perhaps the missing images are in a second folder that your card reader and computer software are ignoring. They should be visible with the Windows file manager, however.</p>

<p>If the Nikon supplied USB cable doesn't work, I guess trying it someone's Mac avoids Windows...:-)</p>

<p>I guess if EVERYTHING else fails, you could hook up a big screen and play the images out via HDMI and photograph it or if HDMI fails, AV or Video Out would work......or maybe even print direct?</p>

<p>I'm not real familiar with Nikons, but is it possible that you are merely viewing "thumbnail previews" on the camera? I have heard of other camera systems having problems with corrupt full-blown images (JPG and/or RAW), yet the thumbnails can still be viewed.<br>

Lots of good suggestions in this thread - good luck!</p>

<p>Why invent an issue where there may not be one Wouter? At least two of the programs I initially suggested circumvent Windows by reading the raw data direct from the usb or card-reader buss. Windows probably, or almost certainly, isn't the issue here.</p>

<p>I've tried the Transcend software, and it was wholly successful in recovering image files from an SD card that a friend had accidentally formatted. It reads the data byte-by-byte and reassembles the files once it's found a JPEG header. It probably looks for TIFF or other image headers too, but I can't say that for certain.</p>

<p>Try using the Nikon interface cable or, as Rodeo Joe indicated, try the latest Transcend readers. If all fails, try using Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery for Windows on a PC. You need to purchase the software which has worked for me.</p>

<p>Jason, can it be possible that your Lightroom is not using a Camara Raw version that reads NEF from your D700? Just in case this is the problem, check this: Go to LR's Preferencs\File Handling to see if the "Compatibility" dropdown box shows "Camara Raw 7.1 and later". If not, select that one to ensure the latest compatibility. Naturally, update your Photoshop as well.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Why invent an issue where there may not be one Wouter?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Because there may well be one. Solving the symptoms now, or understanding it first? I could image the OP does not want to see this happen again.<br>

Try any program you like. My approach in case of problems with potential loss of data is another one. It's not like I told to do something near impossible first, is it? Just two extra simple steps as a safety precaution, and to determine better what the cause is - instead of only curing the symptom. </p>

<p>My standard response [once I've stopped hyper-ventilating...] is to restart my machine. Solves all sorts of connectivity problems...</p>

<p>I'm with you in finding out what caused the problem in the first place, Wouter. I always say that. Even to my GP when he only wants to cure symptoms.</p>

<p>Dave, don't hyper-ventilate for too long before you restart your computer. You will get spasms. It's not a pretty sight.</p>

<p>Trouble with finding the cause before treating the symptons is that the patient could be dead before the lab results are in.</p>

<p>I haven't had symptoms as severe as that yet, Joe. Obviously ;-)</p>