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jackanon

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Hi I didn't know I put the sd card the wrong way and pushed it in completely, I can't take it out with tweezers. It's a nikon d3100 and I don't mind if i break the sd as long as I get it out. I've only got 1 cm to pull it out. I haven't tried pliers and I can not get it repaired.
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Well, it's going to have to come out sometime, and if it takes force, then that's what's needed.

 

I agree with the needle-nose plier solution. The gentle pulling might not be an option.

 

I doubt you could have inserted the card fully, since the cut-off corner would jam before that happened - unless you hammered the card into place!

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The contacts are at the bottom of the slot; if it's not FULLY inserted you may still be okay (although they can get bent up). The shape of the slot should really have stopped you from inserting the card the wrong way round in the first place, though, so something's probably a little mangled. I'd just hope it's nothing important.

 

Agree with the others - pliers, then see whether everything is okay. Otherwise it's going to be a repair trip.

 

I once had someone turn up with a tablet computer with a phone SIM wedged in the SD card slot. Our best efforts with needle-nosed pliers got us nowhere - contacts got bent, and it would have needed a proper repair (the case was glued shut and we're not a repair centre, so there was only so much we could do). Hopefully, so long as you're still above the level of the contacts, you won't be at that stage - but they're quite small bits of metal, and easy to trash if you get past the protection offered by the shape of the socket.

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it's going to be a repair trip" Andrew G.

At the moment of this entry, you can acquire a "Refurbished" Nikon D3100 for less than $200USD - Ebay has them for even less as Pre-Owned units. Damaging internal parts will likely cost you more as a "repair" than a 'replacement'.

 

Best to 'risk' the force pull or better yet, force push. The "push" can only occur from the backside.

Using commonsense manual dexterity for the teardown, this "push" is rather easy once the back cover assembly is removed. This exposes the frame of the SD card holder making it accessible...

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Agreed that a new camera may be cheaper than a repair; I hope it doesn't come to that.

 

Mark: the cut-out is designed to stop incorrect full insertion; it's true it won't stop partial insertion. And since the whole assembly is relatively delicate, I'm sure it can be forced.

 

Gus: is the SD exposed? Most sockets I've seen are solid (thin) metal, so getting at the bottom of the card might be tricky. Plus you have to have taken the back off the camera. I don't know how that works on a D3100 - do you need to take off and replace the grip in order to get at screws? (At a quick look online, yes - so you at least need to budget for a new grip cover if you do that.)

 

I'm standing by the "grab it and pull" approach (trying not to crush the card into dust inside the camera), but if you're willing to dismantle things I'm not going to claim you couldn't be more delicate about it. If the socket is damaged, you might just be able to bend it back into shape.

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I guess we haven't been told which "wrong way" the card is inserted. The overhang on the sides of a card should stop it going in at all if it's contacts down but back to front - although I could believe forcing it might bend the socket enough to allow it. I believe MMC cards don't have the overhang, if this was one. I've not tried, but I suspect you could still partly insert a card with the contacts facing out of the camera despite the overhang.

 

The diagonal cutout should stop the card going all the way in in any incorrect orientation, but the contacts may already have been damaged/bent by the card in this case.

 

Whatever, getting the card out is the first step. Having done that, either all will be fine, or jackanon can choose between a repair and a replacement.

Edited by Andrew Garrard
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It looks like Jack might have joined photo.net just to post this question. He is a new member and this is his first thread. In fact, the only post Jack has ever made on photo.net is the opening post for this thread, which so far he has never followed up to.

 

Let's hope that the SD card is out and perhaps he has all but forgotten about this thread.

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Steve, given where Norman's mind has gone, we probably shouldn't make posts like that...

 

Likewise, I hope grabbing it firmly and pulling achieved the necessary release and jackanon is fully satisfied without need for more extensive servicing. A more complex solution involving changing the grip and going in from behind, while an emergency option, sounded like it could be painful in practice.

 

I wonder if we should have suggested lubrication?

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In addition to the diagonal cutout, an SD card has a step in its edge which should prevent it from going in at all unless forced in crooked. I'm guessing that if it went in any distance it will take a lot of pull to get it out, but along with the diagonal cutout, the card tilts away from the contacts when it's put in wrong, so I suspect that unless Jack really hammered it in the camera will survive.
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If the card really doesn't matter, it might be possible to drill/force a small hole in the card, thread a piece of metal wire through and fashion a grip?

 

 

- off-topic: as a non-native English speaker I was thrilled to see that the actress/bishop jokes/replies are not limited to Dutch... Every once in a while my colleagues and I will have an afternoon in which every sentence gets replied to with a 'said the actress to the bishop" or "said the bishop to the actress". A dirty mind is a joy forever, albeit very exhausting sometimes for the people around us :))

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