michaelbonner Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Hey, everyone I had a recent disaster with a CF card I use in my Canon EOS 350D. It's a Kingston 4GB 133x CF card that I bought new, and I've never had a problem with it through the thousands of photos I've taken on it. I always import the photos with iPhoto on my Macbook, leaving the originals, and formatting in-camera to erase the images once they're backed up. Yesterday, however, after about an hour spent taking self portraits, I took the flash card out of my camera, put it into my card reader, and it proceeded to freeze up my computer. The mouse still worked, but everyhing was completely locked up. I gave it 5 minutes, then restarted my computer, only to have the same thing happen again. I took the flash card out of my card reader and put it back in my camera only to have it come up with "CF Err." The situation was hopeless from there- I tried it in my computer again, only to see 3.5 GB of empty space and some corrupt invisible files. Formatting the card in-camera as a last resort was a 2-step process. The first time I tried formatting it, it actually froze my camera just before it finished formatting and I had to remove the battery and format the card again. In the end, I wound up losing about 50 photos. They were only self portraits, so while it's frustrating, I'm not distraught. However, I'm now worried about using the card to do anything serious- I couldn't imagine losing all the photos from a ceremony, for example. Has anyone had a similar situation? Would you recommend getting rid of the flash card? Thanks a lot for any help Michael Bonner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimstrutz Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Probably nothing wrong with the card and this was a random event. Of course you never really know, but this happens more often than most people realize, and certainly more often than it should. However, I would try a file recovery program to see if you can't retrieve you images. Even after reformatting, most of them are usually recoverable as long as you haven't actually written over the data. Here are two related but different programs that are free: http://www.pcinspector.de/Sites/smart_recovery/info.htm?language=1 http://www.pcinspector.de/Sites/file_recovery/info.htm?language=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don_cooper Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Kingston cards usually have a lifetime warranty, so don't throw it away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelbonner Posted October 27, 2007 Author Share Posted October 27, 2007 Thanks for the advice. I had already written off the images as a lost cause and shot over them before posting, but I wil have to remember those programs for the next time that I hope never comes. I guess I'll be keeping the Kingston card, but I'll probably be using my 2GB Lexar card more now- if it does go down, at least there will be fewer images on it. Thanks a lot, Michael Bonner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former P.N Member Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Flash memory does not have an infinite life span - they will fail after time. <p> I've read the expected life is from about 100,000 (<a href="http://www.pctechguide.com/14Memory_Flash_memory.htm">http://www.pctechguide.com/14Memory_Flash_memory.htm</a>) up to 1,000,000 (<a href="http://www.pctechguide.com/14Memory_Flash_memory.htm">http://www.storagesearch.com/bitmicro-art1.html</a>) write cycles. <p> If it's a heavily used card you may be seeing the beginning of the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former P.N Member Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Oops, messed up the 2nd hyper-link. Should be - <a href="http://www.storagesearch.com/bitmicro-art1.html">http://www.storagesearch.com/bitmicro-art1.html</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Kingston sent me a 2Gb 266x Card for evaluation. It won't format or record in a Canon EOS 1D mark 3 but works in a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelbonner Posted October 29, 2007 Author Share Posted October 29, 2007 Thanks, Richard and Ellis I did not know flash cards had a lifespan. Even so, I've only had the card for about a month, and I don't think I've gone through more than 100 or so write cycles, if that. Perhaps it was just a random event. Let's just hope it's a rare one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former P.N Member Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 <i>"...and I don't think I've gone through more than 100 or so write cycles"</i> <p> Keep in mind that averages are just that. If one card fails after 200,000 cycles and a second fails after just 1 cycle the average is 100,000. <p> It happens..., and somebody has to come up with the short end of the stick. <p> If it were me I'd run it through one of the many disk analyzer tools available and do a 'surface test'. If it checks out OK I'd probably go ahead and use it - but I'd also make sure I always had a spare with me as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former P.N Member Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Just looked at your posted photos - you have some nice stuff. <p> These bring back some memories - <a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=767813">http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=767813</a> - having spend 8+ years active duty in the Navy, some on the old FDR CVA-42 and BOXER LPH-4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelbonner Posted October 30, 2007 Author Share Posted October 30, 2007 Thanks a lot for the suggestions and comments, Richard. However, I don't think my flash card issues are over. After one successful import, the card froze up my computer not once, but twice, forcing me to restart. I got the photos off the third time, but I'm starting to seriously doubt the card's reliability. I tried looking at the card with Apple's Disk Utility, but that resulted in one of my lock-ups. I think I'm going to send Kingston a carefully worded email and keep the card in my bag for the time being. Thanks again for the help. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don_cooper Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Michael, can't understand while you're still messing around with the card. Just contact Kingston as to how to handle the return for replacement. They DO honor the lifetime warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christianaires Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 I agree with Don.. Send it in for a new one. And if you have good relations with the store you bought it from, they might exchange it for you there. Good luck.. and thank goodness you didnt lose any important pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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