having serious issues with my camera

[jenny217]

i have a canon powershot s410.
my parents decided it might be a good idea to get a new memory card, seeing as how i would like it to hold more photos.
so, we get the new memory card, put it in, and nothing happens; meaning, my camera wont even turn on. after trying to press the button for a while, it finally goes, and we proceed to try and format the new card. it takes us a LONG time to get to the menu screen: something like a few minutes. so the reactions are abnormally long for my camera which usually only takes a few seconds at most.
anyways, we try and format the disk, and after a while, we think its working, but then the camera shuts off.
we charged the battery completely, but the same thing appens over and over.
aside from that, when we try and put the old memory card in, it wont let us format it (the formatting option is in grey, and when we try to select it, it just skips over to the next function.)
the funny thing is- the camera seems to be "working" fine when there are no memory cards in it at all..but obviously it wont take any pictures because of there isn't a memory card in it. :confused:
my camera was absolutely fine before this whole new memory card incident, so i'm wondering if something happened in the process of putting the card in or..i'm not really sure what to think.
i'm pretty much panicking about this because i'm leaving on vacation really soon and i really really really need the card! no troubleshooting manuals are helping, so i really need someones help,PLEASE!:cry:

[j00ston]

Well does it still work the same with the old memory card? If so bad memory card. Take the memory card back, or try a different one. Make sure the memory card you are getting is for your camera. Also check your camera manufature's site to see if their as a firmware update for your camera. (like a software update for your camera) Hope this helps!
-Justin

[PsychProf]

Did you have any trouble taking out the old card out or putting in the new card the first time? Maybe the pins in the socket got bent and are not making proper contact. Can you look in the slot to see if there is any misalgned or damaged pins?

[gepapaya]

Maybe you can try "resetting" the camera. Press and hold the "menu" button for at least 5 seconds. A message will appear asking if you want to "reset settings to default". Select "OK". Hopefully, something got hung up with an unformatted card, and this works.