Possible card failure after a wedding today - please help!

[jessiper]

I just shot an 8-hour wedding today, and I have a 5 hour tomorrow (I only mention this to show the urgency of my question). I am trying to upload the first memory card (out of at least 15 gigs) :cry: and every few files it says that IMG_etc. failed to upload due to paramater error (or something about an incorrect parameter). What does this mean?? I am freakin' exhausted, and would like to get a good night's sleep for tomorrow's wedding. Should I not use that card tomorrow? Has anyone experienced this? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

[tim]

1) What kind of card.
2) What kind of computer.
3) What method/software using to copy the files to your PC.
4) Connection method - ie card reader or cable to PC.

You would be mad to reuse the card if you're not 100% you got the images off it.

[jessiper]

Sandisk Ultra II 2 GB
Custom built PC
Just highlighting the files then dragging them into my "Wedding Photography Storage" folder.
Sorry, I can open the file in CS3, and I can manually drag it into the other folder, it just keeps choking up. I have a feeling it's something w/the computer because it happened again with a different card. Thanks!

[tim]

So using a card reader? What piece of software's giving you the error message? Is it Bridge that keeps choking up? What about if you drag and drop the CR2 into Photoshop instead of bridge?

If you're not 100% sure i'd not reuse the cards until you are, even if it means buying more cards before tomorrow wedding.

[howzitboy]

can u view the pictures on the camera? did u try dragging the whole folder onto your desktop?

[EOS mE]

Sandisk Ultra II 2 GB
Custom built PC
Just highlighting the files then dragging them into my "Wedding Photography Storage" folder.
Sorry, I can open the file in CS3, and I can manually drag it into the other folder, it just keeps choking up. I have a feeling it's something w/the computer because it happened again with a different card. Thanks!

try using this program:
http://www.pcinspector.de/smart_media_recovery/uk/welcome.htm

this is a freeware and i use this extensively to recover all files. make sure you DL the photos using a card reader and just copy and paste all to your desktop first. make sure not to use your computer while DLing.

u can also DL the File Recovery to use if you are trying to recover files from USB drives.

[tim]

We really need a proper description of the problem before we can offer solutions.

[liza]

IF you discover that it's a corrupt card, try this:

http://www.datarescue.com/photorescue/

[marian]

Can you transfer the files from the camera (card inside) to the computer with the PC synch cable? Canon camera have a small synch cable to transfer files to the pc. Is that an option? We are trying to narrow down the problem.

A fellow photographer (studio owner) went through several data recovery programs. (No, DataRescue and several other programs did NOT work!)

The only way he retrieved the images was to send the card to the manufacturer and they were able to do it. It cost him though!!!

[Bobster]

if you're using a card reader - have you tried using a different USB port?

have u tried a different PC?

[jayspec]

Do you have the card reader plugged directly into the computer, or is it plugged into another unpowered USB port like one attached to the keyboard? I used to have intermittent problems with file transfers when I'd plug into my keyboard that went away when I plugged directly into my computer.

[Tragerman]

Buy new cards for the next wedding and don't worry about this until that one's in the can.

Make sure you have plenty of space on the target drive. Shut down everything and do a cold boot (full power down). Some recovery programs save the files with a .tif extension, even if they're RAW files. You would then need to rename them to read them.

Good luck, and keep your cool lest you make a mistake to further complicate the situation.

-Mickey

[jessiper]

Sorry, I was gone all day today. Thanks for all the advice. It seemed to have fixed itself when I restarted the computer, and luckily I didn't lose any images. I will test the two cards out (not at a wedding, of course), and see what happens. I think it was the computer, not the card, but I don't want to test my luck. Thanks again, I really appreciate it! I was freaking out and exhausted. :D