bad sector on Sandisk 1Gb Ultra II

[KurtKuhn]

I am in need of help.

I have been unable to recover a significant amout of images (approx. 75) from my CF card due to a bad sector (or bad sectors) on the CF card.

Has anyone been able to recover images after experiencing this error?

Any insight would be appreciated; I'm unable to download a lot of great shots from Seafair in Seattle, and I'm really depressed about it. :(

Thanks.

-KK

[robertwgross]

Have you tried using compact flash card file recovery software?

There are many out there ranging from free to cheap. It can't hurt.

---Bob Gross---

[KurtKuhn]

Bob-

I tried PhotoRescue 2.1, but it gives me a read error over the bad sector(s).

-KK

[tim]

If the data can't be read there's nothing you can do. You might be able to get a professional to do it, but you're talking big money.

[robertwgross]

Yes, if you get a read error on some sector, then it is best to minimize your losses. Either return the CF card to the vendor on a warranty deal, or else chuck it into the trash. In all likelihood, your images are unrecoverable. Sorry. Life stinks sometimes.

---Bob Gross---

[lancea]

In your situation I wouldn't give up quite yet. Try the demo version of PhotoRescue Expert (http://www.datarescue.com/photorescue/download.htm). If that doesn't work try the Advanced version. Connect to the "physical" drive rather than the "logical" drive. If either demo version shows that it can recover the files, then you need to buy the software before you can save the images.

[KurtKuhn]

Update:

Special thanks to lancea. I took another run at PhotoRescue after I had more sleep and patience under my belt. The Expert version with "physical" drive shows me it can recover 100 of the missing images. The best that I can tell is that I'm only missing 17 or less. This is acceptable given the subjects in this range of images. So I purchased the Expert version, and I'm looking forward to saving the images from this version tonight. I didn't go for the Advanced version of PhotoRescue given the time, money, and return on investment trade off.

Also, I plan on contacting Sandisk customer support to see if I can exchange the card under warranty.

I'll update the thread again after a successful recovery. Thanks to all who posted.

-KK

[lancea]

Excellent. I haven't had occasion to use it in anger yet - except to make a full backup of a card. It's nice to know that the Advanced version is also there, but they do kind of try to scare people away from it! Hope the rest goes well!

[KurtKuhn]

Final report: I recovered / saved about 100 pictures that I thought were totally lost. I'm missing some, but I'm satisfied with what I was able to rescue. What is interesting is that I had to re-launch the program to get it to recognize +400 files that I hoped were there rather than +250 files that I knew were there. Talk about expectations management.... Don't know the details here since I'm guilty of not reading any documentation for PhotoRescue Expert.

Now I'm in a virtual conversation with a Sandisk customer support rep.

Thanks again.

-KK

[lancea]

Great. I hope it never happens to me, but I just know that it will ... :)