Can't retreave photos from my SD card

robert sherry · Jun 9, 2015

Newbee here. I dropped my new Lumix point and shoot just before leaving for a weekend photo event. Grabbed an old Pentax P&S, shoved my part used 32GB SD card in and took 300+ pics at the event. Only to try to download them onto my PC , (including several attempts with external card readers and the cable/ USB connection to the camera), and find they won't. I can see the photos in the camera. Reading the Pentax manual it says to "format" SD cards before using them. Which I have never done with any of my digital P&S cameras.

I have located a site thru Google that will allow me to recover the pics for $40. But, was hoping there was another, less expensive way to convert the files to usable jpg's? The "Recover" site shows the photos to be in "res" form?

Anyone have to deal with this before? Or, have suggestions a non-techie mite be able to accomplish?

480sparky · Jun 9, 2015

You'll need to run some sort of recovery software. Do a forums search... this is a subject that comes up once a week.

tirediron · Jun 9, 2015

Just as a point of order, formatting a card before each use, IN THE CAMERA, is a beneficial habit to adopt. That said, what, if anything do you see when you insert the card into the card reader/connect the camera to the computer?

KmH · Jun 10, 2015

I bet your old Pentax P&S cannot address 32 GB worth of memory locations.

robert sherry · Jun 10, 2015

Thank u, Sparky. Any idea where I can find that recovery software? Or, am I stuck paying $40 online for it?

Thanks, Tirediron. I'm aware of the "formatting" requirement now. Sigh! When I try to load the SD photos, all the old ones show up the new ones don't show at all.

Thanks, Keith. I don't know about that. My Pentax is from 2007? The photos, 300+, that I took r all there inside the camera.

480sparky · Jun 10, 2015

I would try Mjm first as it's free.

But paid-for usually works without issue.

robert sherry · Jun 11, 2015

Thanks, Sparky. I had problems loading Mjm. But, once I did, it couldn't seem to locate the SD card reader.

Dave442 · Jun 11, 2015

I bought some disk recovery software years ago and it has paid for itself the half dozen times I've had to use it. Usually before trying to recover it is best to make a mirror image of the drive and work with the copy (that you could place on a drive the recovery software can find).

robert sherry · Jun 11, 2015

The oddest thing happened last nite! After I tried the Mjm program and it failed, I deleted it. Suddenly, the old Canon software appeared with an option to review all the files. I tried this program many times before with no results as to the damaged photos. However, this time another program on my computer popped up: Zoom Browser Ex. It had loaded all of the photo files on my computer AND all those from the SD card plugged into an external card reader. Including the damaged ones that were now in jpg format!

Before anything else weird could happen, I loaded all the 300+ formerly unloadable pics onto my desktop one by one and into a new file! Then, I closed Zoom and turned off my desktop.

No idea what happened. But, all the "lost" photos have been retreived! Here's one of them for proof.