HELP! SDHC Card. My Nikon Camera says: Card is not Formatted. Format the Card. The card has pictures

[480sparky]

I'm on the Recuva website now and can download it. Question....Recuva says it recovers deleted files. If my pics are deleted from the memory card, will this still help?

Computers and cameras do not delete anything. They simply keep track of 'deleted' files and overwrite them when the space is needed to do so. If you don't format or use the card, then you've got a good chance to get your images.

 

[Awanderer]

I haven't used the card since and I haven't formatted either.

 

[astroNikon]

Do you have an older computer that you can use to try this ?

 

[480sparky]

I'm not a Recuva user, so I can't help you with it. Try MjM Photo Recovery.

 

[Awanderer]

possibly, let me see

 

[sm4him]

As long as you have not formatted the card yet, I'd say there is a very good chance Recuva will find them for you.

Recuva has saved my poor-planning, short-sighted rear more than once; it can't do everything, but it's pretty remarkable, really, what it CAN do.

Give it a try. One little heads-up--it might not find and recover the files *as* you named them. In other words, when you shot them, the camera may have stored them as DSC_0010.nef or .jpg, etc. Recuva may restore files with entirely different looking names--012hg69.nef, but I'd bet 90%+ of the photos will be there. It'll take some work to sort them and rename them, but spending time on that is WAY better than spending time taking Xanax and wondering how to tell someone their photos now belong to the ethers.

Once you've got all the files restored that you can, THEN:

1. BACKUP the restored files. Maybe twice.
2. NOW format the card. Format it on the computer first, then put it in the camera and format it again in the camera. Now it's set up as the card for that camera, and that should help reduce the problems with it in the future.

Then get into a different habit. I know, it's not easy (did I just mention how short-sighted and poor at planning I am?), but developing the good habit now will really save your sit-upon later!

What I do:
1. Shoot. I have pretty large capacity cards, so I probably won't fill up the card when I shoot, unless I haven't done my due diligence in way too long.
2. Once you're home, remove card from camera--whether it is full or not! Stick it in a card reader attached to the computer and immediately download all the pictures onto an external hard drive.
3. Plug in a secondary hard drive and copy all the files you just put on the first hard drive onto the second one (there are much easier, more automatic ways to do this. I'm just old school, and can't bother to learn the new tricks).
4. Once the files are safely copied onto both drives (AND tested--make sure they open!), THEN erase all the files from the card and eject the card from the computer.
5. Put the now "empty" card into the camera. THEN format the card.

Fun fact: What happens if you put the "empty" card into the camera but don't format it? Shouldn't matter either way, because it's empty, right? Well, no, not really. Stick your card (before moving files off of it) in your camera and look at what your camera shows as the number of remaining photos. Now, go ahead and follow the steps above to move the files off your card and make a backup of them as well. Then erase all the files on the card, but do NOT format it on the camera. Take the now "empty" card and put it back in the camera. Observe how many photos the camera now says you have left.
NOW, format the card and then look again at the "remaining photos" indicator. Once you format the card, the number goes up, often by a good bit, because only formatting truly erases all the data that made up those files. Until it's formatted, the right software can go in, pull out that data and reconstruct it back into the original files.

And that is why not doing the format step can end up causing issues like what you've just experienced. At some point, the camera decides the card is "full" and won't keep taking pictures, but the computer thinks the card is empty or has an error, because it can't find anything easily readable as a photo file.

 

[astroNikon]

or try another recovery program
not all of them work in all instances.

I've also found some devices recover better from various OS systems, thus my recommendation of an older OS system as you had Win7-64 from that one screen shot.

 

[Awanderer]

As long as you have not formatted the card yet, I'd say there is a very good chance Recuva will find them for you.

Recuva has saved my poor-planning, short-sighted rear more than once; it can't do everything, but it's pretty remarkable, really, what it CAN do.

Give it a try. One little heads-up--it might not find and recover the files *as* you named them. In other words, when you shot them, the camera may have stored them as DSC_0010.nef or .jpg, etc. Recuva may restore files with entirely different looking names--012hg69.nef, but I'd bet 90%+ of the photos will be there. It'll take some work to sort them and rename them, but spending time on that is WAY better than spending time taking Xanax and wondering how to tell someone their photos now belong to the ethers.

Once you've got all the files restored that you can, THEN:

1. BACKUP the restored files. Maybe twice.
2. NOW format the card. Format it on the computer first, then put it in the camera and format it again in the camera. Now it's set up as the card for that camera, and that should help reduce the problems with it in the future.

Then get into a different habit. I know, it's not easy (did I just mention how short-sighted and poor at planning I am?), but developing the good habit now will really save your sit-upon later!

What I do:
1. Shoot. I have pretty large capacity cards, so I probably won't fill up the card when I shoot, unless I haven't done my due diligence in way too long.
2. Once you're home, remove card from camera--whether it is full or not! Stick it in a card reader attached to the computer and immediately download all the pictures onto an external hard drive.
3. Plug in a secondary hard drive and copy all the files you just put on the first hard drive onto the second one (there are much easier, more automatic ways to do this. I'm just old school, and can't bother to learn the new tricks).
4. Once the files are safely copied onto both drives (AND tested--make sure they open!), THEN erase all the files from the card and eject the card from the computer.
5. Put the now "empty" card into the camera. THEN format the card.

Fun fact: What happens if you put the "empty" card into the camera but don't format it? Shouldn't matter either way, because it's empty, right? Well, no, not really. Stick your card (before moving files off of it) in your camera and look at what your camera shows as the number of remaining photos. Now, go ahead and follow the steps above to move the files off your card and make a backup of them as well. Then erase all the files on the card, but do NOT format it on the camera. Take the now "empty" card and put it back in the camera. Observe how many photos the camera now says you have left.
NOW, format the card and then look again at the "remaining photos" indicator. Once you format the card, the number goes up, often by a good bit, because only formatting truly erases all the data that made up those files. Until it's formatted, the right software can go in, pull out that data and reconstruct it back into the original files.

And that is why not doing the format step can end up causing issues like what you've just experienced. At some point, the camera decides the card is "full" and won't keep taking pictures, but the computer thinks the card is empty or has an error, because it can't find anything easily readable as a photo file.

I'm trying to recover with Recuva but no luck. See the attached.....

 

[Awanderer]

or try another recovery program
not all of them work in all instances.

I've also found some devices recover better from various OS systems, thus my recommendation of an older OS system as you had Win7-64 from that one screen shot.

What other recovery program do you recommend?

 

[480sparky]

MjM.

Don't panic and hyperventilate. Odds are, your images are there. You just need to find the right tools to get at them.

It's kinda like forgetting the numbers to a safe. The contents are still in the safe, you just need the combination to open it.

 

[DarkShadow]

When I get a new card I format the card first then when I am done shooting,I load the files to the computer then put the card back in the camera and format again.I never delete the files from the card in camera or at the the computer.IMO this keeps the cards always working error free.

 

[astroNikon]

or try another recovery program
not all of them work in all instances.

I've also found some devices recover better from various OS systems, thus my recommendation of an older OS system as you had Win7-64 from that one screen shot.

What other recovery program do you recommend?

Try the MJM Sparky recommends ...

Recuva usually has gotten data even from a quick formatted drive.

 

[Didereaux]

I've been using these cards for years and never had a problem. I'll start formatting after I get the pictures off of it.
So there's no way I can recover the images besides taking it to a photo shop?

If you would READ all of the replies you would see that one of them gives you the info to download a free file recovery program.

 

[sabbath999]

or try another recovery program
not all of them work in all instances.

I've also found some devices recover better from various OS systems, thus my recommendation of an older OS system as you had Win7-64 from that one screen shot.

What other recovery program do you recommend?

It sounds more like a file system issue than anything else....

PhotoRec - Digital Picture and File Recovery

You kinda need a geek to use it but if anything is to find it (anything FREE anyways) this is probably the best choice.

 

[480sparky]

Given that the OP has suddenly clammed up makes me suspect she's running software that's recovering the files as we type.