Working with digital images

[rodemaker1]

I have an olympus camera that I bought as a display so it didn't come with any accessories.  I have since bought an xd card and an usb xd picture reader.  I have windows xp.  I don't know how to get it to put the pics on my computer.  Nothing happens when I plug it in.  Can anyone help me??

[Deb]

Hi there, your computer will read the card as another drive. All you need to do is copy the photos from that "drive" to any location (folder) on your computer where you want to save them.

[rodemaker1]

It says disk is not formatted in drive "e", so when I click on yes to format it, it says it cannot format.  I am so frustrated.

[Deb]

Hang in there Rodemaker1.   You should only format the card in the camera using the camera's format feature. You don't ever want to format your photo XD card in a computer.

Has this card already been formatted in your camera?

[rodemaker1]

no, can I do it if I have pictures on it already?

[Deb]

Don't format the card if you have photos on it. Formatting would erase them.

[rodemaker1]

   Now I am near tears because I've got some great shots of my son's last t-ball game and my hubby frolicking with the boys in the pool.  I'm assuming I have to format the disk in order to get the photos onto my computer.  Is there any other way?

BTW, thanks for your help so far - you guys are great.

[Deb]

I've got an idea, is there a photo processing place nearby? If so, take your XD card to them and see if they can pull the images off for you. They could print them and, maybe, burn them to a CD for you.

I'm not sure why your computer can't read the card. Remember though, don't ever format your photo card on the computer. You'll wipe off all the firmware and make it very difficult for your camera to "communicate" with the card. Only format your photo card in your camera.

BTW have you tried connecting your camera (with the card inside) to your computer and copying the images that way?

[rodemaker1]

I will do that - that's a good idea.  I just tried to format the card in my camera and it said I would erase all pictures.  I'll try the photo place and get back to you.

Thanks again for your help!!

[rodemaker1]

I don't have the cable to connect - that was my next purchase - I was just trying to avoid spending anymore money!!

[Deb]

Yep, formatting does erase all pre-existing images. Don't format the card until you get those images off of it.

[Deb]

(Actually I prefer just using a card reader rather than the camera-to-computer connection. It's simpler and saves camera battery life too.) I suspect that your computer just isn't communicating with your XD card reader properly. I doubt the card itself is the problem. If the card reader came with a driver, give reinstalling the driver a whirl.

[rodemaker1]

The card reader did not come with a driver but the packaging says that something about not needing one if I have XP.  Should I try to download a drive from the web?  If so, where should I look?  The reader doesn't have a name on it.

[Deb]

Let me ask around and I'll get back to ya, ok? In the meantime, was a photo processing shop able to access your images on the card?

[rodemaker1]

I just took it to Wal-Greens next door and when I inserted my card into the automatic photo machine it said there were no valid images on the card.  I'm not close to a good photo place.

[Deb]

Hmmmm, that causes me to wonder if the card is corrupt. Do the images appear when viewed on your camera's playback feature?

If not, there are image recovery programs (free) that may be of help but I don't have first-hand experience with them. Perhaps another moderator will be able to help with that.

You can also take a peak at http://www.digicamhelp.com/how-memory-cards-become-corrupted/memory-card-corruption.htm and http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-photo-recovery-and-rescue/index.htm .

[pentachris]

The card reader did not come with a driver but the packaging says that something about not needing one if I have XP.

That's true; a USB card reader should not need a driver with XP.

Hmmmm, that causes me to wonder if the card is corrupt.

From the conversation so far, this sounds like it may be the case...

[rodemaker1]

YAY!!  I finally got them on my computer with PC Inspector Smart Recovery which is a free recovery system.  Found that after a million tries!  Anyway, I formatted my disk in my camera and took a pic, then tried to get it to my computer and - same thing happened.  Error message says file in drive e cannot be formatted.  So.............  How can I tell if it's my reader or my card that's corrupted??

[ShutterbugGail]

Good for you for being so persistent! Glad you got your photos back.

Don't risk using a fault card. You were fortunate this time in being able to recover your photos...maybe the next time you won't. As I just replied to a similar question, I recommend you call the manufacturer of the card and ask if it can be repaired or replaced.

I had a problem Compact Flash card a few weeks ago and the manufacturer walked me through fixing it right over the phone. Call the manufacturer's tech support.

[pentachris]

Good for you!

Glad you got those special pix.  

The best way to troubleshoot from here is to mix it up.  There are three elements involved - your computer(could have a spyware/registry/other problem), the card reader (could be defective), and the card (could be defective).   Maybe you have a friend with XP and an XD card?

Make sure any important data (photos) are secured before proceeding!

Try a different XD card in your card reader on your computer.  Try your XD card in your card reader on someone else's computer.  Etc...  Eliminate whatever you can until you can systematically find the culprit.