corrupt card help!

Randy Johnson · June 1st, 2014, 11:00 PM

I use centons and adatas I am definately getting the fmu once I get the money:) I wonder what makes it tick? Is it a solid state HD? or a few SD cards RAIDED together? Or a regular HD which would be the worst of the 3. I found a good program called "ontrack" everytimre I scan I get something different if I keep this up long enough I may get all of it I wonder if I can use the camera as a reader? I will spend the $350 if I have to I just want to make sure I have to.

Chris Harding · June 1st, 2014, 11:26 PM

Randy

Read the customer comments about Centon cards on Amazon!!

Amazon.com: Centon 32 GB Class 10 SDHC Flash Memory Card 32GBSDHC10: Electronics

You are shooting a wedding. A one off event that you can never reshoot and you are using 32GB rubbish cards!!! Only buy well known brands (You might notice that people bought Transcend and Sandisk cards after visiting the page above) Stay away from low prices and make sure the cards are sealed and Genuine retail packets ...Both San Disk and Transcend have a scam card checker that will verify the card serial number to make sure it's not a knock off!!

I also "retire" my cards every 6 months (I keep them and use them for no critical shoots)

OK, the FMU128 is an SSD 128GB drive what what I have read and works well ...I don't have one BUT I do have decent cards and never an issue!

Noa Put · June 2nd, 2014, 12:35 AM

Those amazon reviews about the centons are pretty clear, the same issue as Randy had is reported there, about Sandisc, allthough they have a proven reliablity I have read a topic here recently about a certain 32gb type card from sandisc that was causing issues as well with corrupted data, can't find that topic back though. But in general they are very reliable cards.
The price of the fmu is not cheap but I paid 1K for 64gb (hvr-dr60) a few years back which was even more expensive but it had been reliable from day one I used it, I use several small camera's and all record to 1 card, it does make me nervous though having to trust a full days work onto one flimsy little piece of plastic.

Dave Blackhurst · June 2nd, 2014, 12:46 AM

Using the camera as the "reader" is probably a good place to start - I've had the rare "read error" if a card doesn't quite line up right, and remove/reinsert usually cures it. Makes me a little nervous you can't play the clips in camera (if I read you correctly).

Are the contacts on the card and camera/reader clean? Might be worth picking up a can of contact cleaner - seen read problems with dirty/slightly corroded contacts, cleaning will resolve - since you are getting random results, this might be worth exploring? Your data may be there and intact, but getting scrambled from interference at the contacts... it takes very little oxidation/corrosion to make for a 'bad connection". Seen it ALL the time in doing electronic repairs!

And Chris could also be right, you card may have a fault... some cheap cards are sketchy, or knockoffs with substandard parts that WILL cause problems. Ages ago I bought a few "Scamdisks" (fake cards with legit looking Sandisk labels/packaging), all sorts of weird problems... Better to spend a little more, get known brands from KNOWN sources than to save a few $$ and have problems/lost data.

Randy Johnson · June 2nd, 2014, 05:22 AM

The more I "play" with it the more it seems like its corrupt and not physical damage. I use software to recover the files but they are fragmented the card does the same thing every time so it doesnt look like its getting worse. I am hopeful that a professional company can save it.

Randy Johnson · June 2nd, 2014, 11:14 AM

OK update, My friend let me use a program called "ontrack" very expensive like $500 I think I got all the data BUT it got EVERYTHING which crashed Edius soon as I imported it. So I imported all the clips into Adobe media encoder to "launder" them I got a lot more stuff but its going to take a day or two to render so I dont think I am ready to send out my card for $350 just yet. If I cant get enough to edit this video then I will. Right now I remain hopeful.

Ron Evans · June 2nd, 2014, 12:32 PM

Did you try putting "everything" you got onto another SD card and let Sony PlayMemories or Content Management Utility read the card ? If the directories were copied then they will know what files to choose. If you can get the recovery program to copy the card then using this copied card the in camera database correction may also recreate the directories.

Ron Evans

Randy Johnson · June 2nd, 2014, 07:14 PM

Ron,
I cant do that because windows or OSX wont let me move files off the card, I think I did get what I needed though. In hind site I was playing with fire it wasnt so much the cheap cards it was the age. For now I am going to buy some new cards and in the next few weeks I am going to get a FMU. Are Sony cards good enough for now? The guy who I called about the card recovery told me PNY were crap and he wouldnt even recommend Sandisk Microcenter has Sony and Kingston.

Ron Evans · June 2nd, 2014, 07:48 PM

I use Patriot 64G cards and the FMU128 on my NX5U. Use the same cards in my NX30U and CX700 they
have been very good shopRBC.com :: Patriot EP 64GB SDHX Class 10 UHS-I Memory Card

Ron Evans

Chris Harding · June 2nd, 2014, 08:17 PM

I must admit I have never had Windows not being able to copy folders or files from a card. I'm wondering if maybe the card reader has a fault??? What actually happens when you put the card into the reader?

If the reader doesn't even read the card then maybe see if another card reads and copies OK? For something like this you do need to totally isolate the faulty component ... it seems strange that the camera shows the existence of the clips but won't play them ... I'm wondering if the camera can only read the metadata files which will confirm the presence of the files and then due to corruption it camera cannot play the actual files in the stream folder? Very weird!!

Hope they are eventually recovered OK!!!

Chris

Randy Johnson · June 2nd, 2014, 08:25 PM

I tried other readers and computers, Im pretty sure the card is just worn out. I kinda remember looking at the footage in the field and seeing the camera hesitate a little bit.

Chris Harding · June 2nd, 2014, 10:45 PM

Hi Randy

I was just checking! Yep that card is finished it seems. I always make sure that my cards for weddings don't have a lot of use, Compared to the cost of MiniDV where it would cost me about $32.00 per wedding with 4 x tapes, you can now buy a good 16GB card for that which you can use it only for say 10 weddings and then 2 x 16GB cards will have a media cost of a tiny $6.00 per wedding ... I use my about 20 times and then they move to my 2nd card case and get used for Realty shoots ...(those I CAN reshoot if a card fails) ... On my EA-50's I have a 16GB card in each camera and that gives me about 80 mins of footage on each camera ..plenty of space for me and I find that 16GB cards for some reason are more reliable than 32GB ... I have no idea why!

I reckon that apart from overuse, if a card is going to fail, it will do so on the first couple of uses so I run my new cards in the camera on non-critical shoots before they become my "wedding" cards.

Chris

Randy Johnson · June 3rd, 2014, 04:54 PM

For the time being I picked up 4 32 gig sandisc class 10 cards I dont think I need to over think this. The card that failed was like 4 years old I just used it one to many times:) I will use these for a few weeks until I can get a FMU

Randy Johnson · June 13th, 2014, 09:26 AM

It happend again! No lost data but enough to make me nervous about moving forward. I bought 4 new cards last week I shot 2 weddings with them last weekend. I dumped them fine right after each job this week I went to find one to reuse for todays wedding. One of them was corrupt just like last time! I pulled it out of service I have to do another job or two before I can afford the FMU now I am going to be very uncomfortable for a while.

Noa Put · June 13th, 2014, 09:45 AM

hmm, something else must be going on, if you are that (un)lucky you better start playing the lottery. :) I think the chances of the issue you had happening so close together with 2 totally different cards seems very unlikely that your new card has the same problem.

Have you tried transferring with the camera connected to the pc vs a cardreader?

June 1st, 2014, 11:00 PM	#16
Randy Johnson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,067	Re: corrupt card help! I use centons and adatas I am definately getting the fmu once I get the money:) I wonder what makes it tick? Is it a solid state HD? or a few SD cards RAIDED together? Or a regular HD which would be the worst of the 3. I found a good program called "ontrack" everytimre I scan I get something different if I keep this up long enough I may get all of it I wonder if I can use the camera as a reader? I will spend the $350 if I have to I just want to make sure I have to.

June 1st, 2014, 11:26 PM	#17
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: corrupt card help! Randy Read the customer comments about Centon cards on Amazon!! Amazon.com: Centon 32 GB Class 10 SDHC Flash Memory Card 32GBSDHC10: Electronics You are shooting a wedding. A one off event that you can never reshoot and you are using 32GB rubbish cards!!! Only buy well known brands (You might notice that people bought Transcend and Sandisk cards after visiting the page above) Stay away from low prices and make sure the cards are sealed and Genuine retail packets ...Both San Disk and Transcend have a scam card checker that will verify the card serial number to make sure it's not a knock off!! I also "retire" my cards every 6 months (I keep them and use them for no critical shoots) OK, the FMU128 is an SSD 128GB drive what what I have read and works well ...I don't have one BUT I do have decent cards and never an issue!

June 2nd, 2014, 12:35 AM	#18
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,509	Re: corrupt card help! Those amazon reviews about the centons are pretty clear, the same issue as Randy had is reported there, about Sandisc, allthough they have a proven reliablity I have read a topic here recently about a certain 32gb type card from sandisc that was causing issues as well with corrupted data, can't find that topic back though. But in general they are very reliable cards. The price of the fmu is not cheap but I paid 1K for 64gb (hvr-dr60) a few years back which was even more expensive but it had been reliable from day one I used it, I use several small camera's and all record to 1 card, it does make me nervous though having to trust a full days work onto one flimsy little piece of plastic.

June 2nd, 2014, 12:46 AM	#19
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Re: corrupt card help! Using the camera as the "reader" is probably a good place to start - I've had the rare "read error" if a card doesn't quite line up right, and remove/reinsert usually cures it. Makes me a little nervous you can't play the clips in camera (if I read you correctly). Are the contacts on the card and camera/reader clean? Might be worth picking up a can of contact cleaner - seen read problems with dirty/slightly corroded contacts, cleaning will resolve - since you are getting random results, this might be worth exploring? Your data may be there and intact, but getting scrambled from interference at the contacts... it takes very little oxidation/corrosion to make for a 'bad connection". Seen it ALL the time in doing electronic repairs! And Chris could also be right, you card may have a fault... some cheap cards are sketchy, or knockoffs with substandard parts that WILL cause problems. Ages ago I bought a few "Scamdisks" (fake cards with legit looking Sandisk labels/packaging), all sorts of weird problems... Better to spend a little more, get known brands from KNOWN sources than to save a few $$ and have problems/lost data.

June 2nd, 2014, 05:22 AM	#20
Randy Johnson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,067	Re: corrupt card help! The more I "play" with it the more it seems like its corrupt and not physical damage. I use software to recover the files but they are fragmented the card does the same thing every time so it doesnt look like its getting worse. I am hopeful that a professional company can save it.

June 2nd, 2014, 11:14 AM	#21
Randy Johnson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,067	Re: corrupt card help! OK update, My friend let me use a program called "ontrack" very expensive like $500 I think I got all the data BUT it got EVERYTHING which crashed Edius soon as I imported it. So I imported all the clips into Adobe media encoder to "launder" them I got a lot more stuff but its going to take a day or two to render so I dont think I am ready to send out my card for $350 just yet. If I cant get enough to edit this video then I will. Right now I remain hopeful.

June 2nd, 2014, 12:32 PM	#22
Ron Evans Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,220	Re: corrupt card help! Did you try putting "everything" you got onto another SD card and let Sony PlayMemories or Content Management Utility read the card ? If the directories were copied then they will know what files to choose. If you can get the recovery program to copy the card then using this copied card the in camera database correction may also recreate the directories. Ron Evans

June 2nd, 2014, 07:14 PM	#23
Randy Johnson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,067	Re: corrupt card help! Ron, I cant do that because windows or OSX wont let me move files off the card, I think I did get what I needed though. In hind site I was playing with fire it wasnt so much the cheap cards it was the age. For now I am going to buy some new cards and in the next few weeks I am going to get a FMU. Are Sony cards good enough for now? The guy who I called about the card recovery told me PNY were crap and he wouldnt even recommend Sandisk Microcenter has Sony and Kingston.

June 2nd, 2014, 07:48 PM	#24
Ron Evans Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,220	Re: corrupt card help! I use Patriot 64G cards and the FMU128 on my NX5U. Use the same cards in my NX30U and CX700 they have been very good shopRBC.com :: Patriot EP 64GB SDHX Class 10 UHS-I Memory Card Ron Evans

June 2nd, 2014, 08:17 PM	#25
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: corrupt card help! I must admit I have never had Windows not being able to copy folders or files from a card. I'm wondering if maybe the card reader has a fault??? What actually happens when you put the card into the reader? If the reader doesn't even read the card then maybe see if another card reads and copies OK? For something like this you do need to totally isolate the faulty component ... it seems strange that the camera shows the existence of the clips but won't play them ... I'm wondering if the camera can only read the metadata files which will confirm the presence of the files and then due to corruption it camera cannot play the actual files in the stream folder? Very weird!! Hope they are eventually recovered OK!!! Chris

June 2nd, 2014, 08:25 PM	#26
Randy Johnson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,067	Re: corrupt card help! I tried other readers and computers, Im pretty sure the card is just worn out. I kinda remember looking at the footage in the field and seeing the camera hesitate a little bit.

June 2nd, 2014, 10:45 PM	#27
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: corrupt card help! Hi Randy I was just checking! Yep that card is finished it seems. I always make sure that my cards for weddings don't have a lot of use, Compared to the cost of MiniDV where it would cost me about $32.00 per wedding with 4 x tapes, you can now buy a good 16GB card for that which you can use it only for say 10 weddings and then 2 x 16GB cards will have a media cost of a tiny $6.00 per wedding ... I use my about 20 times and then they move to my 2nd card case and get used for Realty shoots ...(those I CAN reshoot if a card fails) ... On my EA-50's I have a 16GB card in each camera and that gives me about 80 mins of footage on each camera ..plenty of space for me and I find that 16GB cards for some reason are more reliable than 32GB ... I have no idea why! I reckon that apart from overuse, if a card is going to fail, it will do so on the first couple of uses so I run my new cards in the camera on non-critical shoots before they become my "wedding" cards. Chris

June 3rd, 2014, 04:54 PM	#28
Randy Johnson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,067	Re: corrupt card help! For the time being I picked up 4 32 gig sandisc class 10 cards I dont think I need to over think this. The card that failed was like 4 years old I just used it one to many times:) I will use these for a few weeks until I can get a FMU

June 13th, 2014, 09:26 AM	#29
Randy Johnson Trustee Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,067	Re: corrupt card help! It happend again! No lost data but enough to make me nervous about moving forward. I bought 4 new cards last week I shot 2 weddings with them last weekend. I dumped them fine right after each job this week I went to find one to reuse for todays wedding. One of them was corrupt just like last time! I pulled it out of service I have to do another job or two before I can afford the FMU now I am going to be very uncomfortable for a while.

June 13th, 2014, 09:45 AM	#30
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,509	Re: corrupt card help! hmm, something else must be going on, if you are that (un)lucky you better start playing the lottery. :) I think the chances of the issue you had happening so close together with 2 totally different cards seems very unlikely that your new card has the same problem. Have you tried transferring with the camera connected to the pc vs a cardreader?