Help me get photos off my SD card from a cafe in Cambodia

June 18, 2009 9:18 PM

I'm in Cambodia and just tried to upload my photos off my SD card, which I've done before. This time, the computer wouldn't show any folders, although the photos do show up on the camera - they're there! It does show there's a gig of material on there.

I've tried a couple of computers, a card reader, connecting directly with a camera cable and putting the card in someone else's camera. The pictures only show up on my camera.

I'm betting the SD card is corrupted somehow. Is there anything I can do to get those photos off from an internet cafe in Cambodia?

posted by piper4 to Technology (8 answers total)

see if you can move the pictures to a new folder inside the camera, then put the card back into the computer and see if they aren't there..
posted by rhizome at 10:22 PM on June 18, 2009

i would stop using the corrupt memory card immediately...hopefully you have a spare. when you get home, try to use a program like zero assumption recovery to retrieve the files off the memory card.

i had a similar problem once and it worked for me.
posted by gnutron at 10:49 PM on June 18, 2009

You need PhotoRec. I'm sure the net cafe folk will let you install it on one of their boxes.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:28 AM on June 19, 2009

You can lock/write-protect your SD cards (little toggle you move up and down at the top left if the angled part of the card is on the top right), which I highly highly highly recommend before inserting it into any cafe computers.

The one issue I ran into in Laos and Cambodia was that my SDHC card wasn't recognized by a lot of the internet cafe's - so the card reader could be the problem. That's if you're using the cafe's readers.

Can you hook your camera directly up to the computer?
posted by backwards guitar at 5:06 AM on June 19, 2009

Try to switch your camera from/to "USB Mass Storage" to the other form of connection with computer, something like "Direct PC Connection"; look around in the camera setup menu.

Did the computer show the SD card as a new drive upon connection?

Are you certain that the card isn't an SDHC card you're trying to use on SD card readers? SDHC cards can only be read with SDHC card readers.

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Always format your flash cards in camera before use and try to minimize other file system operations (i.e. deletes, raw->jpg conversions) in camera.
posted by Akeem at 5:12 AM on June 19, 2009

you probably have a virus. i can't find the exact name on google right now, but scan the shit out of your SD card. when i was in south america last summer, the same thing happened to me and i freaked out but its no worry - its probably a hidden EXE file thats being autorun with your camera.

and yes, nthing the "write-protect" bit on your SD card whenever you insert it anywhere...
posted by yonation at 9:36 AM on June 19, 2009

to be clear: its not your camera thats the problem, its the card that has the virus. don't worry about your camera - and i really doubt the card itself corrupt if your camera is reading it, btw...
posted by yonation at 9:39 AM on June 19, 2009

The "write-protect" on the SD card is bogus software and does nothing. The CHDK hacked software for Cannon P&S cameras uses "write-protect" to auto-load itself. If the reader is messed up, or the software overrides, "write-protect" isn't going to do anything. (I've taken hundreds of pictures now on a "write-protected" card).
posted by zengargoyle at 5:04 PM on June 19, 2009