Corrupt memory card

[manning]

1. Take the card out of the camera and don't use it until you recover the
lost pictures

2. Get a recovery program and proceed to recover the pictures.

3. Verify you recovered the pictures

4. Copy the pictures to a CD and/or hard drive. ( I do both. A hard drive will
(not if) fail. You just don't know when. I had one fail after a month.

[timned88]

great advice. sometimes the simplest things are often overlooked.

[matthew_hull]

1. Take the card out of the camera and don't use it until you recover the
lost pictures

2. Get a recovery program and proceed to recover the pictures.

3. Verify you recovered the pictures

4. Copy the pictures to a CD and/or hard drive. ( I do both. A hard drive will
(not if) fail. You just don't know when. I had one fail after a month.

I second this. Even "more experienced" photographers occasionly screw up and accidentally erase the entire card. Don't panic. Even if you know nothing about computers just knowing that they CAN be recovered is a help. But, as mentioned before, DO NOT take any more photos using that card. Put it away for the trip. In fact, mark it with a pen. Then either purchase a photo recovery program suitable for your computer, or take it in to work and negotiate with your more knowlegeable co-workers for services rendered :blush:

[pbnjrockette]

While on a cruise to Antartica last February, I had the on-board "expert" download and print a couple dozen of my penguin pictures---except he had an 'oops!' and said there were no pictures on my card! There were several hundred irreplaceable pictures. Of course, I freaked! He said he would try using a recovery program and FORTUNATELY was able to restore about 80% of my pictures. Saved them to a CD and didn't use my card until I got home and had a photography shop restore my pics. Thank goodness I had packed and 1 GB card. WHEW!!!