Hi all, I'm new to this site but hopefully someone can help me.

I have a Nikon D3100. While on a recent vacation an error message appeared on the camera stating "The memory card cannot be used. Card may be damaged. Insert another card."

The card is a PNY Optima SDHC 4gb class 4 card

This happened once before to me as well with a PNY Professional 8gb class 10 card.

Has this happened to anyone else??

My biggest fear is that my pictures are gone - ARE MY PICTURES ON THE CARD RECOVERABLE??

How can I prevent this in the future??

Any suggestions appreciated. Many thanks.

Hi George,

Welcome to Nikonians!
First make sure that the locking switch on the card is unlocked.
If that doesn't work, the card is likely corrupted.

Using Image Recovery Software like Rescue Pro from Sandisk should be able to recover the images on you card as long as you don't overwrite them.

I have never had a problem with Sandisk or Hoodman memory cards.
Always format the cards in the camera before using them for the first time and after you download the images to your computer.
Good Luck and Enjoy your Nikons!

Best Regards,
Marty

Good advice above.

I always use SanDisk cards and have never had a problem in any device.

Some smart person here advised me to format the card in the camera after you offload the images, each time.

I also take my images off every day while traveling, AND make an immediate 2nd copy on a jump drive.

Hope you can recover your images.

working on it in Middle TN
Nikon D3100
18-55 mm Nikkor VR
55-200 mm Nikkor VR
55-300 mm Nikkor VR
150-500 mm Sigma OS

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I have a 5100 that required a firmware upgrade to accept a 16GB SD card I had (major brand)........you may want to contact Nikon support.

Also conventional wisdom is to have multiple smaller cards (4-8GB)to provide insurance that if a card has issues on a trip, you have sufficient options to complete the trip.

Also if you are shooting video at high resolution, you should invest in class "10" cards for the additional bandwidth/transfer speed.

They can also benefit those shooting RAW/jpg on each shot.

Thanks for all the good tips. I want to try one of those data recovery software programs to try and recover my pictures. I previously tried a free 'trial' version of 'cardrecovery.com' but it didn't find any recoverable files - I suppose a full version may be better. Can anyone recommend which ones they've been successful with in the past so I don't waste $$ on something that doesn't work.

- Thanks Marty for the 'Rescue Pro' recommendation.

Not familiar with PNY's customer support.

In 2005, I spent a day shooting in the Grand Canyon, and part of the night. When I finally made it back to my car with the help of light from my cell phone, a Park Ranger was waiting on me. He just told me good night, and that he had been watching me. I like to shoot after there are absolutely no shadows.

Unfortunately, nearly all my photos were corrupted. A photo might have parts of photos from four different shots. I had a high-end Lexar CF card that required a special reader to connect to a PC. I ended up sending the card to Lexar, and they reconstructed most of the photos for me.

Before you totally destroy your files with some unknown software with which you have no experience, you might want to try PNY & see if they can do that. Otherwise, I would try Rescue Pro. Personally, I would never use anything other than a higher-end SanDisk or Lexar memory card. I currently use SanDisk UHS-1 rated cards in my D7000. Expensive, but cheaper than going back to the Grand Canyon, having the whole wedding party come back & go through the paces (And still look happy), or getting the Super Moon to come out again.

Yes, always format (low level format if possible) the card in your camera. After backing up the photos (I do it to two different places) of course. Test a couple shots to make sure everything is okay, then go capture the world.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Hi George,

I have used Rescue Pro by Sandisk several times to recover images from my card and the cards of friends and it worked perfectly.
I think they have a trial version that will recover the images but will not allow you to save them until you buy the software.
Good Luck and Enjoy your Nikons!

Best Regards,
Marty

Hello,

I have a Nikon D5000 and only use Lexar or SanDisk SDHC cards. I also have an Olympus E-P3 with a Promaster SDHC card. I have gotten error message on this Promaster card, and my friend disabled the write-protect lever. Problem stopped.

I don't know about the software programs mentioned in this thread, but I would take card to local camera store and find out if they can extract your photos. Good luck.

I also would use the cards recommended by Nikon in manual. I would not get another promaster card. My computer consultant does not recommend PNY for memory either.

D3000 still has the original Kodak SD card I purchased for it when I bought it.

Phillip M Jones, CET
pjonescet@comcast.net
http://www.phillipmjones.net/

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Didn't want to start a new thread, but I had a quick question. I bought a 2-pack of 8gb Sandisk Ultra SDHC cards earlier today from Costco. They're class 6, but are SDHC I (which would possibly indicate UHS-I cards?) but doesnt have the 1 inside the U logo. They also advertise a 30mb/s speed, which is higher than the usual 20mb/s found on class 6 Sandisk Ultra cards.

Basically my question is, will it be quick enough for my D3100 (haven't gotten it yet, arrives Friday!), specifically for the occasional HD video? I figured it would be quick enough to get the 3FPS burst, but correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks!

The HC in SDHC stands for high capacity which simply means that because of the capacity, the card needs an additional address line and thus a reader that supports HC, as well.

A "6" should be OK, if you take relatively short video clips, but I would test them first by starting a video and letting it record for 10 minutes to see if the card can keep up.

Right, I'm aware that HC stands for high capacity, but there seems to be variability between class 6 Sandisk cards. Observe here:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61a6AhQXcEL.jpg

Notice the 3 sandisk Ultra cards on the top right. Card 1 (middle of row) is a class 6, claiming 20mb/s, however the one adjacent to it on the right is a class 6 claiming 30mb/s (notice the I, or roman numeral 1 next to the SDHC logo), and the one next to that is a class 10 with the same speed rating.

Here's what I found regarding the uppercase i

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/24/sd-cards-branded-with-an-upper-case-i-are-faster-yo/

but then I find this https://www.sdcard.org/consumers/speed/

Which states UHS and speed class are not compatible, but the sandisk cards lack the UHS-1 class logo (1 inside a U)

I'm just really confused to what speed my card really is

Just purchased this card for under $20 seems like you can't go wrong...
Get it in a few days, so will let you know how it works

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0037FLUYU/ref=pe_175190_21431760_M2C_SC_3p_dp_1