My computer is not reading my PNY SD 1GB memory card

Question

I use a Kodak EasyShare C160 digital camera, a PNY SD 1GB memory card, and a Dell Latitude E5500 computer. I have had my camera for over a year and have always been able to transfer my pictures to my computer. Now my computer does not recognize my memory card and I get a message from the EasyShare software that says "Cannot get device information", although my computer does recognize the pictures stored on my camera's internal memory. Is there any way to access the pictures on my memory card, or are they lost forever?

Answer 1

Buy a USB card reader and use that. It is nice and convenient to use built-in SD card readers or CF-to-PCMCIA adapters on the computer but my experience is that there are some cards which the built-in readers cannot read. But the USB readers work fine.

If you are concerned that USB readers are too slow, that depends on the technology used in the USB reader. I have an old reader from 2000 that is indeed rather slow, but it works and I don't have to sit and stare at it while it copies. I also have a newer reader purchased in 2010 that is almost as fast as a built-in USB reader.

If this works, after you have made two copies of the photos from the card, reformat the card in the camera before using it again.

If this does not work, then you have a more serious problem but you may still be able to get the pictures by trying other computers or perhaps trying a different camera and using the camera's cable to link directly to the PC.

Answer 2

Can you view and take new pictures on the card using the camera? If so, This proves the card is good. Your pictures are not lost. It would then possibly be a software issue (Kodak, maybe re-install) or get a card reader and pull them off directly. I personally prefer to go direct to avoid using the bloated software the manufacturers typically put out. If your camera cannot take new pictures to and read from the card... your out of luck as they say. If the pictures are extremely valuable to you, you might be able to take it to a data recovery specialist shop but I doubt that will help.