Recovering images from SD card

[p38arover]

Today we took the SD card out of my wife's phone and plugged it into the SD socket on my laptop to transfer all the images from her trip to Vietnam.

The computer said the card wasn't formatted and asked if I wanted to format it. Naturally I said no. I tried it several times with the same result.

As that obviously wasn't going to work, I thought I'd try to connect the phone via Bluetooth.

That didn't work as it asked for the passkey and I couldn't remember what it was. We haven't connected the phone to the laptop via Bluetooth since January.

I tried removing the pairing, removing and reinstalling the Bluetooth software on the laptop but gave up as I can't the the phone to connect.

So that was a fizzer.

We plugged the SD card back into the phone - and all her photos and videos seem to have disappeared. She is not happy.

Is there anything I can do to recover them? I didn't erase them nor did I format the card.

Is this another example of my bad luck? :(

Ron

[Snapper]

That didn't work as it asked for the passkey and I couldn't remember what it was. We haven't connected the phone to the laptop via Bluetooth since January.

Ron


The passkey is usually a new passkey created each time you wish to pair two devices.
When you initiate the bluetooth and one device will ask for a passkey, just enter a four digit number (any number) and it will then send this to the second device as a security code. Enter the same four digit number into the second device and the two should then pair up.
This is just to stop anyone in bluetooth range from accessing a device without authority.

As for the main problem of lost photo's, i'm sorry I can't offer any help unless the phone has its own memory as well as the SD card and the files are stored there.

Snap.

[jik22]

If the card had been for the PC (Or in a format the PC can read) I'd have suggested a few programs. However, as that seems to have been the cause of your problems, it seems the phone and PC use different filing systems for the cards.

I'd get the phone talking ot the PC first, then use Windows explorer or the phone software to explore the phone and see if the photo's are someone esle.

With bluetooth, the key you get asked for is either one you entered on the other device, or the default is nearly always 0000.

What phone is it, and do you have it's software on the PC?

[p38arover]

I cannot get the Nokia 6280 phone to talk to the PC. I've given up after having spent hours on it.

They see each other and they pair but the phone never connects even though the PC says it's connected.

I much prefer cable connections!

RE puttng the card into the PC, maybe that was the problem. My daughter put the XD card from my camera into her Mac and after that I couldn't access the card from the camera. I had to reformat the card to make it usable.

The other SD card from the phone reads OK in the PC but she didn't take it to Vietnam.

Ron

[chunk]

Hi Ron, I assume you have loaded the soft ware for the phone onto your pc?

[abaddonxi]

Sounds like you should find a mac to try the card in.

Cheers
Simon

[Blknight.aus]

there Are SD (and all the other type/breeds) card data recovery softwares out there but I hate to say it, I think your screwed....

the software is written to work on the IMB/MAC which assumes that your card was in an appropriate IBM/MAC format to start with. If its not it cant make any sense of it and Its bye bye data if you try to force a recovery.

the nokias have a couple of hidden "connectivity" menus that need to be set correctly for data transfer to take place over the bluetooth (files as opposed to those in ear and in car doodads).

Try using a PDA, I managed to drag the vids and pics off of an SD memory card using my old miodigi walker PDA/GPS for a bloke when neither his phone nor computer would acknowoldge the card.

[p38arover]

I'll check with the Mac when my daughter comes home. Both her Macs are here (she bought a new one two weeks ago). I tried the card in my Ipaq - maybe that's what screwed it.

I've previously downloaded pics from this phone using this Bluetooth setup and laptop - in January.

It's a shame as my wife took hundreds of pics. My daughter took very few.

Software for the phone is installed on the PC.

Gawd, I hate mobile phones and computers.

Ron

[incisor]

if all else fails, i have a computer/phone here that i have had some success with in the past...

[p38arover]

I may take you up on that, Inc.

The problem may now be that she has taken one new picture with the card in the camera and it displays OK.

The Vietnam pics displayed OK on the phone before we removed the SD card - she had been showing some to me.

Ron

[HangOver]

try this smart recovery tool:
http://www.pcinspector.de/smart_media_recovery/uk/welcome.htm

I'm pretty sure it was free at one time but download it and try it.
I used the HDD & FD version which worked reasonably well.

as long as your pc recognises the card you are still in with a chance but dont copy anything to the card

[p38arover]

try this smart recovery tool:
http://www.pcinspector.de/smart_media_recovery/uk/welcome.htm



Yes, I got it this morning. I had downloaded f-Recovery trial last night and it found 483 images. I should have bought it straight away as the trila version won't save the recovered files. Today, f-Recovery can't even access the card. It says the card is busy.

I'm about to try PCinspector again. It wouldn't work in the fast mode so now I'm going to try the more intensive method.

Ron

[Blknight.aus]

let me know how that works out for ya, I just got hit with the same quetion from one of the instructors on the course, put his Card in the work camera and now his wife is furious as its got all his kids (4 months old) pics on it and they havent downloaded it.

[p38arover]

Dave,

I got it to stop looking busy by using the "eject" function Windows Explorer. Right click the card and selected "eject"

I then grabbed my multi-card reader from storage in the garage.

PC Inspector has so far recovered 475 of the 483 images. I've been looking at them and they look good! It's about 60% thriugh the card.

I really think that the laptop has corrupted the card. I tried it with another card and it was corrupted after plugging into the laptop . I won't use the laptop again, I'll stick with the card reader. (The laptop has an SD slot on the front.)

Ron

[Blknight.aus]

its not a DELL insperon series is it... if it is then I think I might know what the problem is.

the card reader is on the same ports as the USB, sound card and the pcmcia reader and the voltage supply to them is questionable.

[p38arover]

It's a Compaq Presario X1404AP

I certainly will be doing more tests befoer using it for real again.

Ron

[JDNSW]

Glad to hear you have had success with it Ron. Let this be a lesson to everyone - BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP! whether talking about computers OR cameras!

John

Reminds me, I must backup the pictures I downloaded from the camera last week, especially since I deleted them from the camera.......