Can a card reader corrupt CF card

[White Wolf]

Hi CS folks,

I got a cheap card reader from SLS a few weeks agao and i noticed that my CF card is corrupted after trying to transfer the files i took into my PC. My PC just cant read my CF card and i tried putting it back and the camera reads "card error"". I formatted my card and it could be used again.

After a few weeks which i tried again today, the same thiing happen. Initially i never suspect that a card reader would do such damage to my card, however i am suspecting it now.

So starting a thread here to see if anyone here can offer some advices.

 

[kwttan]

Never encounter before. Card reader suppose to be passive device, unless there is problem with the circuitry board of the card reader that leads to data corruption. Have you try get a replacement from the SLS shop and try the new replacement card reader?

 

[White Wolf]

Never encounter before. Card reader suppose to be passive device, unless there is problem with the circuitry board of the card reader that leads to data corruption. Have you try get a replacement from the SLS shop and try the new replacement card reader?

No,it was purchase some time back and I can't really recall which shop I got it from. Well like u, can't really believe the reader will corrupt the card. I only heard of the card being damaged physically cause of the pins.

 

[kwttan]

No,it was purchase some time back and I can't really recall which shop I got it from. Well like u, can't really believe the reader will corrupt the card. I only heard of the card being damaged physically cause of the pins.

Yap, usually is pin bent or broken issue. Guess you have gotten a poor QC piece ;p

 

[darkavgr]

Did u connect card reader to (unpowered) USB hub or direct to PC?
Never..never connect reader to hub when transferring pics as I think is caused by no enough power

Happened to me many times..usually when reader not connected directly to PC/Mac (i use Mac). Some readers even corrupt even if connected directly to my Mac
I've given up on card readers :-(

I learnt a painful lesson & now connect cam directly to Mac & not use readers at all

 

[kwttan]

Did u connect card reader to (unpowered) USB hub or direct to PC?
Never..never connect reader to hub when transferring pics as I think is caused by no enough power

Happened to me many times..usually when reader not connected directly to PC/Mac (i use Mac). Some readers even corrupt even if connected directly to my Mac
I've given up on card readers :-(

I learnt a painful lesson & now connect cam directly to Mac & not use readers at all

You have brought up a good point/possible cause of data corruption.
I usually connect the card reader directly to laptop. Some external device comes with Y-USB cable, in case some laptops single USB port has insufficient power to supply to it and need 2 USB ports.

 

[Octarine]

Has happened to me as well. Borrowed a CF card reader (stick-like) for USB and it corrupted the FAT. Luckily I could recover all files, just the file names got screwed up. Don't scrimp on card readers, get a good one. Preferable the same vendor as your memory card.

 

[White Wolf]

Did u connect card reader to (unpowered) USB hub or direct to PC?
Never..never connect reader to hub when transferring pics as I think is caused by no enough power

Happened to me many times..usually when reader not connected directly to PC/Mac (i use Mac). Some readers even corrupt even if connected directly to my Mac
I've given up on card readers :-(

I learnt a painful lesson & now connect cam directly to Mac & not use readers at all

I connect my card reader direct to my PC. Thinking back, i think you made a very valid point. Initially when i try to open the file, the reader sometimes can read, sometimes cannot read then eventually corrupt my whole disk!!!!!!!!

Could it be a card reader problem? Anyway i would go to get a scandisk reader, not risking any of my treasured photos.

 

[White Wolf]

Has happened to me as well. Borrowed a CF card reader (stick-like) for USB and it corrupted the FAT. Luckily I could recover all files, just the file names got screwed up. Don't scrimp on card readers, get a good one. Preferable the same vendor as your memory card.

Hi Octarine,

How did you manage to recover the files since the card cannot be read at all?

 

[Octarine]

How did you manage to recover the files since the card cannot be read at all?

At this point I only had Windows at my hands. I used the Windows tool 'chkdsk'. It searches for lost files residing on the media without having an entry in the FAT. They will be renamed into 'FILExxxx.CHK' where xxxx is a sequence number. Copy those files to your hard disk and rename them into .jpg whatever file type you were using. A better option would be Linux where you can access the card in read-only mode.
Important: when inserting the card deny all questions about reformatting. As long as the card is recognized and a drive letter is allocated chances are good that you can recover files.

 

[Aisyah]

Agreed with White Wolf. The same thing happened to me a few days ago. Thought of saving some cost and I got a cheap ones from SLS which cost me ard 9.90sgd. Tried to upload the images which I took from a wedding occassion but my pc shows INVALID IMAGE. Put back my CF card into my camera and tried to view it and again my camera shoes NO IMAGE AVAILABLE. Just imagine how I feel??? But managed to retrieved everything using Image Recovering Software...very very lucky. Guess what?? After that, I bought a better ones but this time the CF card can't be formatted or even the new card reader can't read my CF card at all. Rgrds.

 

[Octarine]

[...]Guess what?? After that, I bought a better ones but this time the CF card can't be formatted or even the new card reader can't read my CF card at all. Rgrds.

Have you formatted thw card in the camera prior first usage? Try:
- different card reader
- different PC / OS
- different camera
If all fails then the better brands offer lifetime warranty. Get it exchanged. But: recovery is not part of warranty.
I use Sandisk. Similar to many others here it is reliable and good. You may also want to check those threads about fake cards and warranty / service partner for certain memory card brands.

 

[Aisyah]

Thanks Octarine for your advised, very much appreciated. Anyway I did formatted all of my CF cards before using it with my SanDisk card reader, no problem so far. Well, I'd learned my lesson. Thanks once again.

 

[White Wolf]

Thank you all for the input.