Difficulty reading 2GB SD cards of photos...

[netdog]

At first I thought I had a card failing on me, but now that a 2nd card is having the same problems, I thought I would post here as photographers probably have the most experience with these.

I'm using a TECH-COM 36-in-1 Multiple Card Reader and every time I try to read a 2GB card, it seems to take a very long time and craps out about half way through.

It used to work fine (certainly with Tiger). Is this likely to be a problem with this type of reader? Is this a problem with OS X of late?

I have seen a few threads out there in Googling this problem, and there do seem to be a number of people having problems with OS X and 2GB cards with all sorts of readers.

Anybody know of a great solution? If I need to try a different reader, anybody have recommendations for cheap but reliable readers that work well with larger SD cards and OS X?

10.5.4, Mac Pro Early 2008, Plenty of RAM

 

[kidkaprie]

i know this isn't the answer you are looking for, but the only thing i can suggest is to use the same brand card reader / memory card. ive been using SanDisk cards / readers ever since i started shooting digital, and have never had a problem.

i've never heard of that particular brand of card reader, so that might be an issue? what brand of card are you using?

it sounds like one of those things that might just be a string of bad luck...but i honestly have no idea. sorry

 

[ChrisA]

At first I thought I had a card failing on me, but now that a 2nd card is having the same problems, I thought I would post here as photographers probably have the most experience with these.

What device wrote the data to the card? My guess is that the device and you Mac don't agree on what a fat32 file system should look like. Have you re-formatted the card recently. I'd reformat (not just delete the files) every time the card is reused. Try reformatting using the Mac's Disk Utility and see if the card still works in the device

 

[netdog]

It's a Leica D-Lux 3 (same as a Lumix LX2). As I said, it only recently stopped working right. The computer reads about half the files and then bogs down and stops copying. Both Leica cameras here can read all pictures fine. The computer used to be able to read them just fine (using Tiger).

 

[NC MacGuy]

I've had similar experiences copying files over 2Gb with Leopard. I've seen others post about same. You may want to do a search and see if there's a Leopard bug or workaround.

 

[ChrisA]

It's a Leica D-Lux 3 (same as a Lumix LX2). As I said, it only recently stopped working right. The computer reads about half the files and then bogs down and stops copying. Both Leica cameras here can read all pictures fine. The computer used to be able to read them just fine (using Tiger).

Have you been re-formatting the cards? While most people will recommend reformatting them in the camera try it using Disk Utility.

When the card is unreadable try using Disk Utility's repair volume feature.

Of course try these experiments with pictures you don't care about

There is also data recovery software you can use. One example i this one
http://www.sandisk.com/Products/ProductInfo.aspx?ID=2192

 

[cube]

Connect the reader directly to a port in the computer, not through a hub.

 

[netdog]

Connect the reader directly to a port in the computer, not through a hub.

Yes, I tried that initially thinking that the card might not be getting enough power, but it didn't change anything.