Can anyone help me with my memory stick and loading pictures to my computer?

[norma427]

I sure don’t know what is wrong with my memory stick that goes into my camera, but for some reason when I put the memory stick into my computer last evening to put the pictures on my computer, none of them will load.  It says loading error.  I tried multiple times.  I took my daughter's camera this morning and put my memory stick in it and tried to load the pictures with a cable instead of putting the memory stick right into the computer and it won’t load that way either.  For some reason on my daughter’s camera it won’t even show the pictures and says no images.  On my digital camera the memory stick will show all the pictures from yesterday.  I have used my memory stick in my daughter’s camera other times and it does work in her camera other times.  Our digital cameras are basically the same models.

I sure don’t know of any other way of loading the pictures onto my computer.  How can I post about pizzas I attempted yesterday if there are no pictures to show what the pizzas looked like.   

Thanks for any help if someone knows what to do.  Any ideas?

Norma

[pizzaneer]

I'll give it a shot, Norma.  I'll need to know a few things.

What make and model camera, and what brand / size memory stick?

What make computer and what OS? 

[norma427]

I'll give it a shot, Norma.  I'll need to know a few things.

What make and model camera, and what brand / size memory stick?

What make computer and what OS? 

Brian,

Thanks for saying you will give it a shot in what might be wrong.  I did take both cameras (along with the cable) to my computer fix-it-up place and the one technician said he thinks my memory stick might be going bad.  He could get the pictures off of the memory stick though and put them on a CD-R disc.  I think my computer also needs a tune-up and am going to take it in tomorrow to see if there are any other problems with the computer.  I am now trying to get the CD-R disc to work.  I do think something is wrong with the computer also, besides the memory stick.   

If you want to wait and see what happens you can.  My computer processor is a HP (Intel R Pentium Dual CPU E2200 @ 2.2 GHz 4.00 GB.  It is also Vista Home Premium.  I basically don’t understand anything much about computers.  If you need any other information that I haven’t given, let me know.  As I posted I sure don’t know much about computers.  I don’t even know what an OS is.     

My digital camera is a Sony Cyber-shot 12.1 mega pixels.  The memory stick is a Sony PRO Duo 2 GB.


Norma

[PowerWagonPete]

The memory card itself may be baked, Norma, or you might have some pizza ingredients stuck in the contacts.      

[pizzaneer]

Don't let them sell you a new stick just yet.  I've been using the same flash drive for 15 years now.  I've occasionally reformatted it, but it's never "gone bad".

According to my research, Vista is the villain.   It's a well-known issue that Microsoft never got around to fixing.  Sometimes Vista just "loses" the relevant drivers to your devices.

Here's how to fix it...
1. Plug your device in
2. Go into Device Manager by right clicking "my computer" in the start menu, choosing 'Properties" from the drop-down menu, then choosing the Hardware tab.
3. Right-Click on the device needing your attention (with the yellow warning sign)
4. Click Update Driver
5. Select the first option (to provide a path for the process to search a certain directory)
6. Then browse to C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository and select the directory that starts with usbstor.inf_XXXXX

hope this helps.  I know, it sounds like a lot to do, but it's much easier than it sounds.

[Don K]

I sure hope that you can get your pictures off the memory stick Norma. I have had a few sticks where somehow the format got screwed up. After I reformatted them they worked fine again. Unfortunately you will lose the pictures if you reformat.

If you do end up reformatting, I would recommend using the camera to do the formatting and not Windows. Somewhere in the menus on the camera there should be a way to format the stick. Some cameras have a proprietary format that will work with Windows but the camera won't work with a stick that was formatted with Windows. I know that Olympus is one such brand. I'm not sure about Sony.

[Bill/SFNM]

Norma,

Sorry to hear about your problems. There are a ton of free programs to recover photos from problematic memory cards. I've only had one card go bad in all my years, but this one did the job.

http://www.easeus.com/data-recovery/card-recovery-software/free-memory-card-recovery.htm

These programs can recover photos even if the card has been reformatted, but you will have better luck (and less hassles) if you try before formatting. Once you've recovered any photos, throw out the card. If it gave problems once, it will definitely do so again.

[norma427]

The memory card itself may be baked, Norma, or you might have some pizza ingredients stuck in the contacts.      

Pete,

With all the flour I have on my hands when taking pictures, it is a wonder my camera even still works. 

Norma

[norma427]

Don't let them sell you a new stick just yet.  I've been using the same flash drive for 15 years now.  I've occasionally reformatted it, but it's never "gone bad".

According to my research, Vista is the villain.   It's a well-known issue that Microsoft never got around to fixing.  Sometimes Vista just "loses" the relevant drivers to your devices.

Here's how to fix it...
1. Plug your device in
2. Go into Device Manager by right clicking "my computer" in the start menu, choosing 'Properties" from the drop-down menu, then choosing the Hardware tab.
3. Right-Click on the device needing your attention (with the yellow warning sign)
4. Click Update Driver
5. Select the first option (to provide a path for the process to search a certain directory)
6. Then browse to C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository and select the directory that starts with usbstor.inf_XXXXX

hope this helps.  I know, it sounds like a lot to do, but it's much easier than it sounds.

Brian,

Thanks so much for the instructions and why you think my memory card doesn’t work.  I have copied out your directions and will try to follow them.  Being I am so bad with computers, trying that might be hard for me, but I will give it a shot. 

I paid 20.00 just to have those pictures from yesterday put on the CD-Rom disc and I still can’t get the disc to work.   

Norma

[norma427]

I sure hope that you can get your pictures off the memory stick Norma. I have had a few sticks where somehow the format got screwed up. After I reformatted them they worked fine again. Unfortunately you will lose the pictures if you reformat.

If you do end up reformatting, I would recommend using the camera to do the formatting and not Windows. Somewhere in the menus on the camera there should be a way to format the stick. Some cameras have a proprietary format that will work with Windows but the camera won't work with a stick that was formatted with Windows. I know that Olympus is one such brand. I'm not sure about Sony.

Colonel_Klink,

Thanks for posting you hope I get the pictures off the memory stick.  I will have to look at my camera to see where it can be formatted. 

Norma

[norma427]

Norma,

Sorry to hear about your problems. There are a ton of free programs to recover photos from problematic memory cards. I've only had one card go bad in all my years, but this one did the job.

http://www.easeus.com/data-recovery/card-recovery-software/free-memory-card-recovery.htm

These programs can recover photos even if the card has been reformatted, but you will have better luck (and less hassles) if you try before formatting. Once you've recovered any photos, throw out the card. If it gave problems once, it will definitely do so again.

Bill,

Thanks for posting you are sorry about my problems and the advice you gave me. 

I will try your link.  I did have another memory card that gave me problems before and I did throw that one out, but at least I did get the pictures off the card before I threw it out. 

Norma

[norma427]

Brian,

I did go into the Device manager and the chose the hardware tab where my scanner and camera should be.  Only the scanner is there. The camera disappeared.    I looked for my disk that came with my camera, but can’t find it.  I guess I will wait until my daughter gets home from work to see if you knows where her disk is for her camera.  I guess that is also why my DVD/CD burner doesn’t work either.  My computer must have lost the drivers for that too.  At least that is what I am guessing.  I do know where all of my disks are for my computer. 

Norma

[norma427]

Before any member tries to help me anymore with my computer or memory stick, I just wanted to post that I talked with a technician again at TWC Computer systems http://www.tcwcomputers.com/ .  The technician said he thinks my computer has a virus since the memory stick and DVD/CD burner both aren’t working.  I am taking my computer into TWC Computer systems first thing tomorrow morning.

Thanks to everyone that tried to help me! 

Norma

[Chicago Bob]

Norma,

os stands for operating system....and on your computer it is the Vista Home Premium program that is installed. I run a 'lil older program...Windows XP.
Basically, it is the Boss that tells the computer how to do things. As theses companies come up with smarter ways to make the computer do things they come out with these new os programs like XP and then Vista etc.
OS is the Boss.....like you Norma!!   

[norma427]

Norma,

os stands for operating system....and on your computer it is the Vista Home Premium program that is installed. I run a 'lil older program...Windows XP.
Basically, it is the Boss that tells the computer how to do things. As theses companies come up with smarter ways to make the computer do things they come out with these new os programs like XP and then Vista etc.
OS is the Boss.....like you Norma!!   

Bob,

Thanks for telling me what the letters OS stands for.  I did know what an operating system meant on a computer, but somehow I didn’t relate the letters OS to operating system. 

Lol, I am not the boss.   

I am going to try one more thing on my computer and that is to take it back to a date when it was operating properly.  I am still taking the computer to the technician tomorrow though, because I need the computer.  It isn’t even funny how much I reply on a computer.  You and other members would probably laugh if anyone saw a picture of my right palm on the outside.  It has a callous from me typing so much and resting my right side of my hand on where I type when I use the mouse.     

Norma

[norma427]

Thanks everyone again that helped me on this thread. 

I used my daughter's disk for her camera and now my pictures did load.  What a day!   

The computer is going to get looked at tomorrow just in case there is something wrong with it.

Norma

[Fire-n-smoke]

Norma,
when I had my photo business the two things I always kept handy were a q-tip and a can of compressed air.  About every week or so I used to take out the memory card, turn the camera over, and spray the air into the card compartment and then wipe the contacts inside the camera and on the card with a q-tip to remove any dust or debris; if there is just one piece of anything on one of the contacts that throws the whole card/camera off.  Just pointing this out because of all the flour that you have around.
Glad to hear you saved the pictures   
tom

[norma427]

Norma,
when I had my photo business the two things I always kept handy were a q-tip and a can of compressed air.  About every week or so I used to take out the memory card, turn the camera over, and spray the air into the card compartment and then wipe the contacts inside the camera and on the card with a q-tip to remove any dust or debris; if there is just one piece of anything on one of the contacts that throws the whole card/camera off.  Just pointing this out because of all the flour that you have around.
Glad to hear you saved the pictures   
tom

Tom,

Thanks for posting what you did when you had your photo business.  I will keep your tips handy for the future.  I didn’t know any debris will foul-up a card/camera, but that makes sense.  Maybe that is what happened to my other card, with all the flour I have on my hands when I take pictures. 

I won’t know if my card works until I get my computer back.  I called yesterday late and the techs said they would be running scans on my computer all night.  I guess my computer was really messed-up.  Hopefully the computer will be finished today.  I hate to see that bill.  I saw all those nice Macs at the computer shop and don’t think they have problems like other computers, but I don’t know. 

I am not posting much until I get my computer back, because I am not used to how my daughters laptop works, and my cell phone is too hard for me to type in long responses.  I keep making errors on a laptop.  At least I got more work done yesterday at home since I wasn’t on the forum as much. 

Thanks again, 

Norma

[pizzaneer]

Norma, at the risk of geeking out and scaring you away from computers, Windows just blows.  If you use your computer for anything other than playing solitaire, it makes sense to look into alternatives that are far more dependable.

Mac is a great platform, and the hardware is as solid as it gets.  A little on the pricey side.   You could get a nice used one that has been factory-refurbished for about 1/2 the cost of a brand new one.   All Mac resellers are required to sell refurbished products at the same price, so you don't have to worry about whether you're getting ripped off.  Here's one I've used before:  http://www.smalldog.com/Macs 

And then, you could work with what you have, replace the Windows OS with one that actually works.  I'm typing this on my Linux Mint laptop.  It used to run windows 7, but it crashed one too many times, and I was fed up with all the weird driver issues, firewalls, PC viruses, malware, etc.  I downloaded the Linux Mint LiveCD from this site: http://www.linuxmint.com/index.php , burned it, installed it after trying it out.  Never looked back.  It's faster, more dependable and is far more useful to me than Windows ever was.

[Chicago Bob]

and my cell phone is too hard for me to type in long responses. 

Norma

On my android phone I use "Swipe"...instead of individually taping each key you swipe your finger across the keyboard creating each word. It is very smart and makes texting about 5 times faster...no kidding.