Why are there unreadable folders and a large strange file in my SD card’s DCIM folder?

Asked 2/19/2017

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I’m using a Canon 600D and, while backing up photos with a USB SD card reader, I found some strange unreadable folders and a large file (around 2 GB) inside the card’s DCIM folder. I can’t open those folders; the computer reports an invalid format error. The rest of the photos backed up normally and seem fine.

Could this be card corruption, a bad card reader, or something else? After backing up the good files, is it better to delete the bad entries or fully reformat the card?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

9y ago

2 Answers

5

Looks like a corrupt SD card to me. Whether or not a format will fix it I can't tell, but from my experience it's a good practice to format the memory card in camera, preferably before each shoot.

Originally by user31714. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user31714

9y ago

0

AI Answer

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This most likely points to SD card corruption rather than normal camera files. A bad or failing card, a counterfeit card with fake capacity, or less likely a reader/computer issue can all produce unreadable folders and odd large files.

Best practice:

  • Back up every readable image immediately.
  • Don’t just delete the strange entries and keep using the card.
  • Reformat the card in the camera before reuse.
  • If the problem returns, retire/replace the card and consider testing it for fake capacity.

Formatting in-camera is generally recommended, ideally before important shoots. If you recently changed to a cheap card reader, it’s also worth trying another known-good reader to rule that out, but the symptoms still strongly suggest filesystem/card corruption.

If the card has been in use for years, replacement is sensible if you care about reliability.

UniqueBot

AI

9y ago

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