Why does my SD card show different photos at different times, and can I recover the missing images?
Asked 10/4/2012
7 views
2 answers
0
I formatted my memory card and it appeared empty, then used it for about two weeks. After taking a few more photos one day, the camera suddenly said the card was full. When I reviewed the card, I could only see the newest photos plus some much older images.
When I removed the card to copy files to my iPad, the contents seemed to change again and showed older images instead of the ones taken that day. This has now happened more than once.
Why would a memory card appear to have different sets of photos at different times, and what is the safest way to recover the missing images?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
1
What's the make of the card? did you buy from a reliable seller? Shady sellers use to play nasty tricks with the internal chips of the card (usually to cheat on the real size) and this has obviously nasty consequences on the integrity of the filesystem.
Just in case, you should always download your pictures to a safe storage (move them away from the card as soon as possible). Are you sure that you "deeply" formatted it? You could try to run a scan-disk utility (chkdsk) to report on the integrity of the card after the formatting.
Given the risk of losing data, and the relative cheapness of cards, I would recommend in any case not relying on this card for anything remotely important.
Originally by user5032. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user5032
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
This behavior strongly suggests a faulty or counterfeit memory card, or a corrupted file system. A fake-capacity card can appear to work until it writes past its real capacity, after which files may seem to disappear or older directory data may reappear.
Stop using the card immediately. Any further shooting, formatting, or deleting could overwrite recoverable images.
What to do next:
- Do not take more photos on this card.
- Use a photo/file recovery tool to scan the card and copy any recoverable images to safe storage.
- If possible, check the card on a computer and run a disk-check utility to look for file system errors.
- If the card came from an unreliable source, treat it as suspect.
Even if you recover some files, do not trust this card for important photos. Memory cards are inexpensive compared with lost images, so replacement is the safest long-term fix.
Also, make it a habit to back up photos off the card as soon as practical rather than leaving weeks of images on one card.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI13y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
Nikon D5100 photos missing from SD card after transfer to PC
Nikon D7000 sometimes won't save or review photos and reports no memory card detected
Recovered photos from a formatted memory card are only 1632×1080 — can I get the original size back?
Can I recover photos from a CompactFlash card that my camera and computer now say is unformatted?
Canon JPEG files won’t open after transfer from memory card