Corrupted files taken on DSC-W50

[alandmel]

I use a DSC-W50 with a 2GB MemoryStick PRO Duo (Sony). I recently ran into a very unfortunate situation with my camera and would like advice.

I took many photos and video and after a while started seeing 'file error' when reviewing. I did not receive any warning messages about low battery and when I offloaded the pictures, they are corrupted and I have not been able to view them with a normal viewer or recovery programs. The file sizes are similar to those of normal pictures (and they vary as if I had different exposures on each picture). I took over 100 photos without getting a battery warning and none of the photos are viewable. I would expect the camera to shut off when battery is too low, but instead it allowed me to keep taking pictures that are inaccessible. I am calling the manufacturer today, but I would like to see if anyone else has had an issue like this and/or has any advice for recovery of the images. I realize that my memory stick (2G) can store more than one battery life, but I would expect to get a warning when the battery had run it's course.

Thanks!

[malou]

I have the same problem. Have you found a solution?
Then please write back.

Thank you!!

[alandmel]

Actually, I discovered that my problem is with a defective 2GB memory stick pro duo. I purchased it off of eBay and it's a no-brand. I only ran into this problem a couple of times because I rarely use over 1GB of space. It turns out that any photos or video taken on the stick after approximately 1.2GB get corrupted and are in this state. It seems it has nothing to do with the battery because I loaded it up to test this theory on a full battery and was able to reproduce it. I think I just have bad hardware (the memory stick), so if this is your problem then maybe this is also your answer.

I can reproduce these corrupted files, so I'm a little bit hopeful that there's some way to figure out how the files are corrupted to recover them, but no great leads yet. If anyone has an idea, please share.

Thanks!

[ketanst]

Hi alandmel,

I am facing the same problem on my 2 GB MemoryStick - back from an expensive trip and the photos are unrecoverable - most of the photos give "File Error"! When I looked into it the photos show all FF FF FF FF continuously on the MemoryStick ( I used WinHex for this).

Please Please let me know if you have been able to RECOVER the precious photos - if yes, how?

Thanks for starting this thread.

[alandmel]

Sorry, I haven't found a real solution for recovering the photos yet, but a good way to remedy the off-brand memory stick is to buy $15 1G sticks on black Friday! I'll keep you posted.

If you haven't formatted/changed the memory stick yet, you could try a site called drivesavers.com. They charge a hefty fee, but may be able to recover if they're important to you. My quote for a 2GB stick was $390 if they could recover them all. it's not worth that much to me...

Good luck! I'll let you know if I find another way... please do the same.

Thanks!