I have never had this happen before... and maybe it is an easy fix... but yesterday, after I deleted all of the photos off of my SD card, I put it back into my camera to find that it wouldn't let me take any pictures. The little photo counter at the bottom shows "0" meaning that there are zero pictures on the card, but when I try to take a picture, a little box pops up on my screen reading "Card full".
A couple times, I inserted my SD card into my computer and there are, in fact, no photos on it... so why is my camera not allowing me to take pictures and telling me the card is full?
I am so confused. Has anybody else had this problem and/or know what is wrong?
@asrai@erikath0mas998 so wait, I need to press that? I have never known about such a tab. what does it do? I'm so confused. haha
@gurry@cdford What does it mean to format exactly? is it sad that I don't know this?? How is formatting different than erasing, and if its not the same thing as erasing, how does it empty the card to allow more information on it?
@lauren211 You don't press it, you slide it. It's a write-protection so you can't accidentally delete your photos, or write something else to the card. Also, to format, go into your camera's menu and it's likely in the general area of date/time setting.
Here is how I understand it: Formatting your card (in your camera) gets your card ready to accept images taken by your specific camera. It is a good practice to format your card every time you put it back in your camera (after your upload your images to your computer, of course). There should be a menu item in your camera to format. This will depend on what camera you are using. Mine is a Nikon and can be found in the "set up" menu (the icon looks like a little wrench). Deleting images while the card is in the computer does not get your card ready to accept more images from your camera.
Adding to what cdford said from what i understand when you just delete the pictures it still leaves bits and pieces of info behind whereas formatting the card wipes absolutely everything off leaving you with more space to work with.
Something else I learned in the photo class I took a few weeks ago, we can damage our cards by touching those metal things that make contact with the camera etc. etc. I didn't know that before, so just in case you all don't know that either..........Take care when handling cards.
@gurry -- Thanks for the referral to that article. Unfortunately, the article told me something I didn't want to hear. He said never to delete photos from your computer because it can cause future errors. Well, I tend to prefer to delete from my computer because I can see better what I am deleting. The reason I came here is to ask about how to remedy my current situation. All of a sudden, I cannot delete photos from the card when looking at them on the computer. My husband thinks it's just some glitch with Windows 7. Have you ever experienced this? And do you know how to fix it? I have tried re-formatting on both the camera and the computer, and it still won't let me delete from the computer. Thank you, in advance, if you have time to address my question. You seem to be generous with advice and knowledgeable, so I thought I'd just ask you rather than posting a new discussion. Hi Lauren! Sorry to bud in on your post, hope you don't mind!
:)
ellen
I understand why you would want to delete the images from your card using your computer so you can see the image better, however, in the interest of formatting your card using your camera, I'd recommend doing the following:
1) Copy all of the photos from your card directly onto your computer. This way, you can look at the image on your computer before deleting it. Much better than seeing it on your camera's LCD.
2) Pick and choose which files you want to delete, and delete them. Remember, you're deleting the copy on your computer, and not from the card directly.
3) Format your card (which still has all of the pictures) using your camera.
This is essentially the same exact thing you're doing, except you're not accessing the images directly from the card using your computer. Instead, you're copying them to the computer first.
I see you're using the T1i, which is the same camera I use. I've never really had an issue formatting an SD card using my camera, so I'm not entirely sure how to advise you. Are you getting any particular error message when you try?
What's the error message you're getting from Windows 7? If it says you don't have permission, or anything about the data being "read-only", then I'm going to guess that you flipped the locking tab on your SD card.
The image belowshows exactly what I'm talking about. Make sure your tab is not set to "LOCK" (which should be the up position). When the card is locked, it's impossible to edit any data.
Hope this helps. Holla back if you need more help.
@gurry thanks so much for taking the time to try to help. No, it is not the locking tab. And you are correct - that is exactly what I am doing. My problem is that I really want to delete off the card directly (from the computer) because I like to keep some images on the card in the event that my computer and my external hard drive both crash. I have a complex because I have had both of those things happen to me. I think I am going to start uploading to flickr for a 3rd back-up. It is only $25/yr. for unlimited upload. And I guess I'll just have to keep deleting all images off the card until I get a new card that lets me delete from the computer. If you're still with me, thanks again.
@ellen Glad I could help. I too have the fear of crashing hard drives, so I decided to maintain a copy of my libraries on a 500GB USB hard drive, rather than store them all on my laptop's hard drive. At least there's a little redundancy.
I'd recommend doing the same, only because I'm not entirely sure how flickr will work as a backup solution. Depends on how many pics you take, and what their file sizes are -- they will be the main factors in determining how long you will spend uploading everything.
One more option for your specific situation: get another SD card that you use solely for keeping the pictures you want to carry around with you. That way, you can use SD Card #1 to take your pictures, and transfer them to your computer. Once you trim the fat, you can format Card #1 with your camera, and the transfer the ones you want to backup to SD Card #2, which will never be used for taking pictures. This way, you could also put #2 into your camera and chimp them on the LCD.
Just a thought! Good luck!
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Oh no :(
wait, where is this tab you speak of?
http://improvephotography.com/676/9-things-photographers-need-to-know-about-memory-cards/
Looks like #3 applies here...
Good luck!
@gurry @cdford What does it mean to format exactly? is it sad that I don't know this?? How is formatting different than erasing, and if its not the same thing as erasing, how does it empty the card to allow more information on it?
Hope this helps!
:)
ellen
I understand why you would want to delete the images from your card using your computer so you can see the image better, however, in the interest of formatting your card using your camera, I'd recommend doing the following:
1) Copy all of the photos from your card directly onto your computer. This way, you can look at the image on your computer before deleting it. Much better than seeing it on your camera's LCD.
2) Pick and choose which files you want to delete, and delete them. Remember, you're deleting the copy on your computer, and not from the card directly.
3) Format your card (which still has all of the pictures) using your camera.
This is essentially the same exact thing you're doing, except you're not accessing the images directly from the card using your computer. Instead, you're copying them to the computer first.
I see you're using the T1i, which is the same camera I use. I've never really had an issue formatting an SD card using my camera, so I'm not entirely sure how to advise you. Are you getting any particular error message when you try?
What's the error message you're getting from Windows 7? If it says you don't have permission, or anything about the data being "read-only", then I'm going to guess that you flipped the locking tab on your SD card.
The image belowshows exactly what I'm talking about. Make sure your tab is not set to "LOCK" (which should be the up position). When the card is locked, it's impossible to edit any data.
Hope this helps. Holla back if you need more help.
I'd recommend doing the same, only because I'm not entirely sure how flickr will work as a backup solution. Depends on how many pics you take, and what their file sizes are -- they will be the main factors in determining how long you will spend uploading everything.
One more option for your specific situation: get another SD card that you use solely for keeping the pictures you want to carry around with you. That way, you can use SD Card #1 to take your pictures, and transfer them to your computer. Once you trim the fat, you can format Card #1 with your camera, and the transfer the ones you want to backup to SD Card #2, which will never be used for taking pictures. This way, you could also put #2 into your camera and chimp them on the LCD.
Just a thought! Good luck!