Smart media cards and vista

[jones8288]

:( I have a dell with windows vista. I am using a smart media card with digital photos on it. When I put the card into the built in card reader it says file empty. View properties shows media on the card. I can take photos from the computer copy and paste to the card works fine. Using windows photo gallery to try and view photos. Try to update no updates are avaiable at this time????

[NooNoo]

Welcome to Windrivers jones 8288
Which smart media card is it?
What file types are shown when you view properties?

Have you tried opening the files using "computer" on the vista menu?

[jones8288]

These are generic cards for an olympus d460. It uses a serial port connector which I am trying to find one now. When I go to properties on the card I get a box that has tabs on the top general, tools, hardware sharing, and readyboost.
It shows FAT for system-type removable disk. I have tryed going to start explore and read the content, can not. If I take a jpeg off my computer and put it on the card it adds it to the used space and I can bring that up perfectly. I can take pictures with the camera and view them on the LCD on the camera. I have 4 settings for the format of the pictures and have tried all of them. First setting is in tiff format last one is jpeg. Does not read any of them I take with the camera but the media content is on the card???

Thanks so much for your help.

[NooNoo]

I would be amazed if it was a serial port connector... can you confirm that you meant USB?

Does that olympus have it's own usb connection? (Mine does) If you use that, can you read the card while it is in the camera?

[jones8288]

Well be amazed go to
http://www.dcables.net/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=816

This camera is a Olympus digital D-460 Zoom.

I was hoping to order this serial port connector today. It shoud read off the camera just as it would a USB removeable storage device. I am positive the content from my camera is in jpeg format. Vista will just not read the content. As I said I can put the card in and it shows it is in proper working order and there is content on the card what kind??? I can put jpegs on the card from my computer and they can be read on any veiwer I have on my computer. But not pictures I take on the camera. Properties shows content on the card??

Still stumped?

[jones8288]

Wow
After spending one hour with dell support person they say they don't support software call Windows. Call windows they say it is dell's problem because I bought it from dell pre installed with vista

I have found the problem. Windows Vista Media software does not support some smart media cards. As in Olympus cameras with smart cards CRAZY!!!

I called Olympus support this man was very very helpful, I am not the only one having this problem with vista what a surprise. I downloaded a card recovery program on trial of course you can't save without buying it and wow it reads all the jpeg files on the card that Vista says the folder is empty. No one wants to support the software for Vista right now without a FEE. Does anyone know were I can get a free copy of a card recovery software. The cheapest I can find is 69$ I just spent 1000$ on this system and am not about to pay another penny on this.

HELP!!!!!!

[slgrieb]

jones, you're probably not going to like this, but the SmartMedia card is a dead format. Even Toshiba, who developed the standard, no longer supports it. That doesn't mean you can't get the pictures off the card, or that you need a recovery program; it just means that you are going to have to track down an older machine that will let you connect your camera, download the photos, and then copy your pictures to a CD or a pendrive, or whatever. Surely you have some friends running XP or Windows 2000 Professional, or W9x that you can hit on for a favor.

[NooNoo]

And then get a usb card reader.... way faster!

Find an XP machine and if the files still need recovering, go to www.pcinspector.de and use their smart media recovery program, it's free and effective.