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SD XC card

MSurgenor
Posted 31/05/2013 - 19:32 Link
I have a K5 on v1.14 firmware and I can't get my PC to recognise my new 64GB SD XC card. When I connect to the K5 the PC says card not formatted, do you want to format it now. I got the pics off the card by putting it into my sons laptop and then transferring them by memory stick. That process all went very smoothly. Any ideas on how I can get the PC to pull the pics off the card whilst still in the K5?
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steven9761
Posted 31/05/2013 - 20:49 Link
The computer seems to be reading the camera itself instead of the sd card. Take the card out, hook the camera to your pc, power the camera up, then in the "run" box (click your start button to access this) type DEVICE MANAGER. You should see your camera, possibly listed as a MASS STORAGE DEVICE, or even better, by name. If you have a yellow warning triangle next to this device, the problem lies with the drivers for your camera. Right-click this, then select UNINSTALL DRIVERS, then wait until they are fully removed. Now, up top of the DEVICE MANAGER box, you should see a tab marked ACTION - click on this, and you should see something like SCAN FOR HARDWARE CHANGES. This should now begin the process of finding and installing a fresh set of drivers. Once everything is installed, uncouple your camera from the USB port, then restart your computer. Once that's done, hook the camera up to it again (it might do another scan for drivers - let it do so). If all goes well, install the sd card, and see how it goes from there.
Edited by steven9761: 31/05/2013 - 20:50
MSurgenor
Posted 31/05/2013 - 21:40 Link
Thanks Steven. the only place I can see the camera mentioned in Device Manager is under Disk Drives - it's listed as a Pentax DSC_K-5 USB Device.

I did try and delete it and let Windows find and install it again. I can see the drive under My Computer but it thinks the card is not formatted.
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My Flickr Page
My 500px Page
My Pentax Photo Gallery Page
K-5 & D-BG4 grip; Lenses smc DA* 16-50mm, smc DA* 50-135mm; AF-540FGZ flash
steven9761
Posted 31/05/2013 - 21:45 Link
Malcolm - if you insert the memory card into the card slot on the computer on its own, does the computer read the card, or does it still tell you to format it?

BTW: which brand of card is it?
Edited by steven9761: 31/05/2013 - 21:46
MSurgenor
Posted 31/05/2013 - 21:59 Link
i don't have a card slot on this PC (that's why i had to use my son's laptop - it read the card okay, which suggests the card is okay).

I always just hook the camera up direct.

if i put my old Sandisk 4GB card back in the K5 the PC reads that okay.

The 64GB card is a Winten
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My Flickr Page
My 500px Page
My Pentax Photo Gallery Page
K-5 & D-BG4 grip; Lenses smc DA* 16-50mm, smc DA* 50-135mm; AF-540FGZ flash
steven9761
Posted 31/05/2013 - 22:10 Link
I understand that you have already pulled the photos off of it, right? That being the case, browse to the camera (with the card installed), right-click then select PROPERTIES. From there, select TOOLS. You should see at least 2 options - one allows you to do an error check, the other to defrag. Select the error check, but click both boxes (scan for errors AND repair errors). Once you get the all-clear, there should also be an option to format the card - do this in the FAT32 file system (cameras don't recognise NTSC, for some reason!). Once you've achieved that, fire off a couple of test shots untethered to your pc, then when you are ready to view/download the test shots, hook up to the pc. Hopefully you will now be able to grab the photos without any hitches.
MSurgenor
Posted 31/05/2013 - 22:27 Link
Solved!

I noticed in the ad for the card on the Japanese site that it said it supported exFAT and that when i had previously tried to format the card (from the PC whilst it was in the K5) it had tried (but failed) to format it using exFAT. I'd only ever seen FAT32 mentioned when formatting previous cards so did a Google for the differences between FAT32 and exFAT. Once I'd understood that (exFAT seems better for larger file sizes and larger storage cards - and is only used on memory cards) I then did a Google for exFAT and Windows XP and it seems exFAT is supported on XP but with this patch. So I applied that - rebooted - and hey presto, the 64GB card is recognised in the camera! The camera even shows up now as K-5 in My Computer.

Thanks for all your suggestions Steven. I only read your last post after I had tried the above patch so didn't try your FAT32 format - although it sounds as though i wouldn't have been able to...
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My Flickr Page
My 500px Page
My Pentax Photo Gallery Page
K-5 & D-BG4 grip; Lenses smc DA* 16-50mm, smc DA* 50-135mm; AF-540FGZ flash
steven9761
Posted 31/05/2013 - 22:32 Link
Glad you got it resolved, Malcolm! As a standby, get yourself a recovery tool on your pc. I use Iolo's Search and Recovery toollink. I think it has a free trial feature, but if you use it and like it, it's worth the small fee just to have it there. Note though, that it is an annual subscription.

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