Problem Transferring Photos From Digital Cameras In Windows 7?
Is there a problem in Windows 7 with transferring photographs from digital cameras? When I connect the camera, choose Transfer Pictures from the autoplay menu, then use Windows to transfer the photographs, a few files don't transfer initially and instead Windows displays the following in the notification area: The following error ocurred while importing <filenname>:The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable. What do you want to do? . Try again.. Skip this file..Skip all files with errors. I first encountered the above problem just before Christmas when transferring photos from a friends camera to a three year old Dell laptop on which I had recently installed Windows 7 RTM. The same photos had previously been transferred to a Dell Win XP Pro machine without a problem but I put the issue down to a bad memory card. However, yesterday I came to transfer our Christmas photos from our two family cameras. They transferred to my three year old Dell Vista Ultimate desktop fine, but when I tried to transfer them to my brand new Dell Win 7 Ultimate desktop I had the problem described above roughly once every 40 pictures or so. I investigated further and if I chose Try Again a photo which Win 7 reported as corrupt was transfered without a problem. If I chose skip and manually copied off a photo which Win 7 reported as corrupt it copied off fine. If I chose skip, disconnected the camera then reconnected it again the remaining photos (which Win 7 reported as corrupt) were transferred correctly. All my machines have Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 installed. Has anyone else encountered this issue?
January 5th, 2010 1:58pm

Have you tried just taking the memory card out and putting it in a memory card reader and check the results? When's the last time this memory card has been formatted by the camera? (just a thought even though Vista read it fine). I usually format my card after every 5 uses. Have you tried other usb ports? What dell machine is this? and what Dell model is using Vista that has no problems?MCSE, MCSA, MCDST [If this post helps to resolve your issue, please click the "Mark as Answer" or "Helpful" button at the top of this message. By marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.]
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January 5th, 2010 6:50pm

Thanks for this reply also.As I say above this has happened across multiple machines (i.e. two different ones), one laptop one desktop, and with three different cameras. I don't believe it's a memory card issue as they worked fine on Vista and XP machines.Using a memory card reader would be working round the problem not solving it, I want to know what the issue is here.
January 5th, 2010 11:25pm

Such issues will occur if a camera is not compatible with Windows 7. If you load the card from a card reader the issue may not occur, because the card reader may work properly with Windows 7. If you would like to resolve this issue, please try to download the latest drivers from the website of the cameras’ manufacturers and install in Windows 7.Arthur Xie - MSFT
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January 6th, 2010 11:00am

All the cameras I've used as described above were plug and play compatible with Windows XP and Windows Vista (i.e. the drivers were built in to the OS), they didn't need any drivers to be installed in order to transfer photos. On checking the manufacturers web sites they do not provide drivers for any of these cameras for XP, Vista or 7.I've seen old cameras that aren't compatible with Vista or Windows 7 and they don't install properly when you connect them to the computer but these cameras do.Could you explain why these cameras should need additional drivers to work correctly in Windows 7 when they installed and worked correctly on XP & Vista and also installed correctly when connected to the Windows 7 machines? One of them is a Panasonic DCMTZ3 only three years old?
January 6th, 2010 8:31pm

You first mistake is comparing win 7 with older versions, your second is ASSUMING a old (yes the computer 3 years is old) camera should be supported by windows 7.Some things will just not work, if the device is NOT on the list then it is a Maybe / kinda / sortof thing.http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/windows-7/en-us/default.aspx
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January 6th, 2010 8:54pm

The reason that I compared Win 7 with older versions in this respect and ASSUMED that an older camera was supported is that I believe, although I will stand corrected on this, that with Win 7 Microsoft increased the number of cameras supported over Vista and didn't reduce the support.However, I think your mistake was not reading what I wrote above that the cameras installed successfully when they were connected, if they hadn't been compatible they would have failed to install and asked me to search for drivers. Sure enough when I checked the the Windows 7 Compatibility Center (prior to reading your reply) all three cameras are listed as compatible with Windows 7 32 and 64 bit - the cameras in question are a Panasonic DMC-TZ3K, Canon PowerShot A85 and Olympus SP-500UZ. Just to restate, there are no downloadable drivers for any of these cameras on the manufacturers web sites, they are plug and play in XP/Vista/7.Arthur, could you please escalate this to someone who can help me with the problem or would I be better to use one of my Microsoft TechNet telephone support incidents to get this investigated?
January 6th, 2010 10:53pm

I did read what you wrote, it has nothing do with anything, if you know anything about computers / software you would that installing and working are two different things.As you say you have 3 cameras, all on the list and NONE work then it is a hardware / drivers issue on your box, if it wasa windows issue we see a bunch of "Me too" postings here.To test I plugged my Nikon d90 into my win 7 pro 32 bit box, no issue at all, works just like in 2000 / xp.
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January 7th, 2010 12:47am

I know its different in a home setting, but can you image at a workplace with 400 users with cameras all various makes and models and software they wanted loaded, it was a nightmare. So we stopped the support for camera software, instructed them to get a 15in1 media reader we tested (we found some didn't play nice in Vista, wouldn't let the machine boot up) and after 2 weeks of teaching some how to copy files from it to their hard drives (they really needed help) ;) we now have no problems (except when a memory card needed formatting by the camera because it gave them copy errors). Malch, good luck with the camera stuff. You know though, I think I saw something somewhere this morning after re-reading your post that might give me a clue but I'll have to hunt it up again if I can remember how I found it to start with (been a long day already). Maybe one of the mod's will come up with it regarding transfer of small files. I'll see what I can do in the next 3 hours.MCSE, MCSA, MCDST [If this post helps to resolve your issue, please click the "Mark as Answer" or "Helpful" button at the top of this message. By marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.]
January 7th, 2010 1:09am

Bubbspcguy - I didn't say the cameras don't work, I said a small number of files (roughly 1 in every 40) don't transfer first time. Thank you for your replys so far but please don't reply to this post any more, I'm not finding your responses helpful.cdobbs - Thanks for your reply, I'm connecting the cameras directly and using Windows to transfer the files (i.e. there's no camera software involved) but there may well be some obscure small file transfer issue, as both machines are 64 bit Win 7 it may be 64 bit related. Once again I appreciate your reply and if you can find anything regarding this I would very much appreciate it. My other thought was that it may be security software related, I'm going to try and do some testing on this later today. Will post again if I come up with anything.
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January 7th, 2010 11:51am

I suppose that's possible on the 64bit since I've seen quite a few posts similar to yours. I had changed mine from 64bit to 32bit Enterprise when my domain tools didn't do what I wanted them to do and other tools wouldn't install. After I changed, I hooked back up my media reader, and 2 500gig external hard drive docking stations which I now use to store the vast majority of files (or download from technet, etc). good luck to you. I would most definitely though be curious if you can borrow a media reader and try using it to see if they will transfer through it (just for GP's) without any errors ;)MCSE, MCSA, MCDST [If this post helps to resolve your issue, please click the "Mark as Answer" or "Helpful" button at the top of this message. By marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.]
January 7th, 2010 5:27pm

I formatted the memory cards in the Panasonic DCM-TZ3 and Canon PowerShot A85 and took some photos then connected the cameras one at a time to my main Win 7 Ultimate desktop.I'd never noticed before but the Canon has installed as a Canon PowerShot A85 device but when the Panasonic is connected it doesn't appear as a device, only the the Kingston memory card it contains has been installed and appears in Computer as Kingston I: drive.I transferred the photos from both cameras using Windows as before and I didn't have to retry transferring any of the 20 photos from the Panasonic but I did have to retry transferring one of the 5 photos from the Canon. I believe this probably shows that formattng a memory card doesn't eliminate the problem in all cases.I then took some more photos with both cameras and again connected them to my Win 7 Ultimate desktop. Before I transferred the photos from both cameras using Windows I disabled Kaspersky Internet Security. This time I didn't have to retry transferring any of the 20 photos from the Panasonic and I didn't have to retry transferring any of the 12 photos from the Canon. The photos also transferred many times quicker.I think this probably shows that the security software was interfering in some way (probably slowing the transfers down) so that sometimes a photo transfer had to be retried as described in my original post above, although why this should be more so on Win 7 than Vista or XP I'm not sure (I have KIS installed on all of my machines). I'm guessing but I think the format on the memory card in the newer, faster Pansonic increased the speed of transfer just enough so that there weren't any retries. Even though the memory card in the older, slower Canon had been reformatted the security software still slowed the transfer down to the extent that there was a retry. I'm going to continue transferring photos with Kaspersky Internet Security switched off in the future and hopefully this won't happen again.I'm a Microsoft TechNet subscriber and as part of my subscription I pay for assisted support in these newsgroups from MSFT. I'm very unhapy that the only assitance I got from MSFT was Arthur Xie's post (above) suggesting that the cameras where incompatible and to download the latest drivers. I'm going to be making a complaint about this in the morning.
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January 7th, 2010 10:11pm

I take you are ready to say SORRY...as it appears you have discovered that what I told is the case.It is YOUR setup not windows......As you say you have 3 cameras, all on the list and NONE work then it is a hardware / drivers issue on your box, if it wasa windows issue we see a bunch of "Me too" postings here....I do not post just to post, I post because I have the background in trouble shooting and sometimes the truth hurts, but someone has to tell it.
January 7th, 2010 10:17pm

cdobbs - Apologies. I've just been re-reading this thread and I missed your request to try using a card reader. I've got one built-in to my main Win 7 desktop so I'll try usung that as soon as I can.bubbapcguy - I don't owe you or anyone else an apology because the cause of the problem wasn't a hardware/drivers issue, it was a security software issue.
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January 8th, 2010 11:34am

cdobbs - I transferred 17 photos from each camera of the two cameras mentioned previously, using the onboard card reader in my Win 7 Ultimate desktop.Note from my posting above that while the Canon is actually installed as a Camera device, the Panasonic only installed it's memory card as removable storage (i.e. it acts as a card reader) so using the on-board memory card reader in this case should make no difference.There were no retries when transferring the pictures from the Canon's memory card but I did get the problem once when I transferred the pictures from Panasonic's memory card. This certainly kills the theory that camera drivers are to blame (as I used the onboard card reader) and my money is still on the security software as the culprit - time will tell.
January 8th, 2010 6:19pm

I would then uninstall Kaspersky and retest or set it to exclude the I drive. I found that when I hook up my phone (and its crazy little software) it'll create a temporary drive letter and was iffy most of the time, so now I just pop out the chip, put it in a SD adapter and pop it in the memory card read and I'm good to go. Good luck.MCSE, MCSA, MCDST [If this post helps to resolve your issue, please click the "Mark as Answer" or "Helpful" button at the top of this message. By marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.]
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January 8th, 2010 8:48pm

I retested without Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 (latest build) using 20 phots per camera and didn't have any problems - I'm therefore going to change my security software!
January 17th, 2010 8:42pm

MalcH - I know this thread is getting old, but I have not seen a resolution anywhere. I have Win 7 32bit and a brand new Pentax camera. I have been seeing this problem for 3 months now. I changed my security software from ESET to Microsoft Security Essentials and the problem still occurs, but not so frequently. If I tell MSE not to scan the USB that the camera is connected to, then the problem does not occur. So there is definitely some conflict between the picture transfer by USB and the security software. One other point is that when I have this problem, then event ID 55 is logged which causes checkdisk at the next start up. (and chkdsk never finds any problem).
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March 28th, 2010 6:36pm

Dave, Thanks for your message. Firstly just to confirm that Event ID 55 (causing chkdsk to run on next boot) is a part of this problem, for some reason I didn't mention it in my original posting above. I originally experienced this problem on my Dell Windows 7 machines that had Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 installed. KIS 2010 has a (default) setting that enables automatic scanning of connected USB removable storage but even though I had disabled this setting the problem still occurred. When I changed my security software to Norton Internet Security 2010 this problem didn't occur. I'm an IT Technician working on people's computers in their homes and I have encountered this problem once in the course of my work since the problem manifested itself on my computers. Interestingly (but from memory) I think the security software on the customer's computer was Norton Internet Security 2010. The resolution was to install the customer's camera software and use it to transfer photos (rather than Windows). As soon as I did this the problem ceased. Taking all of my experiences and yours together I believe the problem is probably caused by some sort of clash between USB drivers/software, e.g. a clash between Windows USB drivers/software and security software USB drivers/software, but I'm unable to diagnose beyond this. If you are suffering from this problem switching off scanning of USB devices by your security software or changing your security software all together may resolve the problem. If it doesn't it is worth installing the software provided with your camera (if it is compatible with your operating system) and using it to transfer your photos on to your computer or installing a different program for this purpose (e.g. Picasa). If anyone else has experienced this problem I would welcome your posts.
March 29th, 2010 1:43pm

We have also been getting this error when downloading photos onto our Windows 7 starter edition netbook. It happens when we use the card reader as well as when we plug in the camera so the camera software doesn't appear to be the problem. It also happens whether we select import using Windows or Windows Live photo gallery. We have tried turning off the virus protection software (McAfee) and although this worked once it is now doing the error again as much as ever. Am reluctant to uninstall it altogether and try something else as I won't be able to reinstall it. I can't install the camera software at the moment as I don't have it on me so can't try this until we get home in 1 year's time. Any other suggestions on how to solve this problem? It is annoying as we are travelling and downloading up to 500 photos each day.
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May 31st, 2010 1:45pm

As I mentioned in my previous post: "If you are suffering from this problem switching off scanning of USB devices by your security software or changing your security software all together may resolve the problem. If it doesn't it is worth installing the software provided with your camera (if it is compatible with your operating system) and using it to transfer your photos on to your computer or installing a different program for this purpose (e.g. Picasa)." In your particular case, if you have registered your copy of McAfee you can uninstall it and try transferring photos and see if the problem remains. If you wish to reinstall McAfee simply log in to your McAfee account (created during registration) and download it on to the computer and re-install it. If you can't do this for some reason then I would try installing different software for transferring the photos on to your computer. As you can't install the software provided with the camera you could try downloading and installing Picasa 3 from Google http://picasa.google.com/ Please post back and let us know how you got on.
June 1st, 2010 10:45am

This might be some interesting reading: http://whyiseverytitletaken.blogspot.com/2010/01/windows-7-ntfs-worry.html This problem is also related to the need to run a chkdsk at boot after getting the import pictures error message, and also causes the computer to fail System maintenance checks. I just checked my Event Wiever, and I got this message at the exact same time as my picture import problems. "The file system structure on the disk is corrupt and unusable. Please run the chkdsk utility on the volume 1000GB#1 System." Exact same thing happend at my parents'. I'll try to disable Esets scanning of external drives for next time and see what happens.
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July 15th, 2010 12:21am

Thanks Edvuld, it is indeed related to Event ID 55 (which causes the CHKDSK to run), as I confirmed about three posts above your own. The link you've given makes interesting reading, particularly the quote from the Microsoft NTFS team blog, and I just wonder why no one has fixed the problem yet when it is clearly a known issue? Thanks again.
July 28th, 2010 8:58pm

It looks like there may be a hotfix for this problem: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982927/en-us I have not tried it, and I think I'll wait until it becomes part of a standard update. I still have the problem, except it only seems to occur when transferring more than 2 or 3 pictures at once.
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July 29th, 2010 3:00pm

Thanks for posting again, having reviewed KB982927 I believe you have answered this one. I've tried to unmark all the answers above that MSFT have, in my view erroneously, marked as the answer but I am prevented from doing so. However I hope that won't stop me marking your post as the answer, I'm certainly going to try.
July 29th, 2010 9:54pm

Hi All: I have the identical problem with my cameras and Windows 7. Different brands of cameras...same problem...same error message. I've read this string and can't really tell if the ultimate solution has been identified. Is it the hotfix mentioned by davec33, or is that still not working either? Thanks for any help you can provide. It is aggravating to have a nice new computer and not be able to do something as basic as download photos.
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August 15th, 2010 2:42am

On Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:42:07 +0000, JSC81507 wrote: I have the identical problem with my cameras and Windows 7.  Different brands of cameras...same problem...same error message.  I've read this string and can't really tell if the ultimate solution has been identified.  Is it the hotfix mentioned by davec33, or is that still not working either?  Thanks for any help you can provide.  It is aggravating to have a nice new computer and not be able to do something as basic as download photos. You never need to connect your camera directly. Buy a card reader for the type of flash card your camera uses (they are very inexpensive), put the flash card into it, and plug it into a USB port. Personally, I prefer doing it this way. It's easier and doesn't use the camera's battery. I have two such card readers--one that I keep on my desk, near my desktop computer, and another that I keep in my laptop case for use when traveling. Ken Blake
August 15th, 2010 4:05am

Ken, I am quite sure the problem also occurs if taking the SD card out of the camera and using a card reader. It occurs when transferring several pictures using "Import Pictures and Videos using Windows". (If not installing specific camera software, then Windows sees the camera as a card reader anyway). I have not tried the hotfix yet - I was afraid it may cause other problems - I prefer to wait until it is released as a proper update. MalcH - have you tried the hotfix ?? Dave.
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August 15th, 2010 5:05am

On Sun, 15 Aug 2010 02:05:07 +0000, davec33 wrote: Ken, I am quite sure the problem also occurs if taking the SD card out of the camera and using a card reader. Not to me it doesn't. It occurs when transferring several pictures using "Import Pictures and Videos using Windows". (If not installing specific camera software, then Windows sees the camera as a card reader anyway). I have not tried the hotfix yet - I was afraid it may cause other problems - I prefer to wait until it is released as a proper update. MalcH - have you tried the hotfix ??   Dave. Ken Blake
August 15th, 2010 6:32am

I have a built-in card reader but I can't even get the computer to read the SD card. Seperate problem entirely, I think.
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August 15th, 2010 7:54am

Firstly re Ken Blake's response above. I've experienced this issue when using a card reader but quite frankly even if using a card reader did help it would just be masking the problem. I was suprised at Ken's remark "Not to me it doesn't" which seems a little arrogant. This problem doesn't happen on all computers and just because it doesn't happen to one person doesn't mean that they must have the solution. With regards to the hotfix, after reviewing KB982927 I believe the hotfix to be the solution but I can't actually prove it as I don't have the problem any more. I if I was still getting the problem I would use the hotfix.
August 17th, 2010 3:59pm

On Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:59:21 +0000, MalcH wrote: Firstly re Ken Blake's response above. I've experienced this issue when using a card reader but quite frankly even if using a card reader did help it would just be masking the problem. I was suprised at Ken's remark "Not to me it doesn't" which seems a little arrogant. Sorry, if it came across as arrogant, I apologize. It wasn't meant that way. I was simply pointing out that it wasn't a universal problem. This problem doesn't happen on all computers and just because it doesn't happen to one person doesn't mean that they must have the solution. With regards to the hotfix, after reviewing KB982927 I believe the hotfix to be the solution but I can't actually prove it as I don't have the problem any more. I if I was still getting the problem I would use the hotfix. Ken Blake
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August 17th, 2010 6:19pm

Thanks for your reply Ken, I've obviously misunderstood you, these things aren't always clear from a quick post.
August 17th, 2010 8:12pm

On Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:12:51 +0000, MalcH wrote: Thanks for your reply Ken, I've obviously misunderstood you, these things aren't always clear from a quick post. Right, and if you misunderstood me, it was my fault for not being clear enough, not yours. Ken Blake
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August 17th, 2010 8:45pm

easier? it's not easier to just plug the usb cable (thats been sitting there plugged in since the day i got my camera) into the back of my camera? rather than have to pop open the door, pull the sd card, out, stick it into the drive, pull it back out, put it back in and reclose the door... that's like saying cooking is easier than getting delivery... :-) anyway i'm having the same problem with my new camera and had it with my old camera. windows 7, if i'm transferring like 60 pictures lets say from thanksgiving, it will stop every 10 pictures or so (or sometimes more often, it's pretty random) to say that a file is corrupted, but when i hit retry, it just continues fine. all the pictures are fine. it stops anywhere from 0-10 times for every 50 pictures, but if i just keep hitting retry it works fine. it's more of a nuisance than anything, but i'd love to find a fix for this. i'm actually thinking about getting a new sd card (i did format it recently, but it's an older card that i originally bought for my last camera like 4 years ago or something) as i thought maybe that could be the problem. anyway i'm in the same boat guys. and no i don't want to use a card reader... never understood why anyone would use those things...
November 30th, 2010 10:04am

To be clear there is a very real acknowledged bug in Windows 7, which is acknowledged in the Microsoft KB article refered to above. It appears to affect only specific methods for file copying and photo import uses them. Other tools can too, but it seems they are rare (on my system the errors only ever occured using Windows or Windows Live photo import). There is a hotfix available, refered to in the KB article, that fixes it and the hotfix will be in W7 SP1. Some Security Tools eg. Kaspersky, make this problem explicit - the import actually fails and the suer needs to re-try. However, Windows 7 on its own, or with Security Essentials installed, "silently errors". The files import but NTFS errors appears in the system log, which may also cause a chkdsk on next reboot. So, just because you do not see an error on-screen does not mean you are not affected. Anyone seeing this error, I would recommend considering applying the hotfix, although the usual cautions apply.
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December 12th, 2010 9:17am

I installed the hotfix and it absolutely worked. No more "file corrupted or unrecognized" error when importing photos. I am running win 7 64 bit. Kind of a hastle to install. You have to give your email address then microsoft sends you a link for the download. The email also contains a password for the install.
January 6th, 2011 4:57pm

I have asked this question in a different forum. I have a new Dell with Windows 7, and can not download any of my pics from the camera memory card. I keep getting an error x0800 something. It seems odd that this problem has been going on for almost 2 years and nothing has been done. what do I do go back and return this laptop and buy an Apple?
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June 13th, 2011 9:26am

On Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:18:05 +0000, joehick wrote: I have asked this question in a different forum. I have a new Dell with Windows 7, and can not download any of my pics from the camera memory card. I keep getting an error x0800 something. It seems odd that this problem has been going on for almost 2 years and nothing has been done. what do I do go back and return this laptop and buy an Apple? What do you mean by "download any of my pics from the camera memory card"? Are you talking about reading and copying pictures from an SD card, using a USB SD card reader? If so, how big is your SD Card? Are you aware that a standard SD reader can only read SD cards up to 4GB? Anything larger than 4GB is SDHC, and you need to have an SDHC reader. Is that the kind of reader you have? Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP
June 13th, 2011 2:51pm

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