REINSERT THE MEMORY CARD

[Lucmv]

I decided to take a few shots from my window with my Sony Nex just to test an idea I'd just had. After three shots (in JPG+Raw mode), I got this message:

REINSERT THE MEMORY CARD

...and the camera won't work anymore. I insert the card, turn the camera on, I see a row of dashes blinking on the top left corner of the LCD, the red access LED next to the battery compartment remains lit for quite a while, then I get the dreaded message again:

REINSERT THE MEMORY CARD

I have googled and this seems to be a very common problem with Sony cameras.

I tried another card, four other cards actually, five cards in total, and the camera won't work anymore. All of them work fine on the computer and on my old Canon point-and-shoot.

I have a spare battery, it's full at 100% and the camera won't work with it either.

I also tried removing battery, card and lens and "waiting 5 minutes" like someone suggested somewhere (google search). I waited 10 to be on the safe side. I put everything back, turned it on and still get the same error message.

Like I said, it seems to be a very common problem with Sony cameras. Looks like I will have to have it repaired unless someone here has some other idea.

 

[techjedi]

I decided to take a few shots from my window with my Sony Nex just to test an idea I'd just had. After three shots (in JPG+Raw mode), I got this message:

REINSERT THE MEMORY CARD

...and the camera won't work anymore. I insert the card, turn the camera on, I see a row of dashes blinking on the top left corner of the LCD, the red access LED next to the battery compartment remains lit for quite a while, then I get the dreaded message again:

REINSERT THE MEMORY CARD

I have googled and this seems to be a very common problem with Sony cameras.

I tried another card, four other cards actually, five cards in total, and the camera won't work anymore. All of them work fine on the computer and on my old Canon point-and-shoot.

I have a spare battery, it's full at 100% and the camera won't work with it either.

I also tried removing battery, card and lens and "waiting 5 minutes" like someone suggested somewhere (google search). I waited 10 to be on the safe side. I put everything back, turned it on and still get the same error message.

Like I said, it seems to be a very common problem with Sony cameras. Looks like I will have to have it repaired unless someone here has some other idea.

Its not a common problem with Sony cameras in general. It is one of the problems that Sony cameras can have.

Generally it is due to:

Bad/corrupt/unsupported/unreadable card. This can be due to formatting or corrupt memory card, but can also be do unclean card/reader metal contacts.

There may be dirt or corrosion on either the memory card metal contacts or on the internal reader contacts. Try rubbing alcohol with a q-tip on the memory card to clean any dirt. If that does not work, there are also slot cleaners you can buy to insert in the slot and hopefully clean in the internal contacts.

Here is one example that I have not personally tried:

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www.amazon.com

 

[davect01]

Oh that would be so irritating. :-(

After 5 years of owning Sony APS-C cameras, going back to the original NEX, this is the first I recall hearing of this.

 

[Lucmv]

Generally it is due to:

Bad/corrupt/unsupported/unreadable card. This can be due to formatting or corrupt memory card, but can also be do unclean card/reader metal contacts.

There may be dirt or corrosion on either the memory card metal contacts or on the internal reader contacts. Try rubbing alcohol with a q-tip on the memory card to clean any dirt. If that does not work, there are also slot cleaners you can buy to insert in the slot and hopefully clean in the internal contacts.

Please note my original post:

"I tried another card, four other cards actually, five cards in total, and the camera won't work anymore. All of them work fine on the computer and on my old Canon point-and-shoot."

 

[Lucmv]

Oh that would be so irritating. :-(

After 5 years of owning Sony APS-C cameras, going back to the original NEX, this is the first I recall hearing of this.

Never happened to you, but happened to a lot of people according to google searches.

 

[RGBaker]

Oh that would be so irritating. :-(

After 5 years of owning Sony APS-C cameras, going back to the original NEX, this is the first I recall hearing of this.

Never happened to you, but happened to a lot of people according to google searches.

Seems to me this happens to all brands about equally. Your cards are fine, but your reader in the camera has failed (possibly) or there is dirt/lint or corrosion interfering with the connection (more likely). A burst of canned air, and some repeated in/outs with a clean card may clear it up. Or you may need service work.

Things fail. Luckily, there is no evidence of a pattern of failure here. Pros like redundancy for exactly this reason ...

Cheers,
GB

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/geoffbaker/sets/72157632181672263/

 

[PC Wheeler]

Please note my original post:
"I tried another card, four other cards actually, five cards in total, and the camera won't work anymore. All of them work fine on the computer and on my old Canon point-and-shoot."

I think your only hope is to try cleaning the slot. I had the SD slot in a new computer (desktop) stop working. I was able to clean the slot by blowing pressurized air into it. A Rocket Blower might work, too. And then there are the commercial cleaning options.

 

[davect01]

Oh that would be so irritating. :-(

After 5 years of owning Sony APS-C cameras, going back to the original NEX, this is the first I recall hearing of this.

Never happened to you, but happened to a lot of people according to google searches.

Not doubting you.



I would be curious what the numbers are. 5 years here on DP, (a place where people seem to be quite vocal in their complaints), and I don't recall this coming up.

 

[techjedi]

Generally it is due to:

Bad/corrupt/unsupported/unreadable card. This can be due to formatting or corrupt memory card, but can also be do unclean card/reader metal contacts.

There may be dirt or corrosion on either the memory card metal contacts or on the internal reader contacts. Try rubbing alcohol with a q-tip on the memory card to clean any dirt. If that does not work, there are also slot cleaners you can buy to insert in the slot and hopefully clean in the internal contacts.

Please note my original post:

"I tried another card, four other cards actually, five cards in total, and the camera won't work anymore. All of them work fine on the computer and on my old Canon point-and-shoot."

Please note my post:

"This can be due to formatting or corrupt memory card, but can also be do unclean card/reader metal contacts.

There may be dirt or corrosion on either the memory card metal contacts or on the internal reader contacts."

You ignored the important part of my post recommending you get a slot cleaner since it is possible the metal contacts inside your camera need to be cleaned.

 

[annoush]

I've only had my A6000 for a month and over the weekend, I took 1 picture then the screen went black, it was flashing backlight.. after turning on and off the camera several times and that didn't work. I took out the battery and reinserted it and it started working again.

Not sure if this is the same issue as the original poster.

 

[duns123]

I have this exact same problem with a NEX f3 that I just bought from ebay. The camera seems to show the menus & says 'NO CARD' until I try to insert a card Then it says 'reinsert card' The SD card is new & the correct type as is the old one I tried but reads the same. Also when I plug the camera via USB into a windows 10 computer it doesn't recognise the camera or rather the card reader. The cards also work on my canon powershot & Olympus VG130 cameras never had problems with those reading cards. Sony must have a quality problem.

The seller says it was tested but I'm not so sure so looks if the camera will have to go back. bThey also said it had only fired just over 1000 shots. How they would know that beats me.

 

[terramoto]

If all else fails this seems to work for some people.https://www.ebay.ca/i/321585526764?...KBEQgBkP71wZbvz31lvJxIPbFEMh1-PsaAs-rEALw_wcB

 

[lcasemirobr]

Hi Friends,

I had the same problem.

Maybe it's a data base corrupted, so, you need to create a new DB.

Do this procedure.

- Format the card you will use.

- turn on your camera without the card.

- Menu> Setup>Recover Image DB.

- now you need patience.

Insert the card, and in the same moment press recover image DB, 02 times is the procedure, but, you need to be fast enough.

So try, and try , and try again.

The problem is, every time you remove the card, you need to do this, so... Is better you transfer the images via microusb port.

.

 

[Photo-maestro]

I have same problem in NEX-7. A6000 (five years newer) doesn't have this issue.

M.

 

[Njegos93]

Generally it is due to:

Bad/corrupt/unsupported/unreadable card. This can be due to formatting or corrupt memory card, but can also be do unclean card/reader metal contacts.

There may be dirt or corrosion on either the memory card metal contacts or on the internal reader contacts. Try rubbing alcohol with a q-tip on the memory card to clean any dirt. If that does not work, there are also slot cleaners you can buy to insert in the slot and hopefully clean in the internal contacts.

Please note my original post:

"I tried another card, four other cards actually, five cards in total, and the camera won't work anymore. All of them work fine on the computer and on my old Canon point-and-shoot."

Please note my post:

"This can be due to formatting or corrupt memory card, but can also be do unclean card/reader metal contacts.

There may be dirt or corrosion on either the memory card metal contacts or on the internal reader contacts."

You ignored the important part of my post recommending you get a slot cleaner since it is possible the metal contacts inside your camera need to be cleaned.

I had the same error on the Sony alpha NEX 3N camera. Formating the SD card did not help. However, when I looked under good light, the metal contacts of the SD card itself were not completely clean. After cleaning those, just by using a toothpick to remove the dirt, the error disappeared. I know it is not the most appropriate tool for such a purpose, but it was the first one that came to my mind. Anyway, as long as the tool is not hard enough to scratch metal contacts, it might be worth trying. However, if the problem remains, it might be that the contacts in the camera are not clean enough. In that case, I would recommend going to any service to check if they could clean it. The only DIY solution I would personally use is compressed air to clean something within the camera.

 

[Joep van Steen]

Generally it is due to:

Bad/corrupt/unsupported/unreadable card. This can be due to formatting or corrupt memory card, but can also be do unclean card/reader metal contacts.

There may be dirt or corrosion on either the memory card metal contacts or on the internal reader contacts. Try rubbing alcohol with a q-tip on the memory card to clean any dirt. If that does not work, there are also slot cleaners you can buy to insert in the slot and hopefully clean in the internal contacts.

Please note my original post:

"I tried another card, four other cards actually, five cards in total, and the camera won't work anymore. All of them work fine on the computer and on my old Canon point-and-shoot."

Please note my post:

"This can be due to formatting or corrupt memory card, but can also be do unclean card/reader metal contacts.

There may be dirt or corrosion on either the memory card metal contacts or on the internal reader contacts."

You ignored the important part of my post recommending you get a slot cleaner since it is possible the metal contacts inside your camera need to be cleaned.

I had the same error on the Sony alpha NEX 3N camera. Formating the SD card did not help. However, when I looked under good light, the metal contacts of the SD card itself were not completely clean. After cleaning those, just by using a toothpick to remove the dirt, the error disappeared. I know it is not the most appropriate tool for such a purpose, but it was the first one that came to my mind. Anyway, as long as the tool is not hard enough to scratch metal contacts, it might be worth trying. However, if the problem remains, it might be that the contacts in the camera are not clean enough. In that case, I would recommend going to any service to check if they could clean it. The only DIY solution I would personally use is compressed air to clean something within the camera.

Maybe he can try if he can still find that card six years later.