Karen, couple of questions that may help to isolate the problem:
- When you used your SmartMedia card and downloaded the photos the time just prior to this one, did you do it using the camera or a card reader?
- When you used your SmartMedia card and downloaded the photos the time just prior to this one, did you erase the photos after download using the camera or your computer?
- When you formatted the SmartMedia card originally or later reformatted the card, did you do so using the camera or the computer?
- What version of Windows software are you running on your computer?
With SmartMedia cards and your Olympus camera it's recommended that formatting be done using the camera and NOT the computer. Here's some info that may help with this problem and hopefully, prevent future problems of this nature:
- It's possible that your camera's card slot needs to be cleaned. Using a air canister to give it a blast of air should do the trick if that is the issue.
- If you're running Windows XP, there are well known issues with erasing/reformatting/formatting SmartMedia cards (and other types of media cards) that renders the cards unusable in your camera. This is the result of XP adding files to the card during formating. According to Olympus, XP adds indexing mechanism files onto the card everytime it is inserted. This is not 100% accurate. XP only places additional files on the card if you use the preview option or thumbnail views when you access the card from your PC. To avoid this from occuring: when inserting your card and the XP 'what to do' option list pops up, select TAKE NO ACTION... which tells the computer to treat the card files just like any other files.
Now a solution to saving the card in question for continued use with your camera is to format the card on your computer using FAT16 options (because XP uses a standard FAT32 format). To do so you will need to format the card again. To correct the format type, when the format popup menu opens, simply select 'FAT' from File System box. That's all there is to it.
- Before you reformat the SmartMedia card in question, there's a chance you might be able to recover your photos. One option, though I've never personally used it so cannot offer any opinion on it, would be to use a software program such as PhotoRescue... click here.
- As a general rule, it's advisable to just download (copy) photos off your memory cards (SmartMedia as well as other types of media) and not to manipulate (erase, reformat, format) memory cards in the computer. The preferred scenario would be to download (copy) the photos from the card either directly from your camera or a card reader and use the camera to erase/format the card.