Here's a test if you can figure out how to do it:
Place some files including one stinker file (you don't by chance still have the original bad one from your event, do you?) on the CF card and try to upload them to the X-drive. If it coughs and stops the transfer at the stinker file, you at least know what's up.
Doesn't really help though as you'd never know if your disk full of photos has a dead one or not...
Cory
----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Cassino" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <pentax-discuss@pdml.net>
Sent: Monday, April 25, 2005 7:31 AM
Subject: Re: It Finally Happened - Lost Photos Transferring to an X-Drive
----- Original Message ----- From: "Rob Studdert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
It occurred to me that perhaps there was a problem with the CF card - maybe the batteries in the camera dies during a write or something. The card had 'around the house' snaps over the last several days on it, and one of those is where the corrupt file was. So, maybe somehow the write from camera to card was interrupted and that lead the X-Drive to abort the read of the card. I reformatted the card, stuck it in the camera, did a few dozen shots, and then dumped it without problem onto the X Drive.
In any case I can't explain the data loss unless it was corruption on the card,
which as you say you've checked (I assume you executed a surface scan also?)
The X'sDrive shouldn't just omit data like that but as you say there is no
confirmation and that's because it literally has no error checking, one of its
worst points, one that pushed me towards the CompactDrive.
Surface scans of both the card and X Drive show no problem. I filled the card (just with files from my PC) and then verified them, so it seem to have no reproducible problem.
I should note that the drive is on CF371 - so that's 371 times I've dumped a CF card onto it, without problem till now.
I'd do some more testing and make some transfers, maybe as a last resort time
how long it should take to transfer so you at least have an idea if it's short
changed you. Good luck, mine's on eBay at the moment.
You are right in that about the only way one can be sure with the X-Drive, short of having a PC on hand to check it with, is to keep and eye on the transfer and see that it takes the right amount of time and that there is no error message before it shuts down. I think that if there is a problem with the transfer the devices does display an error message - but only for the 30 seconds or so before it shuts down.
- MCC - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mark Cassino Photography Kalamazoo, MI www.markcassino.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cheers,
Rob Studdert HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA Tel +61-2-9554-4110 UTC(GMT) +10 Hours [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/ Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998
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