Why do I keep getting "MEDIA ERROR" message ??

G

George D.

Well-known member
I am having a recurring problem that seems to have no solution.

I am using Sandisk 32GB SD Cards in a RAW SxSxSDXC Adapter for recording the footage acquired from my Sony EX1. I have shot many hours with them and all worked fine. But, now something is happening that has not happened before.

After downloading the footage into my PC and I put the card back into the camera, it says, "Media Error - Media Needs To Be Restored". But, it does not matter if I restore it or reformat the card, the camera will stop recording, and it will pop that error message back up after just a few minutes of shooting.

It seems the ONLY way I can get it all to work again, is to go into Properties, Tools, and Error Checking which checks the drive for errors. It then scans the card for system errors and recovers bad sectors. After ALL THAT is done, it will then work in the camera again. But, after shooting and downloading the footage, I have to do it all over again.

Why won't it work in the camera by reformatting, etc.?

BTW - I've tried other SD Cards, and other Adapters, and it makes no difference.

Any help or advise is appreciated.

Thanks.

UPDATE:

I was just going over the specs of the EX1 and maybe I've solved the problem. It has a write speed of 35MB/s, and the SD Cards I've been using have a speed of 30MB/s. Therefore, maybe the camera is putting out data just a little faster than the cards can absorb, especially when the camera is left on for long periods, which is what I've been doing lately.

So, with that in mind, I have found these new cards that just may do the trick, with a speed of 95MB/s. What do you think?

See here:

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extre...T3QG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329603920&sr=8-1


This is, of course, assuming the problem is with the cards and not the camera.

.
 
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Some thoughts:
Do SXS cards work well?
Sometimes problems can be overcome by putting a formatted SXS card in slot A and an adaptor-SDcard combo in slot B.
Formatting on your PC works sometimes but formatting in camera is safer/better.
Do you have te latest firmware V1.25 installed?
Has someting changed on your PC? New OS or a software update?
SD cards wear out after a lot of use. But not all at once.
Salt and moist can contaminate/erode contacts of the cards.
 
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Yes, the SS cards have worked well in the past. The cards are too new to have worn out. And, the contacts are not corroded. No, I do not have the latest firmware installed. How do I get that, especially since I bought the camera used?

I was just going over the specs of the EX1 and maybe I've solved the problem. It has a write speed of 35MB/s, and the SD Cards I've been using have a speed of 30MB/s. Therefore, maybe the camera is putting out data just a little faster than the cards can absorb, especially when the camera is left on for long periods, which is what I've been doing lately.

So, with that in mind, I have found these new cards that just may do the trick, with a speed of 95MB/s. What do you think?

See here:

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extre...T3QG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329603920&sr=8-1


This is, of course, assuming the problem is with the cards and not the camera.
 
Don't worry about the specs of your 30MB/s SD cards. The EX1 has a data rate of 35Mbps. Note the difference between the capital B and the lowercase b. B stands for byte. A byte (B) is 8 bits (b). A datarate of 35Mbps translates to roughly 4.5MB/s. Well within the specs.

If you want to update the firmware you have two options. Send your camera to a Sony servicecenter (not free) or DIY. I've done it myself more than a dozen times with several EX camera's. Inform youself well before you decide what's the best way for you.

The firmware update can be found here (it's free):
http://www.sony.co.uk/biz/content/i...ders?filter_id=redirects&preserveContext=true

Here is a video on upgrading your EX1
http://vimeo.com/10106072
 
Sandisk cards seem to be somewhat suspect currently. Transcend seem to be a little more stable. Now Sony has their brand cards out too. My first guess is the card / reader combo is having a hard time keeping up as you thought...resulting in the media errors. Especially 32gb cards seem to be more prone to that problem.
 
FrankC said:
Sandisk cards seem to be somewhat suspect currently. Transcend seem to be a little more stable. Now Sony has their brand cards out too. My first guess is the card / reader combo is having a hard time keeping up as you thought...resulting in the media errors. Especially 32gb cards seem to be more prone to that problem.
Click to expand...

I had the same problem with 16GB cards. So, it isn't the capacity.

I also tried Hoodman RAW cards. Same problem.

I think the real answer is to go with one of those external hard drive set ups described in another thread on this forum. I'm going to try that. I just cannot afford the official Sony SSD cards. Outrageously expensive.

.
 
Yeah... Interesting. Actually I was referring to the Sony brand of SDHC cards. They're about the same price as the SanDisk's. If a Sony SDHC card doesn't work, then certainly the problem would seem to be somewhere else. It would be nice to hear from one of our technical gurus on this...
 
MPB said:
update the firmware. i'd bet you won't see the problem again.
Click to expand...

Thanks, and I just had that done. I had to go up "three" levels since the firmware I was using was so old.

Will be getting the camera back in a couple of days. I'm expecting no more problems now after that.

.
 
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