Please Help Me..Error Media Needs To Be Restore

[Patrik Kisucky]

Hi everyone,

I have the same problem, I used SDHC card – sandisk 16GB, Man hood adapter, and got media error, card needs to be restored note. I can’t mount the card, restore it, nothing. Would you be able to help and tell me how can I get my lost footage, maybe recommend a company, that would be able to do it.

Thanks,

Patrik

[Jim Pettersen]

Hi to everybody. Great to find such a plethora of pros on the subject of Sony EX1. I have a similar problem that i very much need help with.
I filmed in -30 celcius and the SDHC card came upp and wanted to be restored, that went ok. Next time it came up with a message I failed to read the message (took for granted that it was the same message) but it must have said “media error” must reformat. I pressed the execute button in a pressed situation :(. The card mounts with a USB card reader, but the media is gone away with the dodo bird. I got Data rescue 3 and File Salvage 7. Scanned the drive and got “a_number.MP4” files out of the scan. I can not open any of the files (not even with VLC Media player wich can open the XX.MP4 files found inside BPAV folders on the SxS cards or SDHC cards). I get an error message that the “moov box” is missing. Nor can I open or import with FCP, Sony transfer or clip browser. Any idea what I can do to fix this (convert the files?, or other solution? As you can imagine Im not going back to -30 celcius, far far up north to lapland to reshoot. Any suggestion are much much welcome.

Best
Jim

[Todd Wiseman]

I had a similar problem recently and want to share my experience in case it helps anyone. I shot a two-camera, 40 minute interview on identical Sony Ex-1s. They only differed by the type of memory used. One had two “official” Sony SxS 8 gig cards and the other had a single Hoodman adapter with an SD 16gig from Sandisk. Guess which one went wrong…

I ingested the footage via Log and Transfer in Final Cut Pro 7 with the Ex-1 plug-in. The SxS card was of course fine. However, I found that only the first 30 seconds of the 40 minute take were capturing on the SD card. After about 30 sec in, it would eject the drive and quit transferring. I tried it a few times. No luck. I started to sweat.

I put the card back in the camera with no apparent problems. In the media browser I saw the 40 minute clip and its duration was accurate. Then I played it in the camera. At 30 seconds or so, it froze up and gave the dreaded “Media needs to be restored.” Of course, it provided no option to restore. I started freaking out.

I attempted all kinds of things, but nothing was doing. I started to get it when I tried to copy the clips directly out of the card’s BPAV folder. The 40 minute clip was broken into 3 folders and the 2nd and 3rd copied fine, but the 1st would crash and eject the drive every time. Hmm…

Back in the camera I found that as long as I didn’t let it hit that 30 second “death spot” the footage was fine. So 29 seconds up and Maybe 40 after (to be safe) the footage played as expected.

Back to log and transfer. I found the same thing. I could play up to 25 seconds or so and also anywhere after that, but not at the dreaqded death spot. That would freeze and crash FCP and one time I had to completely restart the machine.

So after at least an hour of gut gnawing anxiety I set ins and outs in the log and transfer on both sides of the death spot and got all but a small portion of the footage back. I was amazed it worked.

So, no great loss in the end (we were on 2 cameras after all), but I was sufficiently freaked to put in the request for more SxS cards. Too bad they’re monstrously over-priced.

Anyway, sorry this is long. I hope it helps someone though. Seems like there can be corrupt frames with the SD adapters that will cause mayhem, somehow. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck.

[Steven Gladstone]

I’m more concerned about the cause, as it has happened to me, using the SONY Memory Stick Pro HG adapters.

The “Restore” the card you put it in the camera, and flip the power switch to media (not camera). You are offered the choice to restore the card there. Then the card works and I think your footage is restored, or most of it.

I don’t understand the cause, two adapters and two memory stick Pro HG cards and this has happened to both. Hasn’t happened to the SxS cards.

Steven Gladstone
https://www.gladstonefilms.com

[Don Greening]

[Steven Gladstone] “Then the card works and I think your footage is restored, or most of it. “

First of all, Sony doesn’t talk to me so the following are educated guesses:

the restore command doesn’t affect the actual media, per se, but is for fixing incomplete directories.
restore may also be used for writing the “lead out” of a clip that has no definite ending (camera shut off)
SDHC errors may occur because the data in some instances cannot be written to the cards fast enough.
SxS Pro cards use the camera’s PCI interface while SDHC uses a USB interface.

However, Sony does talk to members of their worldwide ICE team so maybe one of them will be able to shed more light on your SDHC questions.

– Don

[Steven Gladstone]

Thanks for the explanation. I’m using the Sony made/branded adapter with the Memory Stick Pro HG Pro card with the HX labeling. I did a test where I just turned on the camera and left it recording. Walked away and left the room. Media error at 26 minutes. Restored the card. Continued recording. Got two more errors, before I stopped the test. This is shooting a still life, with no movement of the camera at all.

Very unsettling.

Steven Gladstone
https://www.gladstonefilms.com

[Don Greening]

Steven,

Have you upgraded your camera to the latest firmware? There’s a discussion going on right now that’s dealing with the relationships of SDHC cards and different firmware versions:

https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/142/870291

You should perhaps read the entire thread.

– Don

[Steven Gladstone]

yes thanks, Firmware version 1.20

Also using the SONY Memeory Stick Duo and adapter, NOT the SDHC cards.

Steven Gladstone
https://www.gladstonefilms.com

[Jason Doyle]

Akbar, are you in the States? If so, can you tell me what data recover service you used? I’ve got the same problem with a card from an EX3.

Thanks,

Jay

[Dina Kagan]

Hi Martin

I am experiencing this problem now. Where did you get the usb card reader? What kind/model is it? What program did you use to extract the mp4 files one by one?

Thank you
Dina
moreocean@earthlink.net