Corrupt JPEG files, help!

Topic

New Reply

The short version: A have a few dozen JPG files that can not be read by my graphics programs. Is there a way to determine what is wrong with them so I can recover my images?

The long version: I’ve been using my new digital camera to record vacation shots. I’d transfer the files to a hard drive then burn them onto a CD. Sometimes I’d burn them straight off the media reader without transfering to the hard drive. To save time, I once created a subdirectry on the SmartMedia, dropped some files there and then burned the CD. The files in this subdirectory contain data, but they can not be read by my graphics programs. What the heck could have happened and how can I recover the images?

Thanks in advance!

Reply | Quote

Replies

What software are you using to ‘read’ them? I know PhotoEditor throws a tantrum sometimes for no reason I have yet fully understood.

Have you tried inserting them into a Word document? (Insert > Picture > File >)

Reply | Quote

(Sheesh that was fast, I barely let up on the “Post It” button when I received your reply, Leif.)

I tried opening them using ThumbsPlus, PaintShop Pro, ACDSee, Internet Explorer and the preview panel in Windows XP and 98se. Nothing, nada, zip.

Reply | Quote

(You got lucky – I just happened to be passing )

Hmm – not sure. Are you trying to open them directly from the CD? If so, what happens if you copy them to your HD and change the properties from Read Only?
Right_mouse > Properties > Summary – what is the description?

Reply | Quote

Nope. I tried opening them on the CD and two different computers. The problem is that I can’t read them, can’t see the image. I am convinced that there’s a bit switched in the file, or something equally mundane, that causes the image software to reject them as legit JPG files. What I need is the graphic equivalent of Word’s text retrieval filter, only retrieve image instead.

Reply | Quote

Sounds to me like you’ve got a bad CD on your hands. I have had a lot of “coasters” where the DIR looks great but the actual files aren’t there or are unreadable. You didn’t answer Leif’s question about copying one or two or three FROM the CD to a directory on the hard drive. First step will be to see if the files actually do copy, i.e. look in Windows Explorer and check properties as Leif suggested on the HARD DRIVE copy. Click the summary button and see what Windows “thinks” the file is. If you get what looks like a copy, but ZERO bytes, (or something like that) then you’re in big trouble…..sad to say.

Reply | Quote

What CD writng software do you use? I have nevere had trouble with Nero, but EasyCD Creator seems to like making coasters.

Reply | Quote

Hi there, I think BigAl is onto something, definately drag a few of the jpgs into a folder on the hard drive, I’d give Thumbs a try as it reliably opens anything I throw at it (and I too have several different picture programs). Launch thumbs once you have dragged a few pictures onto the hard drive, and try to open within Thumbs directory. I have often found a .jpg that will not open in other programs will open from Thumbs if I go that way first. Good luck.

Reply | Quote

How many files are on the cd? I found that at around 16000 files on a burned cdrom I can no longer read the picture files. They are listed in the directory but they won’t open. I save pictures on cd in directories of about 1000 to 2000 pictures each. But after the 16000th something file, They won’t open, can’t be copied, ect. They seem to be there in name only.

Reply | Quote