internal memory format problem

[Photo-John]

Does your camera have a memory card or only built-in, internal memory? And have you tried to take any pictures since you formatted it? It might just be telling you that there aren't any photos stored.

[ccd333]

Does your camera have a memory card or only built-in, internal memory? And have you tried to take any pictures since you formatted it? It might just be telling you that there aren't any photos stored.

I am waiting for the memory card I just purchased. Currently it only has internal.....16MB. I have tried taking pictures since I reformatted. But when I go to playback to find them it only says there is no data in internal memory. Thanks for your reply, John.

[Photo-John]

It sounds like it reformatted itself out of commission. That shouldn't be possible. Maybe - hopefully - everything will sort itself out when you get your memory card.

[Peter_AUS]

What's the camera you are having the problem with, you haven't mentioned it and it isn't in your profile.

[ccd333]

What's the camera you are having the problem with, you haven't mentioned it and it isn't in your profile.

Peter, the reason I haven't mentioned it is because it fairly obscure. I posted earlier mentioning the name of it and to comment on it. I didn't get any replies. I figured everyone thought it was a piece of junk. It's a TEKXON 5500Z. It has a Panasonic CCD with 5.5 megapixels interpolating. It took good pictures before this happened. I was very pleased. Everything seems to work just fine. It lists for over $600.....I got this one on an auction for $149....brand new. It has both a microphone AND a speaker for recording messages for the pics.....or for video sound. It also will allow you to take video for as long as you have memory.....no limit. Someone said they actually filmed for over 2 hours with a 512MB card. The video replay is actually pretty decent too. It has continuous shooting, white balance, sharpness settings, metering, night settings.....it's a feature loaded camera for the money. It even has 3X optical zoom....not just digital like most cameras for this amount of money. I admit I was drawn in by the cost, but I can't afford an expensive camera and this seemed like a good compromise. I just hope I haven't permanently damaged the internal memory.

Also, I sent an email to the support address on the Tekxon website, but have yet to hear from the company. The user manual is fairly comprehensive, but has no troubleshooting section.

[Peter_AUS]

Pretty basic user manual, the camera looks interesting. I found nothing about formating the NAND 16MB Flash Memory other than it mentioned in the specifications. Hope you get an answer back from the http://www.tekxon-tech.com.tw/tsd/driver/driver_e.htm site, this link is incase anyone else can figure it out, took some finding, sifting through the Chinese sites and google search page 4.

I don't think it is a piece of junk and I am sure others here wouldn't think that way as well. I'll keep looking around for maybe an answer. Have you tried leaving the batteries out of it for a day or two and then try with the batteries in them, might loose the setup of the camera and maybe it will re-initialise itself. Other than that at present, wait and see if you get an answer from tekxon.

[ccd333]

Pretty basic user manual, the camera looks interesting. I found nothing about formating the NAND 16MB Flash Memory other than it mentioned in the specifications. Hope you get an answer back from the http://www.tekxon-tech.com.tw/tsd/driver/driver_e.htm site, this link is incase anyone else can figure it out, took some finding, sifting through the Chinese sites and google search page 4.

I don't think it is a piece of junk and I am sure others here wouldn't think that way as well. I'll keep looking around for maybe an answer. Have you tried leaving the batteries out of it for a day or two and then try with the batteries in them, might loose the setup of the camera and maybe it will re-initialise itself. Other than that at present, wait and see if you get an answer from tekxon.

Hey, it's working now! Not sure why. I just kept experimenting. The first thing that worked properly was taking video for at least a couple of minutes. Then it would work in playback mode. Still, the pics would not view....the message kept coming up. So, I tried using flash and that seemed to snap it out of it.

I DID hear from the support staff. They obstensively said that it was what John had originally mentioned....that I erased the pictures so there wasn't anything left in the memory. But that didn't explain why that message kept coming up AFTER taking more pics. And why FORMAT erases EVERYTHING....not just the pics. Evidently, there is a purpose for that at some point.....it sort of the equivalent to defragmenting your computer files.

So....now I know. I feel better. Thanks again to you and John for your replies. Just knowing someone tried to help is very reassuring. You guys are awesome.

[ccd333]

I did try the battery.....left it out for several hours. That didn't seem to work at the time.

[ccd333]

It sounds like it reformatted itself out of commission. That shouldn't be possible. Maybe - hopefully - everything will sort itself out when you get your memory card.

It WILL playback video. But when I try to take pics it reverts back to that message again. I am hoping that the memory card will fix it. It does say in the "erase pictures function setting" of which there are 3.....Current....All....and Format...that "when formatting, a warning message will appear. Press the OK button to confirm. Format will permanently remove all data such as internal memory/SD card." Why would they have such a profound setting? I don't understand. I just wanted to erase two pictures and instead I pressed format. When the warning came up, I just assumed it was to verify that you wanted the two pictures erased!

I have NO idea why it will playback video and not the pics??? Anyway.....again, thanks.