CF card sick?

[mouse]

About 5 years ago I purchased a couple of Crucial 2GB CF cards.  They have worked flawlessly until just yesterday, when I experienced the following problem with one of the cards.  Proceeded to download the images using a card reader attached to USB port.  The download went very very slowly.  Some images requiring up to 2 min to transfer.  At frequent intervals the download was interrupted by an error message indicating an i/o error, and with the option to "retry".  In each case the retry was successful and then a few minutes later the same error popped up and was resolved again with "retry".  Eventually all images were transferred intact.  It took well over an hour with much baby-sitting along the way.  The only significant difference between this occassion and other uses of the card was that normally I transfer images after 30 to 40 images have been recorded, which usually required less than 5 minutes.  This time the card was nearly full.

After transferring the images I ran a dskchk on the card.  No errors or bad sectors were reported.  Is it time to retire this card?
I have not had the opportunity to try a different card under the conditions where the card was nearly full.

[allegretto]

perhaps you have answered your question

umm..... yes, get a new card and save yourself some lost images.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

It could also be the card reader, or the USB connection. I have had a couple of card readers fail but never a CF card (yet).

Try a different card, or a different reader. Replacement card readers are pretty cheap. I always keep a spare these days (and I have probably 8 to 10 memory cards).

Eric

[mouse]

Yes, I have a new card reader on order.
I really had doubts that the card itself was responsible.  I was more concerned with the reader or the USB input.  More tests to follow.

[Ken Bennett]

I go through several card readers a year. Not sure why -- they just sit on my desk 99% of the time.

If a new reader solves the problem, then you're fine. If not, just toss the card in the trash. A new, fast, 16GB card is $50.

[Bryan Conner]

try downloading from the camera directly.  If this works ok, then the card is ok.  I also have never had a bad CF card.  I have only had one card failure, and it was a MicroDrive about 6 years ago.

[schrodingerscat]

Have you been formatting the cards between uses? Like hard drives, flash memory can be corrupted over time, and it's recommended to format between each use. Another part of the mix is the prevalence of counterfeit cards. It's been estimated that over 50% of the cards out there are fakes, especially Kensington. I avoid purchasing cards on ebait and most lowball internet etailers. In ten years I've never had a card go south.

When I recently purchased a new camera that required a higher spec SD card my old Sandisk card reader wouldn't read the new cards, so picked up a new Lexar reader and all is now good.

[mediumcool]

Have you been formatting the cards between uses? Like hard drives, flash memory can be corrupted over time, and it's recommended to format between each use. Another part of the mix is the prevalence of counterfeit cards. It's been estimated that over 50% of the cards out there are fakes, especially Kensington. I avoid purchasing cards on ebait and most lowball internet etailers. In ten years I've never had a card go south.

When I recently purchased a new camera that required a higher spec SD card my old Sandisk card reader wouldn't read the new cards, so picked up a new Lexar reader and all is now good.

+1

Also, downloading from the camera, as already suggested, will help to isolate the problem.