Q&A: Be Careful With Your Memory Card!
Recently, you wrote about failing memory cards. I have one more caution: do-it-yourself digital photo printers in department stores. I had a card loaded with about a dozen pictures and was trying to make 4-by-6-inch prints. For some reason, the computer locked up. The clerk who came to assist immediately removed the card without trying to reset the computer. I objected, but she insisted that she does this all the time. When I got home and tried to access the card, my computer would not read it.
--Silvio Cutuli, Wilmington, Virginia
Excellent advice, Silvio! And remember that the problem you mention can happen even if you're not at a department store. It's too bad you lost your card, but it's important to remember that a memory card can be killed in a heartbeat if you remove it while it's being accessed--from a memory card reader or the camera itself. That's why you should always turn your camera off before you insert or remove a card, and be sure the data light is off on any memory card reader before you yank the card.
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