Help with photo software

[emcee207]

HI, let me start by saying my PC prowess is probably best described as "novice". I recently purchased a Sony Vaio laptop after my 10 year old Dell desktop was about on it's last legs. I use a Canon SD 600 to take my photos.

I"m not happy with the Windows Photo software that came with the Vaio. I don't think it's user friendly but the worst thing is it continually refuses to upload about 20% of the pics I try to upload, saying the file is corrupt. I had no problems with the old PC with the same chips, some brand new.

Can someone recommend some simple software for me to load on this laptop to upload, sort and store pics?

[Captain Canuck]

from google and free

[Texaslandshark]

I'll second the Picasa tip.

[pierces]

Picasa is the greatest exception to "you get what you pay for" that I've ever seen. I use this free software to organize over 70,000 photos and even though I am not what you'd call a "novice", I feel confident in recommending Picasa to someone who is.

 

Incredibly easy to use organizational tool with some deceptively powerful editing tools that are, again, easy to use.

 

Here's a link to a class we did here on the board that includes instructions for installing Picasa and some tips for setting it up:

 

http://pptphoto.com/ArticlePages/Class1.htm

 

Get it!

 

Dave

[chipmaster]

Is your problem the file or the software for viewing/editing?

 

If you have corrupt files that can't be opened after transfer I doubt whether you use Picasa, Photoshop, window viewer or other software that will make a difference. If the jpeg is corrupt it will be corrupt and not matter what software you try.

 

Hopefully you still have the orginal 10 year old 1GHZ P3.

 

1) Make sure the files are still good there on the orginal PC. IE open them and view with your favorite software, picasa?

2) Transfer them either to USB stick or USB harddrive

3) After transfer open them up with whatever software you like to insure the transfer was good. Drive still connnect to your old computer

4) Transfer the stick/HDD to the new computer and open up the pictures ON the USB stick/HDD thru the new computer, VIAO

5) If good, transfer the files to the new computer and finally check again the file on the new computer

 

A corrupt file will stay corrupt no matter what software you use. Make sure your orginally and transfer copy are good and finally the new copy on the new computer are good. Pretty much the rule when transfer pictures from your camera to. Check orginal, check copy, check backup before formating your cards ;)

 

One thing you can do to check the file is to use explorer and view all your files hin thumbnail mode. A corrupt file won't show a thumbnail, good files should.

 

File transfer of thousands of pictures and gigabytes can be simplified by using a portable USB drive. They run about 100 bucks for 250 to 500 GBs depending on what your promo your local store has. The western digital passport are a safe easy to use brand, Just pop it out of the box and into your computer and yous should be good to go, provided you are at least running windows XP. If you are on windows 2000 or older then check as you may need special drivers.

 

Good luck.

 

 

HI, let me start by saying my PC prowess is probably best described as "novice". I recently purchased a Sony Vaio laptop after my 10 year old Dell desktop was about on it's last legs. I use a Canon SD 600 to take my photos.

I"m not happy with the Windows Photo software that came with the Vaio. I don't think it's user friendly but the worst thing is it continually refuses to upload about 20% of the pics I try to upload, saying the file is corrupt. I had no problems with the old PC with the same chips, some brand new.

Can someone recommend some simple software for me to load on this laptop to upload, sort and store pics?

[donaldsc]

It is not totally clear from your question - are your photos on your old computer or are they on your camera memory cards?

 

The solution to your difficulty will depend upon where the picture files are located.

 

DON

[judynorth]

I vote for Picasa also. It is a great program and very easy to use. It will automatically download pictures into the organizer and it has a limited but easy to use photo editor. It is enough for many people. If you want to go with a more robust photo editor and organizer I would recommend Photoshop Elements.

[donaldsc]

HI, let me start by saying my PC prowess is probably best described as "novice". I recently purchased a Sony Vaio laptop after my 10 year old Dell desktop was about on it's last legs. I use a Canon SD 600 to take my photos.

I"m not happy with the Windows Photo software that came with the Vaio. I don't think it's user friendly but the worst thing is it continually refuses to upload about 20% of the pics I try to upload, saying the file is corrupt. I had no problems with the old PC with the same chips, some brand new.

Can someone recommend some simple software for me to load on this laptop to upload, sort and store pics?

 

Nobody is addressing the more significant problem that the OP is having - why can't he read pictures with the new computer that were readable on the old one.

 

Until this problem is solved, there is the potential of major picture loss.

 

DON

[MandD]

Picasa is a great program & I highly recommend it, but if your new computer is running Windows 7 you might have some conflicts. I've used Picasa for several years and really liked it, but on my new laptop running Windows 7 I can not use the import function.

Also, if you still have the old computer, instead of using a USB drive you might consider a transfer cable.

[judynorth]

Picasa is a great program & I highly recommend it, but if your new computer is running Windows 7 you might have some conflicts. I've used Picasa for several years and really liked it, but on my new laptop running Windows 7 I can not use the import function.

 

I am using Windows 7 and have had no problems. Have you installed the latest update to Picasa? I think it is 3.6.

[emcee207]

Wow, thanks so much for all the help. LOL, now I feel even "dumber" than before!

 

Clarifications: I have pics both on the old PC and on the cards from the camera. Half the cards are the older larger cards from an older camera and half are the SD type of card. I have a port to accept the smaller card on the laptop but nothing to accept directly into the laptop the larger card. I do have both camera's, the old one doesn't seem to want to import into the laptop. I"ve tried several different ways.

I did buy several USB cards to swap the pics on the old PC into the new laptop but couldn't make it work.

 

The problem is that even with a card that I know is good (loaded into the old PC with no problem as recently as 6 months ago) it says about 20% of the files I'm trying to import are "corrupt" and won't accept them.

 

I know this is confusing and also I'm aware I've got several issues going here between copying of the old PC and importing from the existing cards into the new laptop.

 

What is the "Original 10 year old 1GHZP3" ??

 

Piccassa sounds perfect for me; I am however running Windows 7 so guess I will have to get the latest version.

 

The "rookie" thanks you all again and I'll keep listening. This kind of help is one reason I like CruiseCritic so much.

 

ciao,

Luigi

[emcee207]

I'm also thinking maybe I need to hire " geek squad" guy for a couple of hours to help with all this, LOL!

[judynorth]

By USB cards do you mean a thumb drive (flash drive)? This is a small device that plugs into the USB port on your computer. All you have to do is drag and drop files from the old computer onto the flash drive and then plug the drive into the new computer and drag and drop the files into the pictures folder. It works just like using a floppy disk (remember those things?).

 

To download and install Picasa 3 (note the spelling - it isn't Picasso) go to this website:

http://picasa.google.com/

 

Save the file to the desktop. Double click the file to begin the installation. After you install the program it will scan the computer for any graphics files and it will put them into the organizer. It couldn't be simpler.

 

You might want to try cleaning the contacts on the media cards to see if that helps. Also, if you have Compact Flash or Smart Media cards for your old camera you will need a card reader to transfer files directly to the computer. If you have a printer with media card slots you can use it to transfer the files.

[Talisker92]

I use an adapter that takes my SD card and adapts it to a USB port. BUT there are others that take more than on format of memory card.

Your best bet is to go to a good camera store and show them the cards. They can recommend the right adapter.

[emcee207]

Wow, again thanks for all the great tips.

 

I did load Picasa 3.6 yesterday and it does work great. Scanned my computer for any pics that were currently in there and then I loaded some others off a couple of SD cards that I had yet to put in the laptop. Only problem is now I have lots of duplicates but that will just take some housekeeping.

 

Judy, yes I meant the flash drives that go into the USB ports. I tried it but couldn't figure out which drive the flash drive was in. I'll try again.

 

Yes, the older camera's cards are Compact Flash. Maybe the best thing is an investment in a card reader as you suggest. I wouldn't think it would be too expensive.

 

Horrible weekend weather wise in Boston. Rainy and cold both yesterday and today. The side benefit is that the yard work that needs to be done can be procrastinated on while I fool with this laptop and pics!

 

Go Red Sox and especially go Celtics tonight!! Gotta head back to LA 3 games to 2!!!:D

[Captain Canuck]

try a computer store or a business supply store.likely cheaper than in a camera store...often an advertised special to get you in the door to places like Staples

[emcee207]

Thanks. I just googled it and they are really cheap. Probably will head to BestBuy this afternoon and pick one up.

[Captain Canuck]

I bought one to use on our laptop..then noticed it had one built in...black slots on a black computer..was hard to see

 

then I got another as a freebie when I bought some memory cards

 

good thing about all this talk is it is reminding me to do another backup of my photos onto a dvd

[judynorth]

The flash drive is usually the highest letter drive so you should be safe to just go with that. If it isn't the right drive than no harm is done. You will just get an error message.

 

I wish that I could backup my pix to a DVD. I have almost 40 gig of pix so I use an external hard drive for backup - when I remember to do it!:o

[donaldsc]

The flash drive is usually the highest letter drive so you should be safe to just go with that. If it isn't the right drive than no harm is done. You will just get an error message.

 

I wish that I could backup my pix to a DVD. I have almost 40 gig of pix so I use an external hard drive for backup - when I remember to do it!:o

 

By my calculations, you have about 6000 pictures that you may or may not have backed up. That would scare me to death.

 

DON

[judynorth]

By my calculations, you have about 6000 pictures that you may or may not have backed up. That would scare me to death.

 

DON

 

Well, most of them are backed up. It is just the most recent ones and they aren't really important, just local shots. I have about 8500 shots still on my computer and 1000's more on CD or DVD. Maybe it would be a good idea to backup - NOW!

[donaldsc]

Well, most of them are backed up. It is just the most recent ones and they aren't really important, just local shots. I have about 8500 shots still on my computer and 1000's more on CD or DVD. Maybe it would be a good idea to backup - NOW!

 

What you need to do is to set up an automatic system that backs all of your pictures to either a local external hard drive or to the internet or better yet both. There is lots of software and there are lots of internet services that do that for minimal cost.

 

It totally scares me to death the trivial way that people manage their photo memories on their computer.

 

One advantage of the shoe box approach with negatives is that they were physical. It might take you a while to find what you were looking for but you could find them. For most people, what are the odds that their picture files will be there and readable 10 or 20 years from now?

 

DON

[puckster55pics]

By my calculations, you have about 6000 pictures that you may or may not have backed up. That would scare me to death.

 

DON

I wholeheartedly agree, my photos are my prized possessions & I try to keep many back ups from dvd's & cd's to my external HD + online via Flickr & webshots. I'm also planning on hooking up with Carbonite as a extra backup prior to going to Alaska.