I need help asap please

[rockerman]

Hello all,
I've been doing weddings for many years and I took my brothers D300 to do some events for the first time. One was my sisters wedding. Another a birthday for a family member.
Here are problems i'm having:
1-for some reason, if I click on a picture it opens up another photo instead. this is only for photos from the wedding. It only does it for 200 of the first photos I edited in PS CS4. Let me explain.
I did these photos (200 or so) and realized I had a virus. So RF and reinstalled all of the things again and that's when it happened.
2-what is XMP? and why do they appear after editing in PS
Do I need it? can I erase it?
3-In windows picture and fax viewer I can't zoom in on the pics more than 2 clicks/scrolls.it says redraw failed Is it because the files are large? Is there a viewer someone can recommend for me instead? Using PS to view photos isn't useful or efficient..
4-When editing photos of the birthday. I have all the raw photos in one folder, and after editing I save it in jpeg in another folder for the processed photos. For some reason I don't understand. I can see thumbnails for about half the photos half way through editing/saving I realized I saw the "orange picture" icon but no photos even thought he folder is set to thumbnails. after continuing, I had the square with no icon at all. I can see the photo but no icon.
What the hell is going on? why am I having so many problems?

PC specs:
Q6600 @3.6
4GB Kingston hyperx 8500
evga 9800GTX
320GB Hitach HDD
128gb Crucial M225 SSD (not installed yet)
PC isn't connected to the net

 

[bmell]

I'm going to guess that the D300 has started to repeat. As a result you have two different photo files with the same id number on your computer.

Not sure about your last two questions.

 

[dmwphoto]

xmp is a sidecar file with the editing instructions. It will be required later if you need to edit them again. They do not take up any space to speak of on your hard drive. I reccomend you leave them.
You may set your camera's file naming to avoid the first issue again.

 

[rockerman]

I'm going to guess that the D300 has started to repeat
Details please. I don't understand..
when I finished work I backed up all the photos to DVD's. I don't have copies..

You may set your camera's file naming to avoid the first issue again
to do what? I never used digital so I don't understand these things. SOrry..

 

[rockerman]

btw, can we post photos/ videos.
I'll try to post on youtube/flickr

 

[Joe Photo]

I guess it goes without saying that if you were unfamiliar with digital, starting out with a wedding and other important events is not the ideal way to introduce yourself to it and the workflow involved.

First - before you work on any files - back them up immediately after downloading. Having a backup is of pinnacle importance.

Second - your digital PC workstation should be separate from your internet/email machine. You don't want viruses around your workstation at all.

What version of PS do you have installed? Does it have Bridge installed with it? If you have Bridge, browse the image directory with it. At first Bridge will render the previews from embedded JPG previews. But After culling the necessary data, Bridge will render the previews from the actual image data. That should eliminate the problem of selecting one photo and getting another.

Since you mention .XMP, I'm guessing you're editing your photos (RAW files?) in Adobe Camera Raw plugin (ACR). ACR uses XMP sidecar files to store instruction sets. Those instruction sets are the edits you made in ACR. They are named alongside the corresponding file. If you delete an XMP file, the changes you made in ACR are lost.

As for replacing Picture and Fax viewer... download and use Photo Mechanic.

I don't quite understand question #4. Are you trying to view the photos as they are being created?

I recommend for the time being that you keep digital away from your professional work. Use it on personal projects and you will learn quickly. Seek out educational resources like Lynda.com or KeblyTraining.com to aide you in developing a workflow. I also recommend looking at Adobe Lightroom 2 for your workflow. It can handle a nearly complete digital workflow from downloading, backing up and organizing to RAW editing and JPG file output and more.

 

[rockerman]

thanks all for the help.
JP, all photos are backed up from the night after the wedding. I also wrote in the top that this PC isn't connected to the net.
for some reason the MS fax and photo viewer fixed itself. No more "failed" messages .

When I started working on the pics after the wedding. I moved everything to the desktop, in a folder "raw (name of the couple) and made another folder for edited photos. Every 150 photos I edited, I made a copy of those photos for backup. After some time the PC was freaking out and so I Rf and reinstalled XP home. After installing and tweaking the OS I installed PS CS4 and made 2 folders again. 1 of all the raw photos I haven't edited and a new "edited" folder.
after about 3 weeks the big problem came (clicking on a photo and it showing another)
it still hasn't gone away. My burner is giving me problems so I through it against the wall. I have no patience for slow drives. A fast PC and a slow drive bringing it to a halt. So I haven't had a chance to check to see if it's only on the pc or on the "so far, edited pics I've burned to discs that are giving me the "click one get another" syndrome..

After mentioning that it's for NEF photos in ACR it now makes sense. I didn't know that.
I only shoot in NEF.

Actually I'm considering moving to Canon. I'm not happy with the D300. I guess it's just me.

 

[Kiwi Geoff]

A craftsman doesn't blame the tools!!:biggrin:
You have a big learning curve ahead and changing cameras will not IMHO change the learning needed. Read, watch and learn from the great internet resource. We can answer questions but to ask meaningful questions you will need a basic grasp of how it all works.
Otherwise P and jpeg will produce ok results.
Best of luck on your digital journey!:smile:

 

[rockerman]

So for the problem of click a pic and get another, it seems sloved. I opened them in bridge, made a new folder and moved them there and voila. So I doubt it's repeating. the drawing failed message came up again. I found this:

http://www.eggheadcafe.com/software/aspnet/30868441/windows-picture-and-fax-v.aspx

BEcause the files are bigger than the screen is giving me the problem.
I know how to use digital, and workflow is fine. I also bought Thoms guides for D200/300 So using the camera is not the problem. the problem is the bugs I'm having on the PC.
I'm not blaming the camera, I don't like the cameras high ISo ability. I've used the d300 digital for months before the wedding, and the workflow is the same when I use F5's and coolscan 5000. For viewing I installed a nef codec (found here. Thank you) and use that for viewing pics, which is enough for me.
I never use p and Jpeg. I used only NEf and A/M. I read forums for years so I understand the basic principles about digital. I've also used my brothers digital cameras from d70 d80 d200 and d300. I'm not blaming anything. It's a camera that doesn't shoot so well in high iso. Please don't get so offended when someone says they're considering moving to Canon. I apologize if I did.I want to try the 5D2 and see what it's capable of. I have a lot of nikon lenses and I have to see if it's worth it for me to do so.
#4 problem- After editing I save the pics in an "edited" folder . AFter I finished all the photos I came to look at the photos in thumbnail mode. scrolling up and down the folder I see most of the pics, but some of them are only showing icons and no picture.
Thanks again everyone.

 

[Gary7770]

Then try a D3S if you have so much invested in Nikon Lenses already.

Gary

I'm not blaming the camera, I don't like the cameras high ISo ability.

 

[rockerman]

thank you for the suggestion. I will take a look.
thank you for all the help guys.