Handycam DCR-SR37 wont record, playback OK

[geoffbru]

I have a DCR-SR37 camcorder that has suddenly developed a fault wherebye it wont record.  Everything else works OK.  After stopping the recording session, it gives a blue screen message 'Recovering Data' and after 45 seconds or so will stop and return to a normal screen but nothing has been recorded.  So I guess that the data could not be recovered.

Tried reformatting the hard disk, that works for a few recordings then back to the same problem again

Is there a way to clear this fault or is it to be sent to the Repair Shop?

Geoff

[Mick2011]

Hi Geoff, welcome to the Sony Forums.

I've heard of the 'Recovering Data' message before, in relation to a buffer overflow caused by very high audio levels being recorded; often at concerts and such like. Did you get a buffer overflow message beforehand?

If not, it could be a disk-addressing problem which may need repair.

In the meantime I'll ask a colleague about this as I'm fairly sure (with buffer overflow issues) you may find your data has been recorded the drive when you upload it to your PC. There may also be another explanation I haven't thought of.

Cheers

Mick

[Scott-B]

hi

took my sr37 on holiday and got error message buffer overflow followed by recovering data and then unable access HDD. the only way for me to record any of my holiday was in ten second burst. i reformatted the hard drive with no success still cannot record over ten seconds, i take it that that is when the memory buffer fills up.

also i tried it with the drop protection switched off

help please

[Mick2011]

Hi Scott-B, welcome to the Sony Forums.

There's no reason why, with the Drop Sensor de-activated, the camera should buffer-overflow as a result of vibration. The idea of that function is to protect the hard drive, should you drop or violently nudge the camera while it's switched on. As the drive 'parks' its heads when sudden motion is detected, the camera will stop writing to the drive and buffer the data (to RAM) instead; hence you'll get a 'buffer overflow' alert and a delay while the drive un-parks and writes the data to the drive. It's also a finite size, so once the drive shuts down the buffer will fill up very quickly and the 'recovery' will begin.

I was about to suggest this may be the cause of Geoff's problems. As well as high-volume audio, shocks and very high altitude may cause a hard-drive-based HandyCam to shut down, which is good for the drive but obviously far from ideal if you happen to be recording a loud concert with loads of people dancing around... on top of Everest

If none of these things apply, there may well be a fault with your camera, in which case you should contact Sony Support. I would however say it's never a good idea to leave the Drop Sensor switched off; it's on by default and should be returned to that setting to avoid possibly terminal damage to the drive. However that is a recommended workaround, as is keepng the camera very still while recording. Getting the audio to a low level is a bit trickier: let me know if that's something that's you encounter a lot.

Another workaround is to get a decent sized, fast Sony Memory Stick, like a 16gb Pro Duo Mk2, and record to that instead. Get a genuine Sony one, the fakes are often sub-par. You'll get no buffer issues, nor will there be 'Recovering Data' alerts with that (as they're both hard drive addressing errors) and you can copy back to the HD when you're done.

Let me know how you get on.

Cheers

Mick

[Scott-B]

Cheers for the info Mike

Memory pro stick sounds like a plan, never thought about that option.

I still feel that I should get it checked out by Sony but i think that

the repair cost will be more than the camara is worth

might have to bite the bullet and just buy new camcorder

scott-b

[MEGICFM]

SAL