Nikon Capture NXD

[David H. Hartman]

A thought: Did you install from the CNX-D installer only or the combined ViewNXi & CNX-D installer?

On my Win7 computer I know I used the separate install programs. I normally download two copies, one as a backup. I was using Capture NX-D regularly before I used View NX-i. As with CNX-D, VNX-i was buggy at first, really bad for me. I was still using ViewNX2 when I had problems with the thumbnails being out of sync with the folder I was viewing so I might easily delete a file I needed to keep. At that point knowing the VNX2 was not supported I decided to give VNX-i another try. VNX-i is OK now and I'm getting used to it. It has annoyances but I want the EXIF information displayed so I can easily see the things that are important to me.

Anyway I installed CNX-D months earlier than VNX-i and I upgraded using the separate install programs also.

[Frank Fremerey]

Dave is right. NX-D was buggy and unstable in the beginning, at times I could not even install it on my Notebook. The current version though is very good.

As with all Nikon Software do regularly delete the thumbnails in
 users
 You
 app data
 Local
 Nikon

This is a hidden folder.

At times the db and cache seem to be larger than NX-i can bear. It will then not show the thumbs correctly

[Øivind Tøien]

Finally after quite a few hours work last night, nearly thrashing my computer when trying to uninstall, clean up, and reinstall the software and several system restores (uninstall hung, and the computer would not shut down without brute force...), I finally got it working. I agree that the impression before all this happened was that it is running more smoothly now, although I was not able to convert anything.

The problems I had with the uninstall was at least not entirely to blame on the software as there was at least one connected external drive (or the docking station at use) that had become unresponsive (it was not used for editing though), and caused the whole system to act up. I have yet to reconnect those drives...

The experience confirms that my decision  is wise to not upgrade to a camera body that is unsupported by CNX2 before I have found an editing solution that works for me. I do not wish to start out my relation to a new body with a negative experience...

Edit: Yes there was a connected WD 2TB drive that had gone bad (the first one for me). As there are no clicking sounds I suspect the controller on the drive is malfunctioning. It has sometimes disconnected spontaneously while in operation... No images or anything else really important on the drive though (as it was one retired from imaging service) and I am currently copying from the backup to a similar vacant drive. It appears that the drive was purchased in November 2013, so may be it was due to break... Interestingly WD listed the warranty as expired < 2 years after the purchase. There was a power out shortly after I removed the PC from the docking station yesterday that could have contributed with a power surge. May be I need to start unplugging power to the docking station when I leave for work with my laptop...

[Frank Fremerey]

Øivind.

My uncle once disconnected all of his electronics when a thunderstorm hit and thereby nearly saved them. But:

The house network was severely hit and reconnecting the first device meant imminent death of it.

Soooooo. I DO always​ cut power for all machinery not currently in use but I use a codom too: surge protector power strips that can be costly at times.

They once saved me a 4000€ job. The electrician on the site of the event had meddled with the phases and a 50€ power strip went up in smoke, but none of the devices.

I put the power strip on top of the bill and it was accepted.

They probably deducted it from the electrician's bill...

[Frank Fremerey]

PS. Backup power strips are a good idea for mission critical applications

PPS: are you sure it is the drive? It might be the encasement too...

[CS]

PS. Backup power strips are a good idea for mission critical applications

PPS: are you sure it is the drive? It might be the encasement too...

Indeed, another "can of worms" to deal with, enclosures are often the source of trouble. I always buy separates, that is I buy the enclosures then I buy the drives, and if the enclosure doesn't allow hot swapping of those drives, then it's no sale.

The most reliable enclosures have a built in power supply, and the least reliable use external "wall warts" or "power bricks" for their power supply. Just turning off and on those units that use external power supplies can result in a power supply failure, rendering the enclosure inoperable. Best case for longe life is to leave the power switch in the on position.

Enclosures with a built in power supply are not as easy to find, and usually they are more expensive than units that use external power supplies.

Many people buy the combination enclosure with drive installed, and those are not designed to allow user access that permits swapping out the drives at will. Those setups usually come with installed software for backups, and I do not want that software, I have my own, so just give me a bare drive, thank you very much.

So, if one of my drives, or one of my enclosures goes south, I only need to replace one of them, not both, and I don't have any issues with that unneeded built in software. YMMV

[Hugh_3170]

Øivind, I have successfully had a Canadian company rebuild the controller board for a disk drive that went south. 

It involved sending the faulty controller board to them and they cloned the ROMs that defined the exact good and back tracks & sectors for my drive from the old board and burnt the ROMS on the new replacement board to match.  I can send you the details if you are interested.  Cost about $US50 plus postage from Australia to Canada.

.......................................................................................

Edit: Yes there was a connected WD 2TB drive that had gone bad (the first one for me). As there are no clicking sounds I suspect the controller on the drive is malfunctioning. .....................

[Øivind Tøien]

Thanks for lots of suggestions all of you. There was no thunderstorm when this happened, just a bright sunny day. This is just one of the WD Mypassport portable 2TB drives. One thing I do not like about those drives is that they have the USB controller integrated with the controller board of the drive itself. So your drive might even be gone if the connector brakes unless you have some really clever soldering skills, as the drive cannot just be moved to a drive enclosure. If I find a similar drive that makes clicking sounds (I have one in mind) I might have a go at combining them into one usable one. (There is also the freezer trick to try). These drives do not cost an arm and a leg, and as long as no data are lost it might not be worth spending a lot of time on fixing it. I am aware that Toshiba and Seagate competes in this segment (nowadays I buy the 4 TB versions, last one the WD Mypassport Ultra metal version), but I do not know if they are any more reliable. (Too bad WD essentially killed the Travelstars by freezing the development when they bought HGST.)  I follow the strategy that I keep upgrading to the bigger sizes of portable drives for my image drives; thereby I keep copying to newer drives, of course with plenty of duplication,  and the old drives take on less critical tasks.

Back to CNX-D, which now works on my computer. Have  anyone made any new discoveries with the new version with respect to features?