Put compact flash card in and camera went dead.

Sometimes I have difficulty snapping a card in it's place. It feels like my fingernails aren't long enough. Try using something to be sure you are pressing it far enough in.

Step 1 Try to use a different CF card
Step 2. Remove the card and visually check the Compact Flash compartment on the camera.Use a flashlight and check the inside contacts (2 rows of thin golden pins). All the pins should be aligned & straight, and the Compact Flash compartment should be clean with no dirt or foreign objects inside.If you nottice some junk (stuff) in there you can try to remove it ( pull out the battery first) blowing some air (not canned air, only manual blower !) or pickup all the junk from inside with a toothpick or plastic tweezers.If you are NOT comfortable doing this, or have no experience in dealing with the very sensitive electronic parts, DO NOT TOUCH anything, just visually chect the inside and DO NOT try to remove the dirt (junk, stuff) mechanically, use just air.Use common sense and do it on your own risk ! You can damage your camera very easy ! If the pins are bended/broken/missing you have to send the camera out for service.
Step 3.Reset the system removing BOTH batteries !.You have to remove the small 3 volt memory backup cell to. It is a small round button cell battery located inside the
battery compartment.Leave the camera for 20-30 minutes with no battery, you can press the shutter button for few seconds to be sure all the power was consumed from the capacitors.Put back the battery , restart and see if it works.
If the error still occurs after following the steps above, your camera may need repair. Contact Canon’s technical support for further assistance.Due the fact is a 5 years+ camera you have to put in balance if is a good deal to send it out for repairs or to replace it.Good Luck.Let me know if worked.

Instead of connecting via the camera, just use a USB card reader and put the CF card in that.

Were you able to print the pictures from the card? Don't be mad.. have to ask: did you put the card in right? Those little contacts need to make contact. Look into the card slot with a flashlight and see if any of the little contact fingers got bent in the process. That would cause the problem... and require sending the camera back for a card socket. Also there are different cards... you're using the right kind right? (just had to ask THAT one too.)

Lastly, you didn't take the cark out while the camera was writing as picture to it? Let me know. I hopw some of this helps to help you solve your problem.

The P-channel MOSFET switching the CF power is dead. It is on the little board directly above the battery compartment. SOT23 package, the marking is 338 or something like that. Replace it and it will work.

Here are some simple things to try first for a camera that won't power on. Recommend trying the first step listed for the A520:
http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/simple-fix-for-dead-cameras-that-wont.html

Dynamite,
have you tried to reformat the CF card?  If you deleted the image through your computer and not with the camera, the computer may have removed more than what was needed...

SteveK

As it was a write error, it could be that your card is corrupted. What you could do is to backup all of the images from the card to your computer, then re-format the card in the camera, so at least all your images are safe. Then, if the problem occurs again, contact Fuji.

I had the same symptoms. I took it to an authorized Canon repair shop. For $150, they resoldered connections on my 'power supply board'.  No idea why the solder gave out. It's working great now.

Nikons and Fujis keep the CF slot powered, and "poll" it every now and then to see if a card has been removed or inserted. So yes, a camera may drain batteries much faster with a CF card than it does with an XD. But if it really does do this, then someone at Fuji deserves to be on the street, looking for a new job. Polling a card every few seconds does not have to be a traumatic experience to the camera. A Nikon can sleep for months, and not show appreciable battery drain. After what I've seen in the horribly slow CF write times of the S3, and the large artificial difference in write times between CF and xD on that camera, I'd say someone (or several "someones") at Fuji is doing everything in their power to make CF look bad and steer people into xD.