20 Most Recent Canon PowerShot A540 Digital Camera - Page 2 Questions & Answers

Take the battery out, that will turn the camera off.

You're using the wrong batteries. You need to purchase lithium batteries. They are quality batteries for high powered, battery operated electronics. Personally, I have a battery charger and use rechargable duracell batteries. (HR6/ DC1500/ NiMH/ 1,2V) Gives you approximately 16 hrs before having to recharge.

There are several possible causes for "memory card locked", "memory card error", or "no memory card". The most common is trying to use a 4GB or higher SDHC card with an older camera made before SDHC format came out. Other causes include problems with the tiny slide switch on the side of the card, or the electrical contact switch internal to the camera. The problem may also arise from simple formatting problems if the card has never been formatted in the camera (note that this will also erase the card). Troubleshooting tips for this problem may be found at this link.
You also mention recovering photos saved on the card. If you actually did take pictures with this card (assuming it's a 2GB or less standard SD card, as 4GB SDHC was not designed for your camera), you may be able to recover the photos using recovery software. See this other link.

Press cursor-up (marked with a lightning bolt) to cycle through the various flash modes. For fill flash, select the lightning bolt without the letter "A" to force the flash to fire. See page 8 of the Basic Camera User Guide http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/2/0900001192/01/PSA540_530CUGba-EN.pdf

On the A540, press cursor-up (marked with a lightning bolt) to cycle through the flash settings. Details are in the "Using the Flash" section of the Basic Manual (page 8 in my copy).If you need the manuals, you may download them from here.

Are you sure it's an SD card? Even though SDHC cards will also fit into the slot, they will not work in the A540. If the card is larger than 2GB then it will not work.

It's a lost cause. The A540 works with SD cards. While SDHC cards will fit into the slot, they are electronically incompatible and will not work in devices not designed for them. You need to stay with SD cards, 2GB and smaller.

Replace the date battery by following the instructions beginning on page 114 of this manual.

i suggest replacing a fresh battery will most likely solve your prob, overtime rechargeable battery can drain easily, try changing with a new battery and see if it does work well, there might be insufficient current, thats why it tends to drop of voltage easily upon using, 
there is a specified lifetime for rechargeable battery, depends on your usage and charging method, theymaybe fully charged but sometimes wont give you enough power to drive 
cheers

I recommend getting a USB card reader for your memory card.

You should make sure that the camera is on for the transfer. If that doesn't work, try another USB input.

Press the FUNC/SET button. Use up/down to select Drive Mode (the rectangle, third item from the top). Use left/right to select the desired delay and press FUNC/SET. Start the self-timer by pressing the shutter release button as usual.

The A540 works with SD cards. Your 4GB card is actually an SDHC card. While it fits into the slot, it is electronically incompatible and will not work in this camera. You need to use SD cards, 2GB and smaller.

Follow the instructions in the "Changing Recording Pixels and Compression" section of the advanced guide (page 31 in my copy). If you need the manuals, you may download them from here.

You don't need any software.The best way to download pictures from your camera to your computer involves removing the memory card from the camera and plugging it into a card reader (either built-in to the computer or connected via USB or FireWire). This is likely to be faster than connecting the camera to the computer, and won't run down your camera's batteries.Once the card is plugged in, it will appear to your computer as a removable drive. You can use the operating system's drag&drop facility to copy pictures from the card to the computer's hard drive, the same way you copy any other files. Or, despite what I said first, you can use any photo cataloging program such as Picasa.

The date and time (and a lot more) are stored with every picture in its EXIF metadata. Any photo viewing/editing program should be able to display this data. To print this data, please consult the documentation for whatever program you're using to print your pictures. Depending on the program and printer you may print the date on the image, in the margins, or on the back.

The date and time (and a lot more) are stored with every picture in its EXIF metadata. Any photo viewing/editing program should be able to display this data. To print this data, please consult the documentation for whatever program you're using to print your pictures. Depending on the program and printer you may print the date on the image, in the margins, or on the back.