I am getting an error cf..tried to format card and get error 99

Your CF pins in the camera are most likely bent/broken. This is a very common problem. Most repair shops will charge $150-$200 to repair this.

Hope this helps.

Wes

Hello:

Here is what Canon said :

To isolate the cause of the issue, we suggest that you do the
following:

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Remove the lens, battery, and CF card.
3. Allow the camera to sit without power for approximately 20 minutes.
4. Insert a fully charged battery, and turn on the camera.

Does the "ERR 99" message appear? If it does, then the camera should
be serviced. If it does not, then please proceed to the next set of
steps:

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Insert the CF card.
3. Turn on the camera.
4. Format the CF card in the camera.

Does the "ERR 99" message appear? If so, then the CF card is the most likely source of the issue. Try using a different card.

If the message does not appear, please complete the following steps:

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Clean the lens contacts by gently rubbing them with a pencil eraser
or soft cloth. Be careful that you do not let any debris fall into the
camera body.
3. Reattach your lens.
4. Turn on the camera.

If the "ERR 99" message only appears when one particular lens is
attached, then that lens should be examined by a service technician.

If you see the "ERR 99" with a different Canon lens attached, then the
camera should be serviced.

I hope this will help

please don't forget to rate !

ouch ...look inside the camera where the CF plugs in .. you may have a bent pin ... some CF cards have a nice lead in taper so it centers the pins as you plug it in .. but some have hardly any taper (no idea why they make some this way) .. if the pin is off just a little with such cards then it bends the pin ... you might see a mark on the CF connector where the pin hit ... also if the card is forced in backwards or out of position you can bend pins ... i have one really nice camera that has 12 missing or bent pins .. someone tried to plug in an adapter that was poorly made (over and over) backwards and forwards .. that camera is spare parts now ..

error 99 can most times be remedied by taking a standard pencil eraser and carefully cleaning the gold contacts at the back of the lens and the gold maching contacts in the lens opening of the camera... BE CAREFUL not to let eraser crumbs into your camera... keep it clean... reset the battery and give it a whirl.... did it solve the 99 issue?
for the CF it refers to the cf card... here's what I've found on this:
Canon reports that this error code may appear on your digital camera’s LCD (liquid-crystal display) when there is an error reading from or writing to the inserted CF (CompactFlash) card. This error code occurs most often after a user has tried to eject a CF card before the camera has finished writing data to the card.Solution:
Canon suggests that you first try to use a different CF card. If you do not see the error message when you use the new CF card, the first card is probably damaged.

Before you take the next step, drag the files from the CF card to a location on your hard drive to back up the files. Next, you can use Windows’ ScanDisk utility to check the CF card for errors. If you use a Mac, you can use Disk Utility (in Applications\Utilities\) in OS X.

If ScanDisk or Disk Utility fails to resolve the CF card problem, insert the CF card in your camera again. Then format the CF card. On most Canon cameras, you can do this by pressing the Menu button, selecting the Format tab, highlighting Format, selecting Format, and choosing Yes. Make sure you have backed up the data on the card before you do this. Formatting the card will delete the images from the card. After you format the card in your camera, use ScanDisk or Disk Utility to check the CF card again. If you still encounter errors while using ScanDisk or Disk Utility, you should discard the CF card because it is damaged.

If the error still occurs after following the steps above, your camera may need repair. Contact Canon’s technical support for further assistance.

hope this solves your issues....
let me know
K

Nope, this is not card anymore.

As you know CF is card failure, sometimes this cause to start error 99 , that is lens error , even if there is no problem with the lens.

This happens because the built in software in the camera can get messed up after an error CF.

You fix the problem calling Canon, they will guide through upgrading the firmware in your camera.

First ensure that you are using the camera menu and command to format the new card, and that new cards are properly inserted into the machine.

Call Canon support to get a firmware upgrade.

Not all CF cards are created equally, so yes, it could be your batch of cards. To determine if the error is CF related, and not anything else, try the following steps which are used to diagnose err 99's

To isolate the cause of the issue, do the following: -

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Remove the lens, battery, and CF card.
3. Allow the camera to sit without power for approximately 20 minutes.
4. Insert only a fully charged battery, and turn on the camera.
5. Depress the shutter button as you would to take a picture.


Does the “ERR 99′ message appear? If so, the camera may be faulty and requires a service. If it does not, then: -

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Insert the CF card.
3. Turn on the camera.
4. Format the CF card in the camera.
5. Depress the shutter button as you would to take a picture.


Does the “ERR 99′ message appear? If so, then the CF card is faulty. Try a different card. If the message does not appear: -

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Clean the gold contacts on the lens by GENTLY rubbing them with a pencil eraser or soft cloth. Keeping the camera face pointing down, also clean the gold contacts on the camera, being careful that you do not let any debris fall into the camera body.
3. Reattach your lens.
4. Turn on the camera.
5. Depress the shutter button as you would to take a picture.
If the “ERR 99′ message only appears when one particular lens is attached, then that lens should be examined by a service technician.
If you see the “ERR 99′ with a different Canon lens attached, then the camera is faulty and should be serviced.

Does the camera do this with any CF card? If you've tried another CF card with the same problem, check in the slot that the CF card fits into with a strong light to make sure no pins are bent and touching each other.

Also, was the card formatted with a Windows 2000 or Windows XP system? If you format with Windows, make sure you specify FAT32 as the file system (rather than NTFS).

Err 99 is a 'catch-all' error message that is non-specific. It indicates that the camera detects an error within its operating system, but cannot determine the specific reason.

In summary, try another card. If you get the same error, and no pins are bent, you probably need to have the camera serviced.

Error 99 is a general fatal error.
which includes the problems above mentioned by Q4SteveB but also many others.

It can be caused by a dicky shutter, problems with the CF card interface.

If cleaning and trying a different lens has not worked. Not definitive but as a rule of thumb...
If it letting you take one picture then giving error 99.. and the picture is saved to the card (but may just be black) this is most likely the shutter needs replacing..

If it takes a picture and gives error 99 but there is no picture on the card or the picture is 0KB its a CF interface problem.

If you get an error 99 when you plug in the USB its a USB interface error, you can try a different cable but unfortunately in most cases if another lens or cable wont work it needs repair

Check the volume and speed of memcard, maybe it is not compatible. error 99 is an indication that a lens or shutter curtain is not working, so i cant see any connection with the memcard problem. Check your camera memcard compatibility.

Have you tried formatting these cards in your camera? You will find the setting in the menu as per page 26 of the manual. Also check that the correct card type is set for xD or CF as appropriate. You can download the manual from the link below: http://www.olympusamerica.com/files/EVOLT%20E-500%20Advanced%20Manual.pdf Please update the question & let us know if the information given was useful to you - Good Luck!