My Nikon s8100 suddenly stopped working. It will turn on, but the menu buttons won't respond. No error messages. No damage. No unusual sounds. The menu button will work until I hit the shutter button. Then, it doesn't record a picture, and everything freezes up. Any ideas??

Do you get the 'push shutter button again' or 'turn off and on again ' message? If so the motor in the SQ unit that charges the shutter and moves the mirror up and down has failed. A very very common problem. The part is on constant back order at Nikon, and good luck getting it anyway as Nikon is going to stop selling parts to anyone in just a few weeks.

Lens errors are fairly common. Usually it's sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the camera's been dropped with the lens extended. Or the camera has been powered on, but the lens had been blocked preventing its extension. Or the battery ran down with the lens extended ...
Here are some troubleshooting steps that you can try that may (or may not) correct it. They only seem to work for less than 40% of the lens errors, but if the camera is out of warranty (or repair cost approaches that of the camera), they're worth that try. Some of the later steps do involve some risk to the camera, so carefully weigh your options before deciding to conduct them.

Put the whole error message code into Google and you may find a forum that will help.

It means it has a bad battery since it recognizes power using a different power source. Replace the battery and it should work fine.

Hi,

Checkout this tip about digital camera error messages


Lens Errorfix for Digital Camera

heatman101

The symptoms indicate your main battery is failing. Either is not charged or is failing to take a charge.

Sounds pretty straight forward. The impact most likely damaged the camera. Take it in to a service center to be checked out.

Had issue with lens stuck and not retracting on nikon s8100. first removed battery. then manually (gently) rotated lens counterclockwise until lens seated in fully retracted position. inserted battery, turned camera on and camera operational again. I suspect that root cause of lens jamming was turning off camera while simultaneously moving zoom lever

Press the MENU button. Select Setup (the wrench icon). Select "Date Imprint".

Your camera probably doesn't have a problem. Mount a lens on it and turn the aperture to the smallest opening = F/22 or F/32 then try it.