# Nikon D90 memory card slot issue...



## Aimee Lynn

I've had my D90 for about 2 years now and this is the first problem I have encountered with it.
Whenever I try and put a memory card into the slot in the camera, it will not click/lock into place. Any way to "quick fix" this or do I need to go to a camera shop to have it fixed?
Not good considering I was going to do a shoot later this evening for halloween! Always something right.....? lol
Thank you in advanced for any advise.

Aimee
Aimee's Photography - Home


----------



## SLRJoe

If you close the cover of the memory card slot, will that hold the card in place?
Somebody I know had the same problem with a D80, they said that the hinged cover kept the card in place anyway.....


----------



## Aimee Lynn

yeah...tried that but the camera is not reading the card...says no memory card detected. thanks for the reply though... :thumbup:


----------



## orb9220

Sounds like a broken,mis-aligned or damaged inside the card slot at the connector. 
You could aim a flashlight down the slot and see if there is anything obvious as a problem. Also you have tried another card haven't you?
.


----------



## Aimee Lynn

Yeah I've looked with a flashlight and cant see anything down there, also tried several other cards. For the time being, I used a small piece of folded paper towel and put it on top of the card to hold the memory card down in place until I can get to a repair shop.
Thank you guys for the help...the input is appreciated.


----------



## KmH

Yes, your memory card slot is damaged and needs to be repaired.

Continuing to use the camera could increase the repair cost and/or result in you making a bunch of images that don't get recorded properly on the card.



> I was going to do a shoot later this evening for halloween! Always something right.....?


 
Yep! - like not having a back up camera.


----------



## BobN54

Aimee Lynn said:


> I've had my D90 for about 2 years now and this is the first problem I have encountered with it.
> Whenever I try and put a memory card into the slot in the camera, it will not click/lock into place.
> Aimee
> Aimee's Photography - Home



We had a very similar broken card slot problem on our D90. The card would not click into place, and no spring pushback was felt when inserting the card. The camera would not recognize it. Pardon me for resurrecting an old thread, but I want to share how I went about fixing it.

The latch mechanism is on the side of the slot that is toward the top of the camera.  It can get stuck in latched position, which is why we felt no spring push-back action when inserting or removing the card. A small bright flashlight will help you see inside the card slot. Make sure the camera battery is removed. Run the non-cutting end of a small, e.g. 1/16", drill bit, or similar tool, down the side of the card slot that has the latch. Keep the bit touching the side of the slot as you slide it along. As you get to the bottom, you will be able to push on the latch and feel a small spring push back. Push just a little more and the latch should release. Now the fix is halfway done.

With the latch released, you will feel the spring push back as you insert the card. But the card will refuse to latch in place. I thought this could be because a small piece of debris was either fouling the mechanism or preventing the card from going in quite far enough to catch the latch. Holding the camera with the slot opening on the bottom, I used a skinny wand on my air compressor hose to shoot a few very quick blasts of compressed air down the slot at various angles. Not too much pressure; maybe 40 psi. This apparently dislodged whatever was stuck in there, and the latch began working. The camera recognized the card. Success! :thumbup:  If you do not have access to compressed air, a canned air duster may be worth a try. But it may or may not be strong enough.

If it still won't work, I think sending it to Precision Camera for a flat rate repair is the best bet.  Good Luck!!


----------



## Dolish

I read this thread after I experienced the same issue with the memory card slot. Found a small piece of plastic preventing the card from fully seating in the slot. Removed the debris and now it works fine. Thanks for the post.


----------



## pemaleso

I have a D90 with almost 20.000 shots, and have no problem. Can you tell me how old is your D90? Or how many shots?

Sent from my iPhone using PhotoForum


----------



## Pyxi

Viola!  Fixed. :hug::Thank you Dolish.

I removed the 8GB Sandisk Ultra II SD card from my Nikon D90 DSLR camera after an afternoons outdoor shooting, downloaded the photos to my PC and put the SD card back in the camera, which then displayed Err and e errors and the card wouldn't go all the way down in the SD slot of the camera, popped right up if pushed down. My first instinct was to freak out internally.  

After a full day of silently agonising about which repair centre to take my D90 to, I noticed that the beveled corner of the SD card looked like it was crumbling or splintering apart like hard old plastic does when exposed to the sun. And a tiny sliver of plastic looked like it was missing off that edge (planned obsolescence?).

Back at the cameras' SD slot, I shone a really bright light into the SD slot and sure enough, behind the gold springs at the bottom of the card slot, was a tiny black sliver of plastic that moved slightly when I tipped the camera.  About 3mm long.  That tiny.

I removed the camera battery. Then I got a big long sewing needle, and with some very gentle manouvering, so as not to scratch anything inside the camera's SD slot, it fell out just when I was about to give up.

After I'd got the plastic sliver out, I trimmed the splintered edge of the SD card and put it back in, the camera gave a CHA error.  
I tested my other SD cards.  No camera errors and cards clipped in when pushed down.   

So I cracked open the offending card so I could see what was inside it, then threw it in the refuse bin.

Camera and blood pressure back to normal.


----------



## morganza

Aimee Lynn said:


> Yeah I've looked with a flashlight and cant see anything down there, also tried several other cards. For the time being, I used a small piece of folded paper towel and put it on top of the card to hold the memory card down in place until I can get to a repair shop.
> Thank you guys for the help...the input is appreciated.



I wouldn't suggest a paper towel for that..


----------



## sociable7

BobN54 said:


> Aimee Lynn said:
> 
> 
> 
> I've had my D90 for about 2 years now and this is the first problem I have encountered with it.
> Whenever I try and put a memory card into the slot in the camera, it will not click/lock into place.
> Aimee
> Aimee's Photography - Home
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We had a very similar broken card slot problem on our D90. The card would not click into place, and no spring pushback was felt when inserting the card. The camera would not recognize it. Pardon me for resurrecting an old thread, but I want to share how I went about fixing it.
> 
> The latch mechanism is on the side of the slot that is toward the top of the camera.  It can get stuck in latched position, which is why we felt no spring push-back action when inserting or removing the card. A small bright flashlight will help you see inside the card slot. Make sure the camera battery is removed. Run the non-cutting end of a small, e.g. 1/16", drill bit, or similar tool, down the side of the card slot that has the latch. Keep the bit touching the side of the slot as you slide it along. As you get to the bottom, you will be able to push on the latch and feel a small spring push back. Push just a little more and the latch should release. Now the fix is halfway done.
> 
> With the latch released, you will feel the spring push back as you insert the card. But the card will refuse to latch in place. I thought this could be because a small piece of debris was either fouling the mechanism or preventing the card from going in quite far enough to catch the latch. Holding the camera with the slot opening on the bottom, I used a skinny wand on my air compressor hose to shoot a few very quick blasts of compressed air down the slot at various angles. Not too much pressure; maybe 40 psi. This apparently dislodged whatever was stuck in there, and the latch began working. The camera recognized the card. Success! :thumbup:  If you do not have access to compressed air, a canned air duster may be worth a try. But it may or may not be strong enough.
> 
> If it still won't work, I think sending it to Precision Camera for a flat rate repair is the best bet.  Good Luck!!
Click to expand...



thanks alot for this reply

I lent my sis my DSLR, she came back from London .. first i asked for was my baby D3200 then i realised theres no memory card, when i tried to use it. It wouldnt work, it just wouldnt slot in. I knew she either put it in the wrong way or pushed to hard. So i was abou tto sort her out. billed her £100 and the lot, and the obvious lowlife profanity. but as i cooled down, i thought id do a quick google search before heading over to Jessops. I tried what you said, and turns out the push back was slightly jammed. kinda rem inds me of how they get jammed in pens too, same concept. Ive probably saved £100 from a cam repair shop. So i owe you abig thank you. I registered just to reply to you


----------



## PriyaKumar

BobN54 said:


> Aimee Lynn said:
> 
> 
> 
> I've had my D90 for about 2 years now and this is the first problem I have encountered with it.
> Whenever I try and put a memory card into the slot in the camera, it will not click/lock into place.
> Aimee
> Aimee's Photography - Home
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We had a very similar broken card slot problem on our D90. The card would not click into place, and no spring pushback was felt when inserting the card. The camera would not recognize it. Pardon me for resurrecting an old thread, but I want to share how I went about fixing it.
> 
> The latch mechanism is on the side of the slot that is toward the top of the camera.  It can get stuck in latched position, which is why we felt no spring push-back action when inserting or removing the card. A small bright flashlight will help you see inside the card slot. Make sure the camera battery is removed. Run the non-cutting end of a small, e.g. 1/16", drill bit, or similar tool, down the side of the card slot that has the latch. Keep the bit touching the side of the slot as you slide it along. As you get to the bottom, you will be able to push on the latch and feel a small spring push back. Push just a little more and the latch should release. Now the fix is halfway done.
> 
> With the latch released, you will feel the spring push back as you insert the card. But the card will refuse to latch in place. I thought this could be because a small piece of debris was either fouling the mechanism or preventing the card from going in quite far enough to catch the latch. Holding the camera with the slot opening on the bottom, I used a skinny wand on my air compressor hose to shoot a few very quick blasts of compressed air down the slot at various angles. Not too much pressure; maybe 40 psi. This apparently dislodged whatever was stuck in there, and the latch began working. The camera recognized the card. Success! :thumbup:  If you do not have access to compressed air, a canned air duster may be worth a try. But it may or may not be strong enough.
> 
> If it still won't work, I think sending it to Precision Camera for a flat rate repair is the best bet.  Good Luck!!
Click to expand...


I encountered the exact problem two weeks ago and didn't know what to do. I googled today and found your suggestion, BobN54. Thank you ever so much for your tip. I did exactly what you suggested, and the problem cleared. What a lovely world we live in with good folks like you!!!.... ever ready to help others!


----------

