My sonycybershot dscw 170 images are not able to read in windows xp system. But th memory card shows the used memry. but notthe actual file. Even i have copied the memry card to the hard disk no use. kindly help

My card's properties shows "Generic Flat" probably a linux file system. A windows OS will show the card when inserted in the device but there is no option to format. When inserted in a card reader windows will not recognize it. Resign yourself to using the card in the phone or find a linux computer. Try booting your windows machine from DVD-Rom with Knoppix, a live linux file system. If the card is recognized format to a FAT 32 or NTFS file system..

With Windows XP, Vista & windows 7, no additional drivers are required for memory card readers or USB drives. If you are having a specific problem with the memory card then try it in another card reader.

Format the memory card.
Formatting, deletes all images from a memory card, even the ones that may have been protected. It recreates the file system including new directories and folders where images are saved on the card

The problem is not with the images. The problem is with the flash drive/ memory card itself. Most of the flash drives/ memory card tend to corrupt the music and the images.

You may want to format the drive and then try using the memory card.

Jerry, thank you for that clarification!
I am afraid I don't know what software you got bundled with your camera, but I do got a tip for you!
I would recommend that you get a cheap USB 2.0 card reader, then remove the memory card from the camera and insert it into the card reader. Then you can move your pictures to the camera without using canons software, but instead by using Explorer. A cheap USB 2.0 card reader shouldn't be more than around $20-$30.
When the memory card is read with a memory card reader, it will appear as a removable device in Explorer, that you can copy images (and even other files) to and from, just like copying files between any other folders. An added bonus is that the card reader is several times faster than the camera on transferring pictuers to and from the computer.
I hope this helps!
Regards,
/Chris

Hey all actual solution...sort of will get you your files well it worked for me.

i have winrar on my windows 7 pc but should work for anything with winrar.

1. open my computer
2. right click memory stick pro duo
3. click "add to archive"
4. in the winrar window under format on the left hand side of the window half way down select "zip" format
5. click "ok"
6. once your files have archived the DCIM folder and MISC folder will be in the archived file and should be accessible from there
7. NOTE: you cannot extract files after the archive has been created DCIM folder and MISC folder will still be invisible even if you extract them from the archive.
8. Files can still be drag and dropped out of the DCIM folder onto desktop or chosen destination from the archived file.

Hope this has been helpful to all reading this and everyone who posted the problem :D

Install a USB card reader and use that

Yes you can.
You can remove the memory card from the phone, purchase a memory card reader that plugs to your USB on you pc. Put your memory card on th reader, then your memory card will show as an additional drive on my computer then you can tranfer files there on.

Nikon complies with the industry standard DCF (Design Rule for Camera File Systems) format which governs the file structure of images on memory cards as well as file naming and other image properties. Due to the constraints of this file system, images that have been edited may not be able to be read by the camera when copied back to the card. The card can, however, be used to move images (or other files) just like any other removable disk. To do this connect the camera to the computer using the "MSC" USB mode (where supported) or use a third-party USB memory card reader. The camera's card will then appear like any other "Removable Device" and files can be copied to it. Nikon cannot offer additional assistance in transferring images back to the card or viewing edited images on the camera.

Nikon complies with the industry standard DCF (Design Rule for Camera File Systems) format which governs the file structure of images on memory cards as well as file naming and other image properties. Due to the constraints of this file system, images that have been edited may not be able to be read by the camera when copied back to the card. The card can, however, be used to move images (or other files) just like any other removable disk. To do this connect the camera to the computer using the "MSC" USB mode (where supported) or use a third-party USB memory card reader. The camera's card will then appear like any other "Removable Device" and files can be copied to it. Nikon cannot offer additional assistance in transferring images back to the card or viewing edited images on the camera.