What causes 'Unexpected end-of-file' error?

I received a new D750 for Xmas.   I have taken 22 shots with it so far.  I removed the card and inserted into the internal card reader on my iMac and attempted to load those images into LR 5.7. I received the "unexpected end of file" error on 7 of those images.  Got the same results when loading the image on PSE 13.    I have loaded images from a D300s and a D800 and have never gotten this error.  based on research, looks like this is a new situation with the D750 but I still need to do more experiments to confirm this.

Have just encountered this problem over the last few weeks.

I was unable to import into LR 5 or to convert to DNG with Adobe converter.

I have D800Es x3 and ceased using the CF cards hoping this may be the answer but still occurred affecting the first 7 images on card.

I have downloaded direct from cards to iMac using card slot - no external card reader

After reading the posts I tried some experiments.

It appeared impossible to open these images with Photoshop from desktop or from within Bridge. or to import into LR 5

The images opened in Capture One without a problem.

I made a few adjustments in C1 and saved as NEF - this file would not open in PS

Saved as tiff and the tiff file opened in PS CC no problem.

Perhaps someone from Adobe will read this & do something about it.

I imagine I am like many photographers who were dismayed by Adobe's new policies. I have been using LR 5 and fairly happily, but if I have to go through this rigmarole every time the fault occurs then my choice is simple as I can still use PS 6 on the few occasions C1 does not suffice.

I have most likely solved my problem with the corrupted RAW-files. The most logical explanation in my case is, that in conjunction with an upgrade to Moutain Lion, I also installed an 8 Gb RAM upgrade. This was a well known and recognized brand, sold by a widely trusted vendor. I was advised in another forum to check the RAM with the shareware REMBER, wich instantly diagnosed the RAM as defective.

So looking back, the math seems to be quite simple. The defective RAM have messed up the file handling, both when reading RAW files from flash cards, and when archiving to external hard drives. I haven't encountered problems since I replaced the RAM with new ones, that passed the REMBER test.

Hi all

I'm having the same problem with my Nikon D700 NEF-files and Lightroom 4. This is definately a Lightroom issue, and the reason I say this, is based on the following observation:

I have made a Ligthroom-installation on both my stationary iMac and my MacBook Pro 15". Only difference is that I recently upgraded my MBP OS from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion. A week ago, I transfered hundreds of NEF-files through a USB card reader to the iMac. All files showed perfectly in Lightroom on this machine. I subsequently copied the files from the iMac to  MBP via local network, imported to Lightroom and bingo – end-of-file errors. So this has nothing to do with the CF-cards.

The problem is relatively new to me. I've had a very rugged and stable setup for years, but somewhere along different upgrades, things have turned unstable. I can't help thinking it might be connected to the recent Moutain Lion upgrade. But as I read things posted here, even brand new hardware + new installations are giving headaches.

I think it would be the least Adobe could do, to point out some solutions and address this serious issue, that damages vital image files, and leaves customers in despare.

PLEASE, Adobe  –  speak to us!

This is the first time I have received this problem. Not only do I get end-of-file error, most pictures after it get distorted lines. I shoot with a Canon and a UDMA 7 high grade card. I have checked all my memory on the PC, no problems there. I have checked my disk drive and all sectors were good (I have a 2 TB hard drive so this took all night). I have no hard ware problems as some have said. I can open up all my Raw files in other software, just not Lightroom 5. I have even copied all the Raw files to another directory and imported them into lightroom, and I have the same problem. I then started with a new catalog and the problem got worse. I'm lost on how to fix this.

I've had this happen for the first time just now. I've imported a huge number of images taken yesterday at a sumo tournament, using a

brand new memory card. I've gone through flagged the ones I want in the Library module, then as I'm going through them in the Develop module, I'm using a preset I made (a white balance adjustment) and one of the flagged files gave me that message. Since others believe they've traced the source of the error to their memory sticks... I'm not sure if the error occurred because of the new memory card, or from the external hard drive I'm using. I'll admit, the external hard drive is about 4 years old, it's summer, it doesnt have any ventilation or cooling of its own, but its a small 20Gb pocket drive. Now I'm getting worried.

Edit: just adding, I'm using LR v2.7

While the corruption in your .NEF file could come from any one of a number of sources, here is a way to recover at least some of the information if you own Adobe Acrobat.  Your .NEF file should contain a smaller JPEG file created by your Nikon camera when the picture was taken.  Even if the .NEF file is corrupt, the JPEG may well be intact, and you can tell that's the case if a preview is visible in Lightroom or Bridge. 

If you try to print it from Bridge or Lightroom, though, you will get an error.  You can get around this by loading up a CODEC that will let you preview the files in Windows Photo Gallery.  Nikon has one available for download to use with Vista x32 at http://www.nikonimglib.com/nefcodec/index.html.en, but it doesn't support Vista x64, so if you're running that (as I am) you'll need a second party CODEC such as the one available from http://www.ardfry.com/Products.htm with a 15-day trial download available.  They also have a DNG CODEC which I have not tried.

With that CODEC installed and your system rebooted, preview the damaged NEF file in Windows Photo Gallery.  Choose the "Print" option and select the "Adobe PDF" printer.  Choose the "Postscript Custom Paper Size" option, and set the dpi resolution to the highest available (4000).

Go to the "Options" link on the bottom right of the window and uncheck the "Sharpen For Printing" box, as you can do this yourself with later processing.  Then go to the "Printer Properties" link to see the Adobe PDF settings.

Go to the Adobe PDF Settings tab and choose Default Settings: High Quality Print, which will set the resolution to 2400 dpi. 

You want to have Acrobat interfere as little as possible with the output, so select "Edit" from the Default Settings tab, which will bring up the "High Quality Print - Adobe PDF Settings" dialog.  Here, turn off the "Optimize for fast web view" check box, then go to the "Images" folder and set the "Downsample" setting to Off and the pixels per inch to 2400.  Also, set "Compression" to Off.

If you're going to do this in the future, you can also "Save As ..." your settings for future use with a name like "Fix Bad NEF Files."

Print the file to a designated folder.  It won't be quite as good as the NEF file would have been, but at least you haven't lost the shot.

I run LR 2.2 on Windows XP SP2 and on a MacbookPro with OS X, version 10.5.8.

Try upgrading to Lr2.5

I'd try deleting the Previews folder on the PC, with LR closed, then choosing the recent folders and force-build new Previews to see if that cures it.