SONY DSC F707/F717 C13:01 MEMORY STICK ERROR

What's up?

It appears that one defect or another causes this message on a variety of Sony's digital cameras. Sometimes this can be solved by formatting the memory stick, or whatever memory device happens to malfunction, with FAT16 file system, or formatting it with the camera. Sometimes this problem can be dealt with by rapidly inserting and removing the memory or blowing a jet of air into the memory stick bay. Whatever the case might be, error appears, goes away, then appears again, etc. First time it happened to me, I thoroughly shook the camera -- the error went away and the camera functioned normally... until it broke again. From that point on, I the error occurred every time I used the camera. I concluded that such erratic behavior can only be explained by a loose contact or an internally degrading circuitry (while I had certainly hoped it would be the former).

Below are step by step instructions and images describing how I fixed my SONY F707. Malfunction, in my case, was caused by a ribbon wire connecting the memory stick bay to the main circuit board: it came loose at the bay. F717 appears to exhibit the same defect.

How to fix it?

One basically has to take the camera apart but, do not be afraid because:

Your camera is already broken, you have very little to loose;
Your camera is off warranty and SONY will charge you a hefty fee for a repair -- fee better put toward a new camera;
The optics compartment is separate from the offending circuitry, by following the procedure below you will not cause more dead pixels on the CCD or scratches and dust on the lenses (unless you really want to).

Step 1

Obtain a 1.4mm flat or 00 phillips screwdriver; others may work as well but, these are the cheapest I found. Too large or too small and you can damage the screws to the point where no screwdriver would be able to remove them. I picked up a set at Lowe's for ~ $5. Static electricity? Just don't do this on a wool blanket while rubbing your bare feet on the carpet. You should be fine otherwise.

Step 2

Remove the battery;
Remove the memory stick;
Remove the strap;
Remove anything else that may be dangling.

Step 3

Remove the following four (4) screws: Gently pull the dorsal cover keeping in mind that you're pulling on 2 LCD screens and fragile ribbon wires. The camera should look like this: Flip the camera over and disconnect the power cable indicated by the red arrow by gently pulling on it in the direction of the green arrow. Gently remove the black (could be other colors) tape indicated by red X X X. Save it, you'll have to put it back. Pull ever so slightly, it is attached to ephemeral wires and can rip them. Continue pulling the dorsal plating until you get this:

Step 4

Now that the power cable is disconnected, entire dorsal cover is holding on by a thin ribbon cable, be extremely careful not to rip it. Move the cover to the right and remove the screw indicated in the picture below. Pull off the tape and clear insulation plastic marked by X X X. Exercise caution so as not to pull away any circuitry. Proceed to remove the screw in the next image. Second orange ribbon from the left is the offending wire that caused the error (for me). It connects to the memory stick bay, which we're about to unearth. In my case, it came loose at the bay.

Next, you must disconnect all three (3) ribbon wires in the picture above (2 orange, 1 blue). Need I remind you how delicate those are?
Flip the camera over and disconnect the white thing by pulling on it in the direction of the green arrow and holding on to the base of the white connector. This should be the result:

Step 5

Memory stick bay is now fully exposed but, in order to extract it (which is what I did), two more black screws have to be removed. I disconnected and reconnected the orange ribbon in the picture above; problem never recurred.

Step 6

Put the camera back together.