Why SO many random DCIM Folders? I want ONE!

This has caused me all kinds of distress...to the point of considering a Android. Apple doesn't explain this to anyone and it is severely complicated.

This stuff doesnt happen by accident....someone programmed this and not to make it easier for PC users who happen to like their iphones.

After after 15 or so years with itunes problems ( with little or no support ) and being slow and hearing about how easy it is with a Mac...i am starting to believe there are groups within Apple who think about how to intentionally make things harder for PC people in hopes that they will finally sumbit and come over to Apple. I think it is a marketing play.

But it backfires with this guy...it makes me want nothing to do with Apple. In our household we have a New Macbook pro - 2 ipads - 2 i phones - 2 itouches - 4 ipods...but we also have 2 video editing PC's and 4 PC laptops.

Because of this i am so mad i am considering going back to all PC and Android. I dont like these kinds of games...my time is important and this has to be intentional and has cost me much time and i notice how when i use itunes or transfer files from my iphone that i end up needing to restart and clean my computer as it slows to a snails pace. This has happened many times over many computers over many years.

Think about it...why else would Apple do this? I have not read any explanation as to how this makes it easier for anyone. And nothing to even let me know what the heck all those file folder names mean or how to sort them like i used to .....easily.

It makes me angry when i think of Apple.

And i get into a fight with my Apple minded wife as she just repeats how easy it is with a Mac and it doesn't behoove them to make it easier for PC users????

Then i start to wonder why PC's get viruses and Mac's don't.....Why?

Like Microsoft before it and Google who grew too big and got control hungry...Apple will fall to with this kind of behavior.

I have the answer you are looking for.

When you're in DCIM do a search on the top right for "*.*" (star period star) When you do this, the folders will still be on top, however if you scroll down the pictures will all be in order of date. so you can scroll down to your most recent pictures (just like on your phone) and you can drag those onto your PC, then afterwards sort and delete.

All of those DCIM folders drove me nuts too, but this works.

Mshmaster, we've already determined that there are workarounds to help bypass this problem, but workarounds are not solutions. As already been said, you can search using just an asterisk (star) and it will give you the same results that you describe. Just use Windows Explorer to sort them by date. But as many of us have said, there's still no excuse for Apple to handle viewing photos in Windows Explorer this way. I've determined that the sub-folders within the main DCIM folder are created based on the month the photos were taken, but are given completely random names, all with the same creation date. At the very least, Apple needs to somehow name them in sequential order and make their creation dates reflect the month the photos were taken. Even if they did that, it's still uncalled for that new folders are continually created for every month, giving us a DCIM folder full of dozens of sub-folders.

I'm aware of Apple's feedback system and also the fact that this forum is populated by fellow users, not Apple Support itself. But thanks for your concern. Let's hope most everyone in this thread who has a problem with this submits feedback. When you say, "most of us without the Windows baggage," I assume what you mean is that you yourself are not working on a Windows PC, correct? If that's the case, I can't help but wonder why you feel compelled to respond to users who have a problem that only other Windows PC users would understand.

You appeared to have a need to complain, which will of course achieve nothing, we are not in a position to change anything. And as most of us do not have an issue caused by mixing systems (as you do) we also have little experience of your issue. I thought that you might be able to (if not vent) complain to those who can do something to change it.

The simplest way to make it work properly is by using a Mac, an option that is always open to you.

Call it complaining, call it venting, call it what you want. We all have a need to be here and it's usually because we're experiencing some sort of problem or have an issue requiring assistance. That is what these forums are for so I'm not sure what your problem is with users using them for their intended purpose. So while you sit there looking down on PC users, again I wonder why someone who, by their own admission, doesn't have experience with this issue feels the need to continually address it. Then to top it off, your solution is for PC users to buy a Mac instead, which proves your only true intentions here are to troll users who aren't doing it the way you are. But by all means, continue to waste the time of everyone in this thread with your posts that help no one with this issue. And before you accuse me of the same, feel free to go back a page to read where I offered information about this particular issue that had yet to be brought up.

Anyone found a solution to this idiot "hundred thousand" DCIM folder business yet?

I thought the reason for all this techno stuff is to make life easier......don't remember having to do this with my Nikon digital camera.....

The explorer search function works great to find and view pictures fast, but I cannot copy them from the search list. I get an "error 0x80030001" and the photo(s) or video(s) will not copy. I have to leave the search list, navigate to the correct folder then select the photo(s)/video(s) wanted and then I can copy them to a new location on my W7 machine.

dfbealer wrote:

The explorer search function works great to find and view pictures fast, but I cannot copy them from the search list. I get an "error 0x80030001" and the photo(s) or video(s) will not copy.

Dfbealer, I've discovered that you cannot copy multiple photos at once from the search list. You either have to copy them one at a time from the search list, or do as you do and navigate to the proper folder where you can then copy multiples at once. The easiest way to navigate to the proper folder is to right-click on the photo and choose Open File Location from the menu.

Dear crm911 - your post did seem to make sense - after moving all my photos out of their individual folders and onto my desktop, I could not delete the folders, even if they were empty. I tried the fix to delete the iphone from the device manager, followed your instructions, rebooted, connected the iphone, but now my pc can't see the phone. Itunes can see it, but I cannot access the storage DCIM folder - could that be because it is empty? After reading through the entire stream of comments, I realize I am late to the party, but just could not be bothered with it until today.

Replying to my own post. When I took a new picture, the storage file became visible on my pc, along with a new little folder to hold my one photo. I will use the search method mentioned above to find the photos instead of opening every little folder. Thanks for everyone's help. I am glad to get rid of all those other folders anyway. Thanks crm911 for the solution!

Or you could do it the RIGHT way, and not even try to view the folders on the iPhone. Apple never intended anyone to use the internal structure of the camera roll. If you just use a photo management app or Camera and Scanner Wizard on your computer you will get all of your photos and never see a DCIM folder.

Ellie, not sure if you read my post on page 4, but I discovered that each sub-folder inside the main DCIM folder seems to correspond with the month the pictures were taken. Even though you were able to clear out the sub-folders and are now only left with one, I suspect that as soon as you take a photo in the month of May, a new folder will be created. And so on. I think this is how it's going to have to be. Ever since Apple gave the option to view our photos sorted by month in the Photos App , it resulted in creating multiple folders within the DCIM folder.

Lawrence, I'm not sure why you think we're not doing it the "right" way. Just because there are other ways to view our photos on a PC doesn't mean viewing them in Windows Explorer is the "wrong" way. I'm not sure how you know what Apple intended, or didn't intend. To put it bluntly, you don't know. That is, unless you work for Apple in this particular department.

Using Windows Explorer, whether it be with our iPhones, a flash drive, etc., is one of the most common (if not THE most common) ways for PC users to view files. I assure you, we are not going about this the "wrong" way.

You can continue struggling with Windows Explorer, Or you can use an app DESIGNED to get images from a digital camera. It isn't only iPhones that have multiple DCIM folders. And if you delete DCIM folders or images you screw up the image database index. If you have used any enhanced features of the iPhone camera or edit images on the phone those edits will be lost if you don't use a photo importer app, because the "sidecar" files (.AAE) that contain the image edits won't be copied correctly.

The choice is yours. I don't care what you do.