Yeah, I've had the same problem...
It's in the putting the card in.. typically you put it in and it clicks (so to speak).. if you delay removing your finger-push, it does something to the card and makes a Disconnect, although in looking at it, it looks just fine.. and the cover closes...
I've found, through many frustrating dives, to put the camera in the case, test the strobes, and take a picture or at least to turn it on... ABOVE WATER !!!... LOL.. and BEFORE you get ready to splash in... that way you know it will work. typically I'll leave it on as the knobs are hard to tell if on or in manual mode or inbetween, as it'll sleep mode anyway or just flick off the viewer. 5 minutes won't make a difference to the battery life, but will make a difference when you're down at the bottom and flick it on, only to see a card error or Card Full as I remebered I didn't delete the old one... as your buddy swims off, thinking you're taking his/her picture.. heheh...
but, yeah, just take the card out and put it back in again and turn it on BEFORE you put either in the case (easier) or definately BEFORE you splash in the water...
Heheh...bummer, probably missed the the Whale shark???
Hope that helps..
oly 4040, tetra w/2 SB105..
re: repairs?... as I have the fun experience of several floods... bottom line? get a back up camera... they can repair them, apx $100 LESS than a new one, but will discontinue after a few years when they stop making the model. If you think about it... the UW Set up becomes a "Door-stop" if you lost the camera, they can't fix it and there aren't any refurbished ones on e-bay...
Gotta get a back up just in case...