PSET4 Recover spits out 50 images but they're all invalid

Question

    #include <stdio.h>
    #include <stdint.h>
    #include <stdlib.h>
    #define FAT_BLOCK_SIZE 512
    // I figured out how to get block size from here "https://cs50.stackexchange.com/questions/28357/pset-4-recover-help-with-reading-512-byte-blocks"
    int main(int argc,char *argv[])
    // buffer_ptr[0] == 0xff && buffer_ptr[1] == 0xd8 && buffer_ptr[2] == 0xff && (buffer_ptr[3] & 0xf0)==0xe0) while(fread(&buffer_ptr,512,1,infile)
    {
        // ensures correct number of arguments
        if(argc != 2)
        {
            return 1;
            fprintf(stderr,"This function only accepts one file argument, the memory card");
        }
        // open memory card file
        FILE *infile = fopen(argv[1],"r");
        if(infile == NULL)
        {
            return 2;
            fprintf(stderr,"Failed to open file");
        }
        //creates buffer
        uint8_t *buffer_ptr = malloc(FAT_BLOCK_SIZE);
        //initializes variables
        int jpg_bool = 1;
        int num_of_jpgs = 0;
        char filename[8];
        FILE *img = NULL;
        // while file can be read
        while(fread(buffer_ptr,1,512,infile) == 512)
        {
            if(buffer_ptr[0] == 0xff && buffer_ptr[1] == 0xd8 && buffer_ptr[2] == 0xff && (buffer_ptr[3] & 0xf0)==0xe0)
            {
                // Closes file before opening a new one
                if(img != NULL)
                {
                    fclose(img);
                }
                // open a new jpg
                sprintf(filename,"%03i.jpg",num_of_jpgs);
                img = fopen(filename,"w");
                // write block
                fwrite(&buffer_ptr,1,512,img);
                // This tells the program that there is a found file and it is time to start writing
                jpg_bool = 0;
                // Increments name
                num_of_jpgs++;
            }
            else if(jpg_bool == 0)
            {
                // writes 512 bytes until new jpg found
                fwrite(&buffer_ptr,1,512,img);
            }

        }
    }

I don't know why the images are wrong. I tried mapping out my algorithm but I couldn't find any faults. Algorithm

Check that are 2 Arguments

Open Memory Card

Create Buffer

Initialize Variables

While file can be read

if signature is at start of block

check for old file and close it

open new file

write block

make it clear that a file has been found

increment name

else if file already found

write block

Answer 1

Effectively your algorithm is correct, but there is a small mess with the pointers, you declare a pointer to the buffer in which it will be written:

uint8_t *buffer_ptr = malloc(FAT_BLOCK_SIZE);

So, what is buffer_ptr ?, a pointer, the name itself is the pointer, since we have thus declared this variable. And what is & buffer_ptr ?, well it is a pointer, since it is a memory address (that is a pointer, a variable that stores a memory address), but it is not the pointer that you think, but it is a memory address of the pointer itself, not the memory address where it points (the memory address where we write and we have reserved memory). What a mess!. Surprisingly you use this pointer correctly and incorrectly, the correct thing is:

fwrite(buffer_ptr,1,512,img);

By the way it does not free malloc, with free(), nor that close open files. There is some other small error, but I leave it to you so you can guess