Help! Ailing 20D

I'm having a potentially terminal issue with my 20D. Last night I was 4 hours into a wedding shoot when I noticed that for some reason my flash was periodically firing on its own. Then I noticed that I couldn't access the histogram for the most recent image shot. Then, much to my shagrin, I noticed that none of the buttons on the back were functioning (no menu, no image review, nothing). Then (and I'm starting to flip out at this point), I realize none of the buttons on top of the camera are functioning (no iso, no metering mode, no af, nothing). I could however, change between shooting modes using the command dial, change aperture and shutter speeds, meter and shoot. Only the most recent capture will appear on the LCD. At that point in the shoot I switched to a backup body as I couldn't be 100% sure images being shot were actually writing to the card. I have had the Err99 issue from time to time, but it has always been rectified by powering off and sometimes removing the batteries.

Has anyone ever had this type of experience? I'm thinking that something got fried somehow. I can't even reinstall firmware because I can't access the menu options. To say I'm irked would be a major understatement. Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

One thing worth trying is reinstalling or upgrading to the latest firmware. Perhaps something became corrupt in the software and this will be ab easy fix.

Guy

UPDATE: After playing around with the camera after a good night sleep and some quiche (yes, real photographers eat quiche), I've notice the camera appears to work normally without the vertical grip attached, which is definitely a relief. I also noticed it works normally with the grip attached but switched to the off position. I can't imagine there is much that can go wrong inside that crappy plasitc grip. Anyway, I'm still looking for insight. I will try reinstalling the firmware now that I can access the menu functions. Thanks

I had the same problem with my 20D. had to send grip and camera to Canon. They replaced a drive in the camera and it has worked properly since then. They did the repair at no charge even thougth he camera was out of warranty. pretty nice of them.

Thanks for your reply Michael. I've been debating trying a new grip as I can't be without a body during the next month at least. Did your camera function properly without the grip attached?

I've had a similar problem a couple of times in the past. Resolved by removing and reinstalling the grip. (Simply removing the batteries didn't work.)

I know I need to get my grip (and maybe the camera?) serviced, but as long as I can reboot it, it's not a priority.

-Paul