Help, I lost My Pictures!
If you lost or accidentally deleted your pictures and files, there are still great chances to recover them. As a computer geek, (I do this as a profession), I had to recover file many times. In the vast majority of time the files are recoverable, and in about 30 percent of the cases the retrieval is instant.
The key to a successful retrieval of your pictures and files is to act as soon as you discovered you lost the files, be it because an accidental deletion, or computer problems. I will explain this later in the document.
This tutorial is created for Windows computers, and it assumes you have a minimum knowledge of operating in a Windows Operating System. If you don’t know how to operate in a Windows environment, your best bet is to go to a local computer repair shop.
How To Recover Deleted Pictures or Files?
The Computer IS Fine, But My Files Are Gone
If the computer is fine and it doesn’t behave erratically, most likely you accidentally deleted your files. The first step in this case is to check in the Recycle Bin, but I bet you already did this. If you didn’t do it now. Look for pictures or maybe just a folder, If you accidentally deleted the whole folder, you won’t see the files or the pictures in the Recycle Bin, you will have to look for the folder that contains the files. This is particularly difficult if your Recycle Bin hasn’t been emptied in a while, and you have to search through thousands of files.
How to Recover Deleted Files from Recycle Bin – Advanced Tutorial
Sorting the Items In the Recycling Bin
If your Recycle Bin is empty, or you have few items, you can skip this.
To make it easier right click in the “Recycle Bin” folder and choose sort by “Date deleted”.
If the deletion was made long time ago this doesn’t make sense, and you would probably need to sort by type. Sort by type is not available by default on the Recycle bin, so you have to activate it. Right click in the Recycle Bin folder, select “Sort By”, and the choose “More”. Scroll down on the list and check the box for “Type”. Now the “Sort by type” is available from the contextual menu. When you sort by type all the folders are displayed grouped so it’s easier to find your pictures folder if it’s in the recycle bin.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10ERJcqMWIg
Recover Deleted Pictures or Files Using “Previous Versions”
Recovering with Windows 7 Previous Versions
If your operating system is not Windows 7, you can skip this paragraph, this feature is only available on Windows 7.
If your files are located on the System drive, usually the C: drive, “Previous Version” is enabled by default. “Previous Version” it’s a feature that allows the system to store on a hidden portion of the drive, files and system settings. The files are automatically copied on the hidden folder, and stored for a limited numbers of days. When a file is modified, or deleted, the old version is stored automatically. Let’s say you deleted some pictures in the “Pictures” folder. Go to “My Computer” => C: => Users => USERNAME . Search for the “My Pictures” folder and right click on the folder. From the contextual menu select “Restore Previous Versions”. A list with snapshots of the folder will be presented. Select a previous version that you think contains the deleted files. If you accidentally deleted the files today at 11:00 AM, any snapshot previous to this date and time would contain the deleted files. Neat huh? The trick here is to act as soon as you deleted the files. The longer you wait the bigger the chances to get the good snapshot deleted are. The snapshots are deleted on a regular basis by the system, so if you wait too long, the files will be deleted.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnPI9p9rNkY
Lexar Media IR437 Image Rescue Software (Retail Package)
Recover your lost or deleted files with this easy to use software. The software will scan raw data on you memory card, and it will find your lost pictures.
Lexar Image Rescue has an intuitive and easy to use interface, and will scan the mass storage device, (sd cards, USB drives), for deleted image files or after reformatting your SD card. Additionally, the newest version of the software, can recover, not only image files, but many other popular document types.
This is probably one of the easiest, and most effective image recovery software.
Data Recovery Tools
Recovering Deleted Files with Data Recovery Tools
If the two methods described above didn’t work for you, that means the data has been erased from the disk. The good news is that operating systems do not really delete the files when you delete them, the OS only deletes the record from the index, so from the OS’s perspective the file doesn’t exist anymore. This is where the data recovery software comes in handy. The data recovery software scans the drive for possible files that are deleted from the index, and reassembles them for you.
As with any other recovery method the key is to act as soon as possible. The more you use your drive after the deletion, the less chances you have for a full recovery. This happens because Windows treats the portion occupied by your lost files as empty, and will start to write new data over your deleted files. The more you use the drive the more deleted data is overwritten.
The data recovery software is usually an intuitive program that can be installed on the computer, or can generate a bootable media. The purpose of the bootable media is to avoid the use of the hard drive, to maximize the chances of a full recovery, or sometimes provide an environment for un-bootable systems.
The process of recovering data with tools is very easy, and it is somewhat similar for all software, but not all data recovery programs are the same. The scanning algorithm, the reading approach are things that can make or break a recovery utility.
A few general rules for all recovery software:
To avoid further data corruption, mount the corrupted drive on another intact system. You can do this in a couple of ways:
Install the software on a separate system and attach the drive with a USB enclosure or adapter.
Create the recovery media on another computer and boot the computer with the bad drive from the bootable recovery media
Only start doing the job when you have enough time to dedicate. If you start and stop, and then start again you risk to lose more data.
How Can I Recover My Pictures After Formatting the SD Card
Pictures Recovery after Deletion or Formatting with Recovery Software
If you accidentally deleted your photos on the SD card there is no Recycle Bin for the SD card, so there is no easy way to recover them. Also it happens quite often to format your SD card and to realize that you didn’t save the pictures yet. What do we do in cases like this?
Fortunately, there is software that makes the recovery for cases like this a breeze. One of the easiest to use programs is “Sandisk RescuePro Recovery Software”.
Sandisk RescuePro Recovery Software, V3.3 Disk
It works on and card not just on Sandisk cards. It is really easy to use, and in most of the cases it is able to recover your pictures. One thing about this is that you need to wait the code for the software for a few days, but is worth. The software is actually an annual subscription, but it is very affordable.
Remember, if you deleted the pics on your card, or formatted the card, you need to stop using it immediately to insure a good recovery rate.
Recover Files from A Defective Computer
How To Recover Pictures and Files from A Defective Computer
Your computer might be defective and it won’t start. What to do in this case? First you need to assess the state of the computer and why the computer won’t start. Depending on this, you might be able to recover your files or not. In the next paragraphs I will give you tips to know what is wrong with your computer, and what to for each case.
- If your computer boots and you can get on your Windows account, then probably the files were accidentally deleted.
- If your computer passes the initial boot sequence but stops when loading Windows, it is the operating system that is corrupted. A re-installation could fix it, or a boot rescue CD could also fix the OS. Sometimes this could be due to bad computer RAM memory.
- If your computer doesn’t pass the initial black screen booting sequence, something more serious could have happened, such as a defective hdd, or some other hardware problem.
- If the computer doesn’t do anything, it is also a hardware problem. You can tackle this with a local computer shop, or proceed to moving your drive on another computer.
- If the computer starts but it doesn’t recognizes your hard-drive, then you cannot rescue your files anymore. Actually there are data recovery services, that will disassemble your drive, and will read the data on the platters with special equipment. These are special services and are very expensive. Most of us prefer to lose the family pictures than to pay for these services.
What To Do If The Computer Won’t Boot
My Computer Won’t Boot, I Need My Pictures And Files
There are many reasons why your computer won’t boot. If you think your computer is not worth investing too much work to revive it, then the easiest way to recover your files is to take out the old hard-drive, mount it on a USB enclosure, and read it through USB on a good computer. You will be able to read your old files without any problems. This method assumes your hard-drive is not defective.For the case that Windows won’t boot because of a file-system corruption, or other Windows corruption problems, there is the Recovery Boot Disk that will allow you to boot your computer and fix a wide range of problems.
If the hard disk is the one that caused your computer to not boot, you still have good chances to recover your files, but in many cases you need a data recovery software like Data Rescue PC 3, to scan for files on the corrupted disk.
The next step is to acquire data recovery software and install it on a good computer, and buy a USB enclosure and use it to mount the drive from the defective computer. Now connect the hard-drive to recover on the good computer and start the recovery.
Data Loss Prevention
What can I do to prevent data corruption or data loss?
- Enable in BIOS and on the hard-drive S.M.A.R.T. This is a software utility embedded on the hard-drive that will detect when too many error corrections are occurring. Whenever this happens it means that you drive is near an imminent failure and you should backup/replace it.
- If a message of a hard drive error appears, stop using your computer until you change the drive. You can use the computer to make a backup of your data onto another drive.
- Check old backup tapes and copy them onto new tapes, using a temporary restore. This should happen each 10 years or more.
- Check the data stored on CD’s and DVD’s, and recopy that media regularly. Not all CD and DVD media are equal. The factory-recorded media is the longest lasting. The media burned at home or on a computer CD-ROM unit can last between 1 to 10 years or more. So it is wise to rerecord it after a few years if you bought good quality media, or after one year if it’s on cheap media.
- Buy an antivirus and keep it up to date.
