# any way to recover digital photos? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 11, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-recover-digital-photos/472245 "2008-11-11T21:13:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-recover-digital-photos/472245/1 "2008-11-11T21:13:40Z")
!#@!@# I was attempting to download photos from my digital camera via Picasa. I selected the photos I wanted via the import tool, selected the folder I wanted them to go into, selected “safe delete” (ONLY photos that are copied are deleted) and hit the import button. An hour later, my camera turns itself off and while Picasa created the folder, nothing was in it. Nothing’s on my camera, either… except for another set of photos I had _already_ deleted. WTF?? These were photos I had taken while at the Obama rally in Grant Park. I would very much like to have them back. Is there any way to recover these photos from the card? I’ve tried searching my entire hard drive and they’re just not there. My camera is Kodak EasyShare V803. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-recover-digital-photos/472245/2 "2008-11-11T21:16:34Z")
I make no guarantees, but a quick search revealed [this](http://www.cardrecovery.com/?rid=google&kid=cr0104). ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-recover-digital-photos/472245/3 "2008-11-11T21:43:44Z")
Yes, there are any number of data recovery/undelete programs for flash memory cards. Just be sure that you don’t reformat the card and don’t take any new pictures using that card. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-recover-digital-photos/472245/4 "2008-11-11T21:44:58Z")
Look [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=435493&highlight=recovery). My post #12 has links to a freeware utility which I’ve found to work great, but only works on PC. The other link is PC & Mac. You can actually recover formatted cards most of the time, too, as most camera format functions are not low-level formats, so they don’t write over the underlying data. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-recover-digital-photos/472245/5 "2008-11-11T21:45:01Z")
Yep. getdataback for FAT always works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-recover-digital-photos/472245/6 "2008-11-11T22:23:19Z")
Quick related question, as I’ve been looking at these (and downloaded two, so far) it seems that I will need a separate SD card reader in order to recover the files, regardless of the software, yeah? The software doesn’t seem to pick up that the camera itself is plugged in (via USB). I already checked into a nearby computer repair/recovery shop, and they’ll want at least $99 for it, so free software plus $10 reader is a much better option… (And yeah, I’ve removed the card from the camera completely at this point, to avoid any other accidents.) ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-recover-digital-photos/472245/7 "2008-11-11T22:44:48Z")
IME, most cameras are recognized by the computer as just another USB storage device. If it’s showing up in explorer or my computer as a removable disk, you should be good to go. Otherwise, yes, you’ll need an inexpensive SD reader. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-recover-digital-photos/472245/8 "2008-11-11T22:57:07Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > Quick related question, as I’ve been looking at these (and downloaded two, so far) it seems that I will need a separate SD card reader in order to recover the files, regardless of the software, yeah? The software doesn’t seem to pick up that the camera itself is plugged in (via USB). > > I already checked into a nearby computer repair/recovery shop, and they’ll want at least $99 for it, so free software plus $10 reader is a much better option… > > (And yeah, I’ve removed the card from the camera completely at this point, to avoid any other accidents.) Does your camera not normally show up as an external storage device when you plug it in? Some cameras require you to change USB modes from “communication” to “mass storage” (or something similar) in order for it to show up as an external device on your computer. Check your menus to see if there’s such an option. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-recover-digital-photos/472245/9 "2008-11-11T23:05:52Z")
It shows up under “Scanners and Cameras” on the My Computer explorer window but doesn’t seem to have a logical drive letter assigned to it. I can’t find anything in the menu to switch it, either. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-recover-digital-photos/472245/10 "2008-11-11T23:15:51Z")
We’ve been using a San Disk product called “Rescue Pro II” for years and it’s great. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-way-to-recover-digital-photos/472245/11 "2008-11-12T03:57:50Z")
Got 'em! Thanks all. Ended up having to get a card reader (15 bucks), but was able to recover everything from the rally with some [freeware](http://www.download.com/SoftPerfect-File-Recovery/3000-2248_4-10578156.html?tag=mncol&cdlPid=10578157). It took less than 5 minutes, and everything was still there. Whew. I am never using “safe delete” again. Safe my ass. 😛