Not one article has already been written about free and paid programs designed for data recovery: the described software made it possible to recreate various types of files. In this article, we will conduct, to a greater extent, tests of the free PhotoRec program. Its purpose is to recover photographs deleted from memory cards of various types and formats, for example, proprietary from camera manufacturers : Olympus, Sony, Nikon, Canon, and others. This is one of the best programs of its kind.
A bit about PhotoRec
First we test this software, free, which is designed to recover data, including documents, archives, videos and the main item - photographs from various memory cards of your camera. They are available for: DOS and Windows 9x, Mac OS X, Linux and Windows NT4, XP, 7, 8, 8.1. Supported file systems: HFS +, ext4, ext3, ext2, NTFS, FAT32 and FAT16. Access while the program is “read-only”, so the pictures will not be damaged or, at least, damage will be minimized. Recovering photos will therefore not be particularly difficult.
For Windows, PhotoRec comes with an archive (it’s enough to unzip it, no installation is required), which includes the program itself and one more, the same developer - TestDisk. It will help if, for example, the file system has changed or disk partitions have been lost. The utility does not have the usual graphical Windows interface, but its basic functions are not complicated for a novice user.
Photorec - program for recovering deleted photos, testing
Directly in the device, using its built-in functions, we format the memory card located there. In our case, SD is a good enough option for losing photos. We start the Photorec_win.exe file, and we are offered to make a choice of the drive from which we will begin to recover the information. In our case - an SD card, in the list it is the third. The next step is a bit strange. On this screen, you can make some settings: do not skip photos that are damaged, select the desired file types for searching, etc. We recommend simply not to respond to this section. Choose simply - Search.
We select a file system, for most ordinary users - Other. The next step is to determine the folder where the pictures that have passed the recovery procedure will be stored. After choosing a folder, click on the C button. The program will create subfolders where the files will be located. Tip: you should not restore information to the drive from which recovery is performed.
Scan and restore photos
You must wait until the recovery process is complete. And then check the result. In our case, three more folders are created. The distribution of photos, documents and music was mixed up, which is not entirely clear, but the fact remains that there are even more photos restored than originally planned. In addition, without flaws. And the program found another 500 pieces of images and other files that were once on the map.
We take into account that it was used not only in the camera, but also in the "ancient" player and PDA to transfer information instead of a flash drive, as well as in other ways. In general, we can conclude: in order to perform photo recovery from a memory card, this is one of the most convenient free programs, although it is not as easy to use as those with a
graphical interface.
PS Photo Recovery is another low-cost program
You need to know that most programs that perform photo recovery, free or paid, allow you to search for any kind of data or files on formatted media. But this has its own nuances. A free program, such as Recuva, is effective only in the simplest situations: for example, you deleted a file by accident, did not perform any operations with the memory card, and decided to restore the information. Paid software really helps to return photos, other data lost in different conditions, but it rarely can offer an affordable price to the user. Especially when his only goal is to restore photos accidentally deleted by careless actions with such an element as a memory card.
An affordable and good solution to this issue is to use RS Photo Recovery. This program for recovering photos from media of various types, relatively cheap, 999 rubles, and has a very high efficiency of data resurrection.
Program testing
It’s not bad that you are not forced to buy a pig in a poke. At first you can try it out, recreate the photos in the trial version and, if RS Photo Recovery does its job, buy a license for almost 1,000 rubles. Self-recovery of information does not need to be scared: follow some rules and nothing irreparable will happen. For example, do not write any data to the memory card; Do not restore files to the media from which they come to life; do not insert them into cameras, phones, MP3 players, because they automatically create a folder structure.
Just note that Recuva found only two files, she did not find photos. If a normal scan is performed in RS Photo Recovery, it will also not find anything. You need to try in-depth analysis. Of the 183 photos found, only three were defective, and then these were old pictures. It turned out that RS Photo Recovery - a program for recovering photos - can recreate images deleted from different
storage media. The product costs little money and is likely to complete its task.
How to restore old photos
The program for recovering deleted photos has already been selected - both paid and free. Now we are testing the function of restoring old images. We will do this AKVIS Retoucher - a trial version to decide whether to buy it or not. This program not only removes dust, stains, scratches and other defects from the photo. It also regenerates fragments that are not, using portions of the image nearby. It is simple, and you can easily learn how to work with it. You just need to select what you want to delete, and click the “Start” button. The utility itself will do everything. You will only enthusiastically observe how a new photo is created.
The program removes not only defects, but also the objects themselves from the image. She automatically processes small ones, deletes large ones with tips on where to get the missing fragments. Restoring old photographs means retouching, removing stains, scratches, bends, dust and other defects, reconstructing the missing, removing large objects. The capabilities of AKVIS Retoucher are completely dependent on the type of license. During the trial period, try different options and make a choice.