A USB flash drive is not the most suitable device for permanently storing files, but anything can happen in life. And situations when valuable data located only on it were accidentally erased happen regularly. However, in about half of the cases, grief can be helped by recovering deleted files from a flash drive. Under what circumstances is this possible and how to do it, read on.
I won’t get my hopes up in vain: the chances of successful data recovery from USB flash drives are lower than from stationary drives - hard drives PCs and laptops and permanent memory of mobile devices. The reason is that flash drives are usually used to transfer files from one device to another. And accidentally deleted data most often ends up being simply overwritten, sometimes even more than once. And overwriting, unfortunately, destroys the information irrevocably.
Full or partial file recovery on your own is possible in the following cases:
- The user deleted them manually.
- The drive was formatted using the operating system.
- The files became inaccessible after a virus attack.
- The files disappeared after the flash drive was divided into partitions.
- A logical failure of the file system has occurred: it has become defined as RAW - unknown, or Windows and programs consider the entire space of the device to be unallocated.
The chances of recovery are extremely low or zero if:
- The flash drive is physically faulty - it is not detected by the computer at all or is recognized as unknown device, access to its memory is either completely absent, or the size of the latter is several KB instead of tens of GB. The exception is relatively simple breakdowns that do not affect the controller and device memory.
- The files were deleted using a shredder program.
- The flash drive was low-level formatted (essentially repartitioned and rewritten) or reflashed (the controller microcode was rewritten).
- The files are encrypted, but there is no decryption key. It may be the result of an attack by a ransomware virus or user actions (encrypted, but lost the key). In the first case, it is sometimes possible to recover files if you have a suitable decryptor.
In case of physical and complex logical faults, data recovery from flash drives is sometimes possible, but often costs the owner very much - up to several tens of thousands of rubles (not even the result, but the attempt at recovery, can cost that much). Therefore, in such situations, many people prefer to say goodbye to files forever.
How to increase your likelihood of success
Even if your case falls into the simple category, in order to increase the chances of a successful recovery, adhere to the following rules:
- The fewer operations were performed with file system drive, the better result. Therefore, start recovery immediately as soon as you notice missing files.
- Save the recovered data only to another physical medium ( HDD computer, second flash drive, etc.).
- Try to restore everything in one session. Don't interrupt unless absolutely necessary.
- If one recovery program does not help, use others. Sometimes simple free utilities are more effective than expensive paid ones. It is impossible to know in advance what will help in your case, so try everything that is available.
- If the recovery program is capable of creating and saving images of drive file systems, be sure to use this feature. In case of unexpected failure of the flash drive or accidental overwriting before the end of reading, you can restore the data from the image.
7 best programs for data recovery from flash drives
You may already be familiar with some of the storage device data recovery programs. Our site talked about them in an article about. Today our collection will be replenished with seven more applications of the same purpose. Maybe one of them will be life-saving for you.
R.saver
Wise Data Recovery
Wise Data Recovery is another worthy tool for recovering information from desktop and portable drives. Available only in Windows version. Like its predecessors, it works without installation on a hard drive. It has a high scanning speed and displays the possibility of restoring each found object.
If next to the file there is:
- Red circle—data has been completely overwritten and cannot be restored.
- Yellow circle—overwriting is partial, success is not guaranteed.
- Green circle—the file has not been overwritten and is recoverable.
When you click on “green” files, if it is a picture or document, the program shows their thumbnails (if saved). It also has a function to search for certain types of data by keywords: pictures (imagies), audio (audios), videos (videos), documents (documents), archives (compressed files) and mail (emails).
Wise Data Recovery- fully free application and, by the way, with support for the Russian language.
How to use Wise Data Recovery:
- Unpack the archive with the program into any folder and run executable file WiseDataRecovery.exe.
- Select the desired media from the list and click “Scan”.
- Select the files you want to recover from the list. Click the "Recover" button.
- Specify the location to save the files on your hard drive.
Disk Drill
The Disk Drill utility, well known to many Mac OS X users, appeared in the Windows version some time ago. More precisely, in two: free - free, and paid - pro. The free one allows you to recover up to 1 GB of information, the paid one - without restrictions.
Unlike three previous applications, Disk Drill requires mandatory installation on a computer (for which it receives a minus, since this simple operation can lead to overwriting the data that the user was just about to restore). But it has a number of benefits that others do not have.
With constant use, Disk Drill keeps track of deleted files and also creates them backups, which increases the chances of their recovery even after time. In addition, it supports any type of storage device and almost all file systems (it knows more than 300 unique file signatures).
Disk Drill does not have a Russian localization, but it is quite easy to use.
How to recover deleted files using Disk Drill:
- Install the application on your PC and run it with administrator rights.
- Select a USB flash drive with deleted data from the list of media.
- Open the drop-down list next to the Recover button, which is located opposite the flash drive, and click the desired scan type: “Run all recovery methods” (use all search and recovery methods), “Quick scan” ( quick check), “Deep scan” or “Load last scanning session” (load the result of the last scan). Click the "Recover" button (or "Continue" if you have already started working with the media).
- In the next window that opens after scanning, select from the list necessary files, specify the location to save them and click “Recover” again.
RS File Recovery
RS File Recovery is a paid Russian-language application. In addition to the main thing - restoring information from physical drives, it is able to save and subsequently work with their images. After creating the image physical device with data can be disabled, since the program has already “remembered” all its contents. In addition, the application has a built-in HEX editor for manual byte-by-byte correction of files, as well as an FTP client for uploading the recovered file to network resources.
After analyzing the storage device, RS File Recovery displays information about the data on it - when it was created, when it was changed, and whether it can be restored. This information appears in the bottom pane of the window.
Unfortunately, in the free demo version of the utility, the recovery function does not work, only viewing is available. The cost of a license starts from 999 rubles.
Like Disk Drill, RS File Recovery requires installation on your computer.
How to use RS File Recovery:
- Launch the application. Select a flash drive from the list of media by simply clicking on it. All its contents, including deleted files, will be displayed in the middle part of the window.
- Click on the item you want to restore. Information about it, including the forecast, will be shown in the panel below.
- Drag the required files to the recovery list on the right side of the window and click the “Recover” button.
- Select the saving method: to hard drive, to CD/DVD, to the Internet via FTP or convert to virtual image ISO.
- Specify the destination folder on your hard drive. When choosing other saving methods, follow the assistant's instructions.
Ontrack EasyRecovery
Ontrack EasyRecovery is one of the most functional and effective data recovery programs, the main competitor of industry leader R-Studio. It successfully extracts data even from heavily damaged media, supports all types of file systems and more than 250 file formats, creates virtual images of physical storage devices, can boot from DVDs and USB flash drives, and also has a lot of other useful features.
EasyRecovery is available in several paid editions with different sets of functions. The most inexpensive is home-based, which will cost the user $79 per year. Professional, enterprise and specialized (for servers) cost from $299 to $3000 for an annual license.
Despite the enormous possibilities, even a novice user can use this program, since each stage of the work is accompanied by a built-in assistant. It is also impossible to make a mistake because it is completely translated into Russian.
How to use Ontrack EasyRecovery:
- Launch the application (it is available in installation, portable and, as already mentioned, boot versions). Specify the type of media on which the deleted data is located.
- Select the volume to scan (if it is a flash drive, then, as a rule, there is only one volume on it).
- Select a recovery scenario. Restoring objects after deletion and formatting are different scenarios. First, try using the first one - it works faster, and if that doesn’t help, try the second one.
- If the data was affected by a logical failure, identify one or more types of file systems that may be on the media.
- Check again that the conditions are correct and confirm your selection. After this, the program will begin scanning the flash drive.
- After scanning is complete, select the desired objects in the list (to select several, press and hold the Ctrl key). Click the “Save” button in the top panel of the main window and specify the destination folder on your hard drive.
To create an image of a storage device and work with it in the future, after starting the program, select the device in the list of media, open the “File” menu and click “Create image file”.
Active UNDELETE
Active UNDELETE is another paid utility that successfully copes with the recovery of individual deleted objects and entire disk partitions. Supports all types of media, all file systems and over 200 different file formats. In addition to the main tasks, it allows you to solve related problems - correct errors in partition tables and boot records, create, format and delete disk volumes, etc. Like the majority of paid analogues, Active UNDELETE supports the creation of virtual images of drives.
The demo version of the program, available for free download, has a full range of functions, but does not allow you to recover files larger than 1 Mb.
The Active UNDELETE interface is exclusively in English, but the utility is easy to use, since each action is accompanied by a wizard.
Unfortunately, it does not have a portable version. Installation only.
How to work with Active UNDELETE:
- Launch the program. Click “Recover deleted files” in the first window that opens. This will launch the recovery wizard.
- The first window of the wizard is a brief information about how the program works on English language. To proceed to the next step, click “Next”.
- Next, select one or more devices on which the desired files are located. Click "Next" and in the next window - "Scan".
- After scanning, mark the items you want to recover and proceed to the next step.
- Set the saving options - folder, file names, renaming in case of matches, etc. You can leave everything as default.
- The last step is the actual recovery. To launch it, click the “Recover files and folders” button.
If you want to create a virtual image of a flash drive, open the “Disk image management” section in the main window and run the “Create disk image” wizard.
How to recover a damaged file from a camera?
How to recover deleted documents using Recuva?
Other questions about the Recuva program
Now let's talk about scan and recovery time. This, of course, depends on the file size and disk space, but a little tiring due to its duration. And the program does not always restore; sometimes crashes occur. But it's still worth a try. The program also has a function that can completely delete files (without the possibility of subsequent reincarnation).
This software is free, its overall rating is not as good as that of its competitors, but let's take a closer look at it.
First of all, we can note the simplicity of this software - even not very experienced users can understand the menu. And to return data after formatting a flash drive, you can use a special wizard that, using step by step instructions will help you achieve the desired result.
Now let's talk about scan and recovery time. It, of course, depends on the file size and disk space, but it is a little tiring due to its length. And the program does not always restore; sometimes crashes occur. But it's still worth a try. The program also has a function that can completely delete files (without the possibility of subsequent reincarnation).
Each of us may well be faced with the need to extract valuable files from a damaged drive. And it doesn’t matter what it is - a hard drive or a flash drive - the information stored on such media sometimes requires mandatory recovery.
It happens that the user mechanically presses the wrong key, and the program is simply deleted from the hard drive. What to do in this case?
DiskInternals Uneraser
DiskInternals Research offers users a small but quite effective utility. It is capable of recovering lost files on any drive and works with various file systems (FAT16 and NTFS5).
In addition, it supports long names and allows you to restore not only partitions, but also their subsections.
The first step in working with this utility is to select a logical drive or folder to be tested for deleted files. Next, you need to select the type of files you are looking for from the five groups presented.
Among them are the following:
- Images;
- video;
- music;
- documentation;
- archive files.
If you want to narrow the search field, select the required type. If not, check all groups. In this case, the search will take a little longer.
After the program finishes processing the information, it will remain press the button"Finish". A search results window will open in which you will need to select the files that you want to restore.
It is worth noting that for some files it is impossible to determine the partition in which they were located. This occurs when working with the NTFS file system and is due to its specifics.
- works with any file system;
- Recovers most popular formats.
- The recovery process takes quite a long time.
Review
Vitaly. The best I have found among programs of this type. I'm surprised that, with such a small size, it works with any type of file. Like any other, it can’t restore all files, but there’s nothing you can do about it.
Recuva
Even a novice user will not have any problems installing the program. Everything is extremely clear, and besides, it is completely in Russian.
Working with it is also quite simple. After starting the program, you will see a working window containing all the necessary tools.
In its upper left part there is a drop-down list in which you need to select the one being tested. After this, click on the “Analysis” button and wait for the end of the running process.
After it is completed, you will be presented with a list of files that can be recovered. The application is quite simple and has minimal settings.
At the user's request, it is possible configure the following parameters:
- show or hide files located in system folders;
- whether to show files that have been securely deleted;
- whether or not to display files that have a size of zero;
- Save the settings to a file with the extension “.ini” so that you can transfer them to another computer.
- ease of use;
- recovery of files of various formats;
- free distribution.
- not all files can be recovered;
- When restoring, it changes the file creation date.
Review
kikichtoriya. I used the program because I accidentally deleted my course work from the flash drive. I was shocked, but the program quickly restored everything. I don’t know how it copes with searching and restoring long-deleted files, but it works great with “fresh” ones.
Helpful information:
Pay attention to the program. This is a tool for resuscitating deleted, lost and damaged files. The program recognizes all common types of documents, the number of which exceeds 550 pieces.
7-Data Recovery Suite
This utility not only supports the Russian language, but also has quite rich functionality.
It allows you to restore lost information not only after accidental deletion, but even when the storage medium has been formatted.
Recovery Suite has a deep scanning feature that allows you to identify fairly old traces of files.
These traces are used to restore them.
The working window contains several sections, among which are the following:
Advantages of 7-Data Recovery Suite
- works with any media;
- recovers files even after formatting;
- the interface is simple and clear.
- free version has limitations.
Review
Ellymi. A very useful utility, and also quite simple. With its help, information was recovered from a formatted flash drive. The only annoying thing is that the free version has space limitations.
Active File Recovery
This small utility works with almost all file systems.
She can work with hard drive even when its logical structure is broken.
With its help, you can create a disk image and then transfer it to another drive.
Recognizes any type of media - , SunDisk, CompactFlash and others.
The program is quite interesting, but requires payment.
- work with any type of media;
- clear interface;
- requires purchase.
Review
Vadim. The program is good, but the recovered files should not exceed 2 gigs. I restored HDTV movies that weighed 4.5 GB, so they restored them in pieces of 2 gigabytes. This is, of course, depressing.
Active UNDELETE Professional
Programs for recovering deleted or lost files are quite popular. With their help, you can return lost important files or folders.
To restore, you do not have to seek the services of professionals in this field. Using these programs, you can carry out recovery operations yourself.
Our selection of programs in Russian will allow you to restore this data without any problems.
Elcomsoft Phone Breaker is a multifunctional and very powerful application that will definitely be useful to all users who own Apple products. Thanks to this utility, you can quickly extract all the necessary information from the device and save it in an easy-to-read format. Analyzing the device's memory takes a matter of seconds, and copying even the most voluminous files with information does not take more than 3 minutes. In addition, you can save the data in a convenient rar archive or ISO...
Loss these days important files— an unpleasant event, to put it mildly. But if you catch yourself in time, they may still be able to be saved. There are many programs for logical data recovery, and among them there are many that deserve attention free products. They will be discussed in this article.
The main reasons for data loss are:
- physical malfunction of the disk or flash drive (most often defective unreadable areas, colloquially “bad blocks”),
- accidental deletion of necessary files by the user himself,
- file system corruption (due to power failures, hardware failures, viruses, or incorrect operation regular software).
In flash drives and memory cards, the internal translation table often crashes, as a result of which all data becomes inaccessible at once (the flash drive is detected with zero capacity or simply freezes when accessed).
In the first and last cases, most likely, you will have to remove the problematic drive from the computer and transfer it to data recovery specialists who have the necessary set of equipment, knowledge and experience. The portal recently covered their activities.
In other cases (and these are the majority), files can be restored directly on the workplace using special programs. It's faster, cheaper, and you don't have to worry about privacy.
⇡ How programs recover files
In OS Windows data about all files on the disk are stored in a special table (in the file NTFS system it's called MFT, Master File Table). It can be somewhat simplified to be represented as a library catalog, which indicates where the book with such and such a title is located. When a file is deleted, it is not physically erased from the disk (for reasons of economy and performance). First, its “card” is modified: a mark is placed on it indicating that the file has been deleted and the disk area previously occupied by it is free. In the future, this space is used to write new files.
If writing over the old file has not yet occurred, then restoring it is easy. The program looks through records of all files marked as deleted and prompts the user to restore them. It’s worse if the file is already written over new information, - then it will most likely not be possible to restore it. If only part of the file is overwritten, then you can restore the remaining “piece” (for example, part of an image or document).
The programs act differently if the file system is damaged (or completely destroyed when formatting the disk), and also if the required file was not found in the first way. Then they have to literally “probe” the disk in search of possible signs of files.
What are these signs? Various popular file formats (doc, jpg , avi and the like) there are headers characteristic of them - signatures. These are exactly what recovery programs look for, scanning the entire contents of the disk in a row. Each program supports its own set of signatures, which it “knows” and can search for and restore. The breadth and sophistication of this set is one of the indicators of software quality.
When restoring files in this way, information about their location (in which folders they were located), as well as the file name, is sometimes lost, so the file can only be identified by its contents. In this regard, the function of previewing a file directly in the program, even before saving it, is very useful. The more formats for which “preview” is supported, the better.
It should be noted that everyone has algorithms for searching for deleted files. software product their. Some heuristics work well in some cases, some in others. It is quite difficult to say in advance what kind of case is in front of you. Often, especially in cases of severe damage, the program that recovers the maximum amount of data is not the one that shows the best results in most “ordinary” cases.
this implies practical advice: If one (“favorite”) utility was not able to save all the files you need, try several others - perhaps they will be more successful. Combining the results obtained by different methods will ultimately give the best effect.
Important warning: if the files have already been deleted and need to be restored, and the desired program If you don’t have it at hand, you should download and install it to the wrong partition from which you want to recover data, so as not to inadvertently write new files over deleted ones and thereby worsen the situation. Of course, you need to save the recovered files to another drive. It makes sense to keep a set of proven “repair” utilities on an external drive (hard drive or flash drive), since their volume is ridiculous by today’s standards.
⇡ What programs should you use?
Below we will look at the main programs that are used for “amateur” data recovery. All of them are absolutely free(freeware class - do not require the purchase of a license and do not contain functional or time restrictions) and support the most common Windows file systems: FAT16/32 and NTFS. A number of programs have additional functionality that is useful in certain cases.
Recuva 1.40.525
This program has gained significant popularity as it was one of the first free file recovery utilities. Recuva is the brainchild of the British company Piriform, which is also known for its other “repair” utility - CCleaner. In addition to hard drives, the program can work with flash drives and iPods, as well as securely delete files.
By today's standards, Recuva is somewhat primitive and inferior in capabilities to more recent developments. But if you just need to “pull out” the file you just deleted, you can try it. At least it won’t take much time and you won’t have to rack your brains.
Recuva supports two file search modes: fast shallow and slow deep, which performs sector-by-sector analysis of the disk. The program interface is simple and clear. First, a wizard will launch, prompting you to select the type of files to be restored and the location in which they were located (you can also conduct a full search for all deleted files). The wizard can be disabled and operated from the main program window - for many users this is more convenient.
All found files will be shown in the form of a list, but in the context menu you can also choose to view them in the form of a directory tree, which is convenient if there are a lot of files.
Recuva shows found files, their parameters and chances of recovery (the latter is determined by the “traffic light” color of the circle next to the name)
After clicking the “Restore” button, the program will ask where to save the checked files. To be on the safe side, it is recommended to write them to another disk, but often the files are successfully restored to their original location.
Recuva also has a “manual” operating mode.
"Manual" operating mode of Recuva
After clicking the “Analyze” button, the program will begin searching for either all files that have ever been deleted, or those that match the specified mask and path. In order to select an analysis method (deep or superficial), you need to go to the settings and select the “Actions” tab.
If the files were not deleted, but were damaged due to a disk failure or the action of malware, then to “repair” them in the settings, on the “Actions” tab, you need to select “Search for undeleted files.”
In addition to recovering files, Recuva can also securely erase them. This is useful, for example, if the disk contains important information and you wouldn’t want it to end up in the hands of criminals (or, say, the tax office). To do this, the program writes several times to the location on the disk where the file was located, so that it cannot be restored by any means. To select files for such deletion, you need to manual mode conduct an analysis, select files and select “Secure deletion” in the context menu. The deletion algorithm can be specified in the settings, on the “General” tab (the default is the simplest and fastest one).
Recuva also supports portable mode. To do this, copy the folder with the program to external media, and then create a file inside this folder called “portable.dat”.
PC Inspector File Recovery 4.0
This utility was created by the German offshoot of the British company CONVAR. Its authors know first-hand about data recovery, since this is one of the main areas of the company’s work. The quality of file recovery in PC Inspector is slightly higher than in Recuva. The program will also take care of lost disk partitions that are not recognized operating system(which happens, for example, after hardware failures).
The disadvantages of PC Inspector include its not very obvious interface. Certain difficulties also arise with the recovery of highly fragmented (scattered across disk space) files, as well as disks with a damaged file system.
When you start the program, a window appears in which you can indicate what exactly happened to your files. On the right are possible options and a further action scenario. You need to select one of the three shortcuts on the left.
PC Inspector start window
After this, you should indicate which drive you want to recover data from. If it is not in the list, click the “Find” button logical drives" After selecting the drive, click on the green checkmark.
Disc selection window
After the scanning process is completed, you will see a window with the files found. If they were accidentally deleted, then you need to look for them in the “Deleted Items” folder. If the reason for their loss was problems with the disk or its formatting, then the found files will be located in the “Lost” folder. You can also use the file search option (shortcut with a magnifying glass on the left side of the window).
After the necessary files or folders are selected, they should be written to the hard drive (the “Save” item in the context menu). Let us remind you that it is highly advisable to do this on another section.
Window with found files. You can see their characteristics and recovery forecast
To recover files from memory cards of cameras and phones, CONVAR has developed a special (and also free) utility PC Inspector Smart Recovery 4.5.
It is tailored for various image formats (JPG, TIF, BMP, GIF, proprietary RAW files of major vendors), as well as audio and video recordings (WAV, AMR, AVI, MP4, MOV, 3GP). The utility's interface is extremely simple and will not cause any difficulties.
R.saver 1.0
This is a very remarkable freeware product. R.saver often handles the most severe cases of data loss that others free utilities turn out to be too tough (serious damage to the file system, the disk is not visible to the OS, etc.). In many cases, the program provides results on par with the best commercial products, so we recommend keeping it handy.
R.saver appeared in 2011 as a simplified version of the professional software UFS Explorer, as a result of cooperation between the Moscow data recovery company R.LAB and the Ukrainian company from Donetsk SysDev Laboratories, the developer of UFS Explorer. Only non-commercial use is allowed in the territory of the former USSR.
The program interface is simple, informative and does not contain anything superfluous. In addition, all the tips and detailed guide originally written in Russian. R.saver can find lost disk partitions that are not recognized by the operating system and automatically determine their native file system. So if your disk has failed and the OS no longer sees it, you should not start formatting - the program will find the partition anyway, and there will be a greater chance of data recovery.
When running, R.saver searches for both traces (headers and tails) of various file formats, as well as all available information in the remnants of the file system. In fact, we have a hybrid of the methods described at the beginning of the article, which determines the higher efficiency of the program - its ability to find and restore files.
In addition to recovering data from familiar Windows file FAT and NTFS systems (including those saved as a disk image), R.saver allows you to read files from many file systems from other OS families (Mac OS, Linux, Unix, BSD, Novell, CD/DVD). Here they are full list, taken from documentation: HFS, HFS+/HFSX, Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, ReiserFS, JFS, XFS, UFS, UFS2, NWFS, ISO9660, UDF. Impressive, isn't it?
When you launch the program, you will see a window with all detected disk partitions. If the partition you need is lost and is not displayed (you can navigate by the label indicated in the properties window on the right and the size), then select the physical disk on which it was located and click the “Find Partition” button.
R.saver start window
Having selected the desired section, click the “Scan” button (will appear in the right top corner). Once the scanning process is complete, you will see the reconstructed file system (what it would have looked like if no data loss had occurred). Deleted and presumably damaged files are also indicated separately in the relevant sections.
R.saver window with detected files
Taking advantage context menu, you can copy the desired file or folder to another drive. By double-clicking on the file, you can view its contents (the file itself is copied to a temporary directory). There is also a file search function (the “Quick Search” window in the upper right corner).
R.saver does not require installation as such - just download and unpack a small archive, and then run the executable file. This also sets the program apart from its competitors.
Pandora Recovery 2.1.1
This is another well-proven data recovery program (especially when it comes to lost images). It finds accidentally deleted files and can also recover data after formatting. The situation is more complicated with destroyed file systems - here the program will be of little use. When installing Pandora Recovery, do not forget to uncheck the additional (and unnecessary) utilities offered as a bonus.
When you start it, the first thing that will open is a very detailed and easy-to-understand wizard that will ask questions about what exactly happened to your files and suggest a suitable operating mode for the program.
If your files were accidentally deleted, you will see a window in which you can set the desired file attributes (mask name, date, size, etc.) and start searching.
Search window for deleted files
In case of more serious problems when scanning the disk is required, you will see a window with information about the files found, their characteristics and chances of recovery.
Scan mode in Pandora Recovery
File names in this mode are poorly restored, but for the most popular graphic and office formats it is possible to preview the contents, which allows you to correctly name files manually.
MjM Free Photo Recovery 1.0 RC
This small utility is designed exclusively for recovering JPG files from memory cards; It doesn't work with hard drives.
In recent years, such specialized software has begun to appear en masse to help photographers. As you know, pictures from cards quite often disappear as a result of incorrect removal of the card, power failures (the camera battery ran out at the wrong time), accidental deletion or formatting. During shooting, files of the same type are usually recorded sequentially without fragmentation, so a simple search for signatures when scanning the drive allows you to determine the boundaries of frames.
The program in question is quite old ( Last update published in 2008), but in some cases copes with the task better than its more modern counterparts. The interface is extremely simple and contains only two settings: the maximum file size (Maximum File Size, you need to select it large enough) and the checkbox switch for the Deep Scan mode. To start the scanning process, you need to click the “Search” button.
MjM Photo Recovery start window. This is real asceticism
Once the search process is complete, you will see a set of photos as icons. The original file names and their relative locations (folder nesting) are not restored, but for cameras this is of great importance does not have.
Preview of found files in MjM Photo Recovery
AnyFound Photo Recovery 5.0
This utility also specializes in recovery graphic files. It understands many popular image storage formats (including Photoshop source files), as well as Flash animation. The program can work with both hard drives and external drives, and its capabilities include restoring damaged file systems that are not recognized by the operating system. The result is obtained quite quickly and with good quality.
AnyFound Photo Recovery does not support the Russian language, there is no help (the developers stopped developing the project in 2009, so its website is closed), but the interface is quite simple and there should not be any particular difficulties with it. First, you should select the appropriate mode: recovering accidentally deleted files (Deleted File Recovery), working with a damaged file system (PC Partition Recovery), or resuming previous work sessions (PC Resume Recovery).
AnyFound Photo Recovery start window
The “PC Partition Recovery” mode should be launched in the case when the disk partition is not visible by the operating system, or after the “Deleted File Recovery” mode did not work. By selecting any of the modes, you will see a list of physical or logical drives (they differ by icon - logical drives are marked with a Windows checkbox). In the list, you need to select the drive from which the data was lost. After that, in the lower left corner, click the “Recovery” button.
The scanning process will begin, upon completion of which you will see a window with all deleted files (for the “Deleted File Recovery” mode) or a list of all detected partitions indicating their sizes (for the “PC Partition Recovery” mode). In the latter case, select the required section and click the “Show Files” button. As a result, a window will appear with all the found files.
Program window with found files
Having marked the files you are interested in in a particular window (the images are automatically previewed), click the “Save File” button in the upper right corner to copy them to another disk.
⇡ Conclusion
We reviewed several free and easy-to-use utilities for logical data recovery. All of them have gained well-deserved popularity, allowing thousands of non-professional users to minimal costs time and effort to recover your lost files. Of course, this is only the first step in the thorny field of Data Recovery. You will have to pay for further advancement - both money and time to master.
If the disk is physically faulty - it has multiple surface defects, periodically “falls off” or is not detected at all, knocks, creaks or is completely silent - heavy artillery comes into play in the form of a hardware and software complex specifically designed for reading data from such “half-corpses”. The APK works with problematic drives in an undocumented technological mode, which provides access to data in the most difficult situations.
Needless to say, such equipment is found only in specialized organizations professionally involved in data recovery. Giving the complex into the hands of an amateur is pointless and even dangerous - powerful tool with a high probability it will simply ruin the disk. And its price does not at all correspond to one-time use...
Therefore, all that can be advised to the owner of a faulty drive is to contact one of these organizations, where his data is read as completely and quickly as possible. And we wish him not to get into such situations at all, using the great paradigm called BACKUP. A well-organized backup of working and archive files protects against almost all problems with them.