(Need to recover lost images) PLEASE HELP ME!!

My way of helping was to change the title of this thread to actually include the subject matter at hand..

Glad to see you got your images back!

jenirose3 wrote in post #2293445
This WORKED!!!

It's weird though it recovered my latest pictures and pictures I took last summer (many pictures in between including one from a couple of days ago that it didn't pick up). I don't care though. I really did not want to redo that PB session.

THANK YOU!!!!

Excellant! gotta love a happy ending.... actually I think file recovery is something every photographer should do - before they really need it.

overclock wrote in post #2294184
Formatting a card doesn't delete the pictures it just marks them as "not available" and the space as available. Even deleting a file on a flash memory card doesn't neccessarily delete them.

Right. Whenever you delete files on a card, the files themselves are not erased. Everytime a file is stored, billions of micro-switches are thrown into either an on or off state to record the picture. Those switches are designated in memory address lines that track where data (bits) are stored. When you delete something, what really happens is the address lines to where the data is are erased, thus allowing the old data to be "steam rolled" over by new, the next time a burst comes along. It amazes me, really, considering the trillions of switches that are being flipped in a microsecond.

I religiously format any card before i go out to insure that all memory address lines are clean and "open."

LithiumNitrate wrote in post #2297592
Right. Whenever you delete files on a card, the files themselves are not erased. Everytime a file is stored, billions of micro-switches are thrown into either an on or off state to record the picture. Those switches are designated in memory address lines that track where data (bits) are stored. When you delete something, what really happens is the address lines to where the data is are erased, thus allowing the old data to be "steam rolled" over by new, the next time a burst comes along. It amazes me, really, considering the trillions of switches that are being flipped in a microsecond.

I religiously format any card before i go out to insure that all memory address lines are clean and "open."

You do know that a quick format won't re-zero out all them little bits, right? (and a quick format's what's happening, unless you are using something different to format it)


However.. as a preventative measure, I do recommend formatting cards IN CAMERA before a critical shoot. The camera erases and rewrites the file allocation table (FAT). If the FAT gets scrambled, you get the 'garbage text' effect. And the FAT16 system, used in these cameras, is very, very vulnerable to breakage... lots of things can corrupt it, I know, spent too many years doing data recovery in DOS, which used the same file system. It's fragile. So just re-format in camera to know you are starting out on a clean slate. This is a quick format, it will not zero out all the addresses, but it is enough.

Data loss can be heartbreaking. Glad to see you got your pics back.

Lightstream wrote in post #2297613
You do know that a quick format won't re-zero out all them little bits, right?

Yes, right-o. I think "clean" wasn't good word choice on my part. Now where's my 10 pound iron magnet, again?

LithiumNitrate wrote in post #2297681
Yes, right-o. I think "clean" wasn't good word choice on my part. Now where's my 10 pound iron magnet, again?

Ahhh! Fear the degausser!

jenirose3 wrote in post #2291581
I have a Canon 20d. I did 2 portfolio building sessions today. I shot a bunch of pictures. After I left the first shoot I reviewed the pictures in my camera...deleted a few....everything looked fine. After the second shoot, same thing. Reviewed all of the pictures in my camera, looked great. I get home and put my CF card in my computer and the first group of photos show up but the rest are all jumbled up.. All that shows up is a file folder with Russian type letters. I tried to access through my Canon Software Viewer utilities, I tried rebooting , I tried Adobe bridge.

Please someone tell me what to do. Please someone tell me there is a way to fix this!! ACK!! I am crushed!!!


Dang it!! Dang it!! Dang it!! Dang it!! Dang it!! Dang it!! Dang it!! Dang it!! Dang it!! Dang it!!


HELP!!!

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

Jeni

Try "Zero Assumption" Recovery Software the photo recovery version is free it worked for me.

Ahhh the 10 pound magnet Trick! I had one from an old radar in the Navy, put in under my cabin mates collection of Country 8 tracks (this was waaaaayyyyy back) - two days and I had peace and quiet the rest of the cruise!! Not sure what sort of damage one of those would cause today!

tcrank wrote in post #2932702
Ahhh the 10 pound magnet Trick! I had one from an old radar in the Navy, put in under my cabin mates collection of Country 8 tracks (this was waaaaayyyyy back) - two days and I had peace and quiet the rest of the cruise!! Not sure what sort of damage one of those would cause today!

Very good I wish someone would find a way to do the same to ringtones

They have - it's a cell phone nullifier, which is illegal in most jurisdictions.