How to Recover Pictures from SD Card

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Stop accessing the SD card.

   If the files has been deleted, there's still a chance that the data is still there, but has just been set to be overwritten by new data.
   
   By not accessing the SD card, you increase the chances that the data will not be overwritten.
   
   Until you're ready to try recovering files, it's best to remove the SD card from any device.
2. 2

   Step 2: Download PhotoRec.

   PhotoRec is a free, open-source file recovery that works for Windows, OS X, and Linux. , PhotoRec does not need to be installed.
   
   Simply extract the photorec_os program from the ZIP file.
   
   The os will be replaced with your operating system.
   
   For example, the Windows version is photorec_win , Insert your SD card into your computer using an SD card reader, or by putting it in your camera and connecting the camera via USB. , PhotoRec starts in a command line interface.
   
   You will be using your arrow keys to navigate the program. , Select your SD card from the list of available drives and press ↵ Enter. , Chances are your SD card only has one partition.
   
   Select it with the arrow keys. , This menu option is along the bottom of the window. , You can speed up the search significantly by only searching for a few file types.
   
   If you are trying to recover images, deselect everything except JPG, JPEG, RAW, CR2, PNG, TIFF, GIF, BMP, SR2, and DNG. , This will open the file system menu. , If you are recovering files from an SD card, select Other. , If you are trying to recover deleted files, select Free.
   
   If you are trying to recover files from a corrupt card, select Whole. , Create a new location if you need an easy to access folder. , This process may take a significant amount of time.
   
   You will see the number of recovered files updating in real time. , File names will be corrupted, so you will need to manually search through the recovered files to find the ones you're looking for.
   
   If you don't find the images you need, you can try a different data recovery option.
3. 3

   Step 3: Extract the program.

4. 4

   Step 4: Insert your SD card.

5. 5

   Step 5: Run PhotoRec.

6. 6

   Step 6: Select your drive.

7. 7

   Step 7: Select the partition.

8. 8

   Step 8: Select the File Opt menu.

9. 9

   Step 9: Deselect files you aren't looking for.

10. 10

    Step 10: Select the Search menu option to continue.

11. 11

    Step 11: Select the file system type.

12. 12

    Step 12: Select which space needs to be analyzed.

13. 13

    Step 13: Choose a directory to save recovered files to.

14. 14

    Step 14: Wait for files to be recovered.

15. 15

    Step 15: Browse through your recovered files.

Detailed Guide

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