Data Recovery ProDeleting a photo or quick-formatting a card only changes the card's index. The photo data stays until it is overwritten, and recovery software reads it back, either through the old index or by recognising each file's signature.
A memory card has two parts: the photos themselves, and a file table that says where each photo is and what it's called. FAT32 and exFAT, the file systems almost every camera uses, mark a deleted photo's entry as free and leave its data in place.
Recover them in four steps
- Stop using the card or driveDon't take more photos, copy files to it or format it. Every new file can overwrite one you want back.
- Connect it to your computer and open Data Recovery ProUse a card slot or a USB reader. If your computer offers to format or initialise the card, click Cancel or Ignore. Data Recovery Pro asks for permission so it can read the card directly.
- Scan and previewThe quick scan takes seconds; the deep scan reads every block. Files appear as they are found, each marked intact, partly damaged or not checked, so you see what can be recovered before you decide.
- Recover to your computerChoose the files you want and save them to a folder on your computer or another drive, never back to the card. You only pay if you choose to recover more than the free allowance.
The quick scan reads the old index
Deleted entries usually stay readable in the file table. A quick scan reads them, so files come back with their names, dates and folders. It takes seconds.
The deep scan reads every block
A format replaces the file table. A deep scan reads the card from start to end and recognises the first bytes of each file type: every JPEG starts the same way, and so do PNG, HEIC, most camera RAW, MP4 and MOV files, and many other types such as PDF, Word documents and MP3 audio. It then reads each file to its end. Files found this way have no original names.
Checking what was found
Finding a file isn't the same as recovering it intact. Data Recovery Pro decodes every photo before marking it intact, so you know what will open before you recover it. Photos it can't fully decode are marked partly damaged.
Why you should stop using the card
New photos are written into free space, and after a delete or format, the old photos are free space. Each new photo can overwrite one you want back.
Why it's read-only
Recovery should never change the card. Data Recovery Pro opens the card read-only, has no way to write to it, and saves recovered files somewhere else.
Questions
Will every file come back perfectly?
Most come back exactly as they were, but no one can promise every file. If part of a file was overwritten, Data Recovery Pro recovers what is left and marks it partly damaged. It doesn't repair files. Anything fully overwritten can't be recovered by any software.
Are my photos uploaded anywhere?
No. The scan and the recovery happen on your computer, and your files and file names never touch our servers.