How to Retrieve Lost Photos - A Lesson Learned the Hard Way

Have you ever taken picture after picture, recording one special occasion after another, without ever taking the time to transfer the photos to your computer and a flash drive?  Well, I have.  I've been using the same memory card to take pictures ever since Christmas without transferring any of my personal photos.  I figured I'd get around to it eventually.  The other night during my daughter's confirmation, I pulled out my camera containing that same memory card, and expected to use it to photograph the momentous occasion.  Imagine my horror when the camera displayed an error message and wouldn't let me take any new photos. 

My horror was compounded when I tried to view the pictures I had been storing on the memory card for months - I couldn't view any of them!  I was upset, but I decided not to panic until I had could check out the memory card on the computer.  In my mind, I was hoping that the problem was with my camera and not the card, so if I used the computer to open the pictures, they would all magically reappear.  Well, I wasn't so lucky.  I couldn't open any of the pictures.  It was officially time to panic. 

So, I did what I do any time I have a big problem - I Googled it.  A quick scan of the Google results led me to a website for a software download called CardRecoveryPro.

http://www.cardrecoverypro.com

The program couldn't have been easier to use.  I simply downloaded the free trial of the program and then ran it to see if it could actually retrieve my photos.  To my relief and amazement, it did!  I had so many pictures (1215, to be exact) that it took over an hour for all of my previews to load.  Once they did load, I had to decide if I was willing to pay for a security key that would allow me to transfer the photos to the destination folder of my choice.  Naturally, I would have paid a premium to retrieve my memories from Christmas, Easter and my daughter's fourteenth birthday.  The CardRecoveryPro download was $39.95, a small price to pay to retrieve all of those memories.  I paid, and was immediately able to send my photos to my destination drive (it was stressed that I should restore the file to my hard drive, and NOT to the memory card).  Whew, that was a close one!

If you find yourself in need of the CardRecoveryPro software, you can download it here. 

This whole ordeal has taught me three lessons:

1. Don't wait until you have 1215 photos on your memory card to transfer them.
2. If your memory card is somehow corrupted, it is possible to retrieve the lost photos.
3. Always carry any extra memory card with you to important events.

I'm not being compensated in any way to share this information with you.  I was just so upset when I thought I had lost those photos, and then so thrilled when I realized that I could get them back.  I figured I'm not the only person who has gotten a card error message, and I'm sure I won't be the  last.  If this post can help just one person retrieve their memories, then it will have been worth the time it took to write it.

Linking To:

 

 http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/