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Recovering Lost or Deleted Pictures from Your Computer or Camera by Nikki Willhite Ever want to take an axe to your computer?  I think we all have at one time or another.  I had one of those experiences last week. It all started on a beautiful, sunny day in Seattle.  We went to one of my grandson's soccer games, took lots of great pictures,  and then came back to the house, and took more pictures. I am always very careful with my digital pictures.  After I download them from my camera, I copy them to 2 different folders so I won't lose them before I can name them, adjust the size, and move them to a more permanent location on my computer.  Eventually they are uploaded to my online backup service. When I finally had the time to work on these pictures,  they were missing.  They were missing from both folder locations.  I was incredulous.  I knew I didn't delete them and I was determined to find them, no matter how long it took. I spent a lot of time checking all the folders on my computer to make sure they weren't misplaced.   Then I started thinking about software recovery programs.  I knew that things were never really deleted until you wrote over them.  I had used my computer a little bit, but there were so many pictures I thought I might recover some of them. I downloaded a file recovery program, hoping it wouldn't overwrite my pictures.  I soon discovered that the "free trial" of these software programs does not work like most shareware programs.  You don't get a real trial run.  They scan your disk, using your parameters, but you have to pay money and purchase the program before you can recover your pictures. I ended up downloading about 4 programs, and they all worked the same way.   If I was sure these programs would have worked, I would have registered the programs.  However, even in the "trial mode" these programs didn't work correctly on my computer.  You were suppose to be able to preview the pictures.  You just couldn't recover them unless you purchased the software. I am way too frugal to toss $49 down the drain.  I kept looking.  I found another recovery program that was free.   However it was unable to find my pictures. In the meantime, all my computer work had ceased.  My husband kept telling me to "let it go."  Of course there would be other soccer games, and many other occasions to take more pictures, but I just couldn't handle losing the memories of that day. Finally I decided to focus on the sim card on my camera.  I had used my camera for some other pictures, and I knew some of my Saturday pictures would be missing, but was hopeful that I could still recover some of them. Once again, I tried several programs, without any luck.  Just as I was about to give up, and about 24 hours later, I gave it one more shot.  One more download program....and it worked.   This program brought up my lost pictures.  I could preview them.  I gladly paid the fee, which was less for this program ($39), got my registration number, and retrieved my pictures. Should you ever have a similar problem, remember to stop using your computer.  I was lucky.  I got back about 30 out of 35 pictures.  Here is the link to the free file recovery program SnapFiles.  You can try that first.  My computer has given me a lot of problems of late, so many of the paid recovery programs that did not work for me may work for you. Some pictures are irreplaceable.  Thankfully, if you know what to do, you can try and get them back.  As you can see from the picture below, (one of my restored pictures), they are returned without damage. About the Author: Nikki Willhite, mother of 3 and an interior design graduate, has been writing and publishing articles on the topic of frugal living for over a decade. Visit her at www.frugalhappyfamilies.com - where you will find hundreds of frugal living tips and articles. Frugal Happy Families- more than just money!

 

 

 

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