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Recover Photos After Accidentally Formatting

by Anaiza Ordaz
(Celeste, TX)

Canon Memory Card

Canon Memory Card

"I accidentally pressed format card and pictures cannot be found. Is there a way I can recover photos?"

Hello Anaiza,
Sorry to hear of your issue with accidentally formatting images from your camera's memory card. Whether it's with a Canon camera or any other, it can be frustrating, maddening, or even a little scary to know you may have lost some of your photos for good.

Yes, You can "recover" photos from a formatted memory card provided you haven't used the card again and it has overwritten "on top of" the old photos. There are several variables that can come into play that determine how much success you'll have in getting back your photos.

RULE #1 DISCONTINE FROM USING THE CARD IMMEDIATELY AFTER ACCIDENTALLY FORMATTING IT AND PLACE IT IN A SAFE PLACE THAT WILL KEEP IT AWAY FROM USING THE CARD AGAIN.

How to Recover Formatted Photos from a Camera's Memory Card

You have two options on getting your photos back.

1. USE RECOVERY SOFTWARE

There is both paid for and free software that you can download and use to recover formatted image files. Here is a list of top ten recovery software.

2. USE A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

You can pay a professional service to do it for you. There is a large variety of prices on this option. Here is an example of a data recovery service. Some companies specialize in recovering entire compute drives. That is overkill for your situation.

Good luck,
Bruce

Canon Memory Cards

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Author Bruce Lovelace
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