Randomn3ss » How to recover lost files

This article was written by Mike Panic and is about: Software

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In a previous article I wrote about keeping your camera memory card healthy, what happens if you accidentally erase all those images? Even worse, what if the hard drive in your computer starts to give you problems or you�ve deleted something and now you need to recover deleted files from the trash can. There is hope, a small yet robust piece of software called Handy Recovery can probably bring everything back for you.

As with all software that is worth a dang, Handy Recovery is free to try. In my honest opinion you should never have to pay for something without being able to give it a try. The software is small, installs fast but is extremely powerful. I tested it on a memory card that I had recently deleted all the files from (on purpose) and was able to salvage everything that was on it and even some images that I didn�t know would come back.

The software will run on Microsoft Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista operating systems. The program supports all Windows file systems for hard and floppy drives including FAT12/16/32, NTFS/NTFS 5 and image recovery from CompactFlash, SmartMedia, MultiMedia and Secure Digital cards. It can recover compressed and encrypted files on NTFS drives. Sorry Mac and Linux folks, this one is Windows only.

My experience also tells me that this should work fine on Sony memory sticks, xD memory cards, and micro SD and mini SD cards. When I ran my test, it was using the built in card reader in my computer, I doubt this will work if you leave the card in the camera and attach it to the computer via the USB cable.

To use it, download the trial, install it, run the application. You�ll see a window very similar to Windows Explorer with the tree structure. Select the drive you want to recovery from the drop down menu on the left and hit recover. You�ll soon start to see a list of files (and folders) showing up. Highlight all of them and recovery to the specified folder of your choosing. One of the really nice things about this software is that it will tell you prior to recovery the files what the likelihood of a good recovery will be. It also runs very fast, doing my entire 2GB CF card recovery in only a few minutes.

A license for the software will cost you $39 after the 30 day trial has expired. If you are an avid photographer or just really good at getting viruses on your computer, it is a small price to pay for the ability to recovery lost documents and family vacation photos.

Disclaimer: This was a sponsored review.