
A window will open with the Data Rescue logo. After the download has finished, open the Data Rescue DMG file. The software can be downloaded directly from our website on our Downloads page. For PC users, you will want to run the EXE installer, after which you can follow these same remaining steps, although the window appearance may differ slightly. Note: The steps pictured below are for the Mac version of Data Rescue. Follow along with these steps as we walk you through recovering deleted pictures from a CF card. For best results we recommend using a USB card reader rather than connecting the CF card directly or connecting your camera or recording device with the CF card left in it. All you’ll need is the demo or full version of the software and a way to connect your CF card to your computer. The process of scanning and recovering from a CF card using Data Rescue is easy and straightforward. Recover Deleted Pictures From A CF Card Using Data Rescue For a comprehensive guide on this feature, check out this blog post on Using FileIQ. However, nothing is lost by attempting recovery with this feature. FileIQ will work for many, but not all types of files. This means if you still have some picture files of the same type as the ones deleted from your CF card, there is a possibility that Data Rescue will be able to learn that file type and recover the lost files based on file pattern. The software includes a feature called FileIQ, which helps Data Rescue learn file types by using good working example files of the same type provided by the user. If you are not seeing your picture file format listed (or have already run a scan and have not found any files of that type) your pictures still may be recoverable with Data Rescue using an alternate method. The vast number of file types that exist as a result of the variety of different cameras and software applications available for users means no recovery software will be able to include every file type. If you see the picture file type you are looking for listed, the software should find it when scanning your CF card. The user guide can be accessed through the application by going to the Help → Data Rescue Help dropdown menu option, or downloaded as a PDF from the Data Rescue Support Page of our website. The user guide of the software contains a list of natively supported file types in Section 13: Supported File Types. Is My Picture Format Supported?ĭata Rescue supports a wide range of image formats from different camera manufacturers for deleted picture recovery. Files will be categorized in Data Rescue by file type and extension, however, and you can use the preview feature to identify deleted photos on a CF card you’d like to recover. Unfortunately, due to this process of file deletion, it is not possible to recover deleted files with their folder structure or filename intact. Until those flash memory locations have new data written to them, a software recovery tool, like Data Rescue, can scan the device using known file patterns to identify and reconstruct deleted files that can no longer be accessed normally. When a picture is deleted, the file name is no longer linked to the actual data contents of the file on your CF card, and all flash memory areas used to store a given picture on your device are considered to be available free space.

It essentially acts as the directory for file and folder names that tells your computer where the contents of a file are located on your device. Storage devices of all kinds use something called a file system to logically control and organize the way data is read and written to the device. For this reason, we recommend using the demo version of Data Rescue first, as it allows you to run a sample scan and provides a free file preview feature so you can ensure your deleted images are intact. The potential for recovery depends on a number of factors, and recovery is not possible in every case. Luckily, until new data is written to the CF card, it may be possible to recover deleted photos using a software recovery tool like Data Rescue. You may even intentionally delete the contents of a CF card before realizing you hadn’t actually moved the images to your computer.

Given their use in camera devices, it can be easy to accidentally reformat or erase the contents of the wrong CF card when preparing for a new photo shoot. Compact flash (CF) cards are popular for use with high-end cameras and other electronic media devices to store pictures, audio, and video recordings.
