7-Data Photo Recovery 1.6

Overview

7-Data Photo Recovery is a Windows software package designed to specifically help locate and manage photos that need to be recovered. Sometimes a photo file will not have been saved completely and will need repairing in order to be able to access the image data. The software can actually recover audio and video files as well, although its main focus is on photos. Local drives, SD cards, memory sticks, external hard drives and digital camera storage can all be accessed in order to help track down missing, lost or corrupted files.

Installation

The installation takes up 5.1 MB of storage. It will prompt the user to avoid installing the recovery software on the same storage medium as the one they wish to recover files from. This is because it potentially could install right on top of old files making them unrecoverable in the process, so the warning is a sensible one. A desktop icon can be added to make it easier to load the program in the future. No Start menu item is specifically mentioned.

A web page is loaded without warning with instructions on how to recovery photos using the software. Would have been nice to have that as a checkbox choice during install rather than happening automatically. No adware or toolbar were added during the install process.

Interface

When the software loads, it automatically displays all the available storage system including local drives, USB hard drives and other storage where photos can be saved. The capacity of each storage medium is also shown. There is an Advanced Settings button which takes the user to a dialog where they can recover RAW image files.

Once the storage medium has been selected, the interface changes to display the folder tree and the files available either from the root or a selected folder as the user navigates around the photos found on the storage medium selected. Checking the box for each image located that the user wishes to recover and then hitting the Save button will start the process. There are also some additional options in the main toolbar at the top to help navigate and action some additional work on the image files found. Images can be previewed and there are some tabs to see text information, HEX or the image itself.

Pros

• Well design photo recovery package from a data recovery software specialist
• Locate lost files that cannot be seen by simple examination of photo storage
• Access partitions that have been damaged
• Access folders that have been damaged
• Work with RAW image files
• Recover image files from storage which is failing
• Free and paid app versions
• Works with Windows XP, 7 or 8

Cons

• Free package will only recover up to 1 GB of image data

Alternatives

Digital Photo Recovery offers recovery from Compact Flash, Memory Sticks, Smart Media, SD cards, local drives and more. A long list of image file types is supported. Easy Digital Photo Recovery can help to recover photo files from Compact Flash, MMC, SD, and memory sticks.

Conclusion

7-Data Photo Recovery is a decent photo recovery software package for SD cards, digital cameras, local drives and external drives. The software can also recover video and audio files which is a bonus. A simple interface and easy to use as the main selling points here.