A Photographer's Worst Nightmare-- Part 2
[ Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, and any links contained in this article are not paid or affiliate links. I have simply included them so that you may check out the product for yourself. If you reached this page without reading Part 1, you can click here to see what the fuss is all about :-) .]
Hi, and welcome back! If you have read Part 1 of this article A Photographer's Worst Nightmare, and How to Fix It, and were intrigued enough to follow on to Part 2, and learn more about DiskDigger, congratulations! And a HUGE thank you for being a loyal reader!
As you were asking at the conclusion of Part 1, "But what's the catch?" in regards to the DiskDigger® utility, and my discussion of what it did for me after I randomly lost or deleted some treasured image files,, read on to find out more about this fabulous file recovery application.
What's the catch? Okay, I'll admit, once I opened the app (and it isn't a download or anything you'll need to install, it is a free-to-use web application), I found the only catch: after you run DiskDigger® and allow it to search through the folder or disc where your "lost" files once resided, and choose the files you wish to recover, as it recover each file, it will pop up a prompt offering to sell you your own downloadable copy of the program for a mere $15.00. The annoying part is, it does this after EACH file it recovers. Which meant in my case, recovering 938 files took me quite some time! But to me, it was completely worth having to click "Not thanks" after each file. That was 938 memories lost I needed to relocate and reclaim, and I was willing to go through a little hassle to get them back! Besides, I wasn't purchasing anything until I was sure the program did exactly what I wanted of it.
True to their claim, it does. 938 files later, I can say with confidence, It recovered all but possibly 10 of them. There were 10 files at the end that did not show what they were or where they were. Possibly application files or thumbnails, I'm guessing. But if I don't know what they were, and I tend to shoot at least five frames of one subject every time I grab a camera, it's quite possible I won't miss them anyway!
Now, to be fair, I started the project on a weekend, and I still had a full time job at Cube World, so the bulk of the project had to be tackled on Saturday and Sunday, and then in 10-40 file increments at a time before and after work. So it took me about 5 days to recover my files. Had I sprung for the $15.00 to purchase DiskDigger®, I could have run the program without interruption and had it done in a day, most likely. The unpaid/free version has about a 5 second gap between each file, after which it prompts you to either purchase the application or continue. So it took about 10 seconds per file for me, at 20-80 files per day, depending on how much time I had to spare that day. If you have files you need to recover, and you have the paid version, I'm guessing it would take you far less time than it did me. 938 .JPG files is a lot of images!
Speaking of file types, DiskDigger® claims that it can recover is fantastic. For you non-photographers, it can also recover documents, audio/video files, compressed files, and a whole broad range of miscellaneous digital files you thought were gone forever. DiskDigger® has two main searches: "Dig Deep" and "Dig Deeper". I recommend the latter. That process may take longer, but it's worthwhile, if you really need to restore those lost files!
FULL LIST HERE:
In additon to the myriad file types the application searches, DiskDigger® is compatible with Android, Linux, and Windows systems. As far as Windows, they claim it works with Windows 7, Vista (!), 8, XP and 10. I am running Windows 10 on my PC, and I use the Opera browser (another application I could rave about), and my image recovery episode went flawlessly!
They are not by any means perfect or artisitic images, just family snapshots taken a decade ago, but they meant a lot to us, and here are the results of the rescue operation:
I'm happy to report, all the deleted/lost images were restored at the same file sizes they were originally in, with all the file data preserved as well. Success!
Now, as I mentioned in the disclaimer at the beginning of this article, this is not a paid post, nor are any of the links paid affiliate links or anything like that. So feel free to click and follow, and check out the product claims for yourself. I just wanted to share a product that I've had an awesome experience with, because I totally understand the frustration of having the PC crash, or accidentally deleting files that were vital, and that sinking feeling you get when things just disappear into the ethereal nebulous intangible digital universe! It's awful. But I can tell you, my experience with DiskDigger® was great, and as soon as I have an opportunity, I will be purchasing a key code for the full product.
Because, after all, my images are important to me and my business. and unfortunately, sometimes, I am all thumbs on a keyboard.
Have you found a file recovery/restoration program that has worked well for you? Share your thoughts in the Comments below! And thanks for visiting ImaginationRanch Photography!