Undeleting Photos from Your Memory Card That camera was full of the photos from your last family vacation, or a treasured friend’s wedding pictures or even a gazillion pictures of your new family pet, and now the photos are gone. If you have accidentally hit that delete button on your digital camera, rest assured that you are not alone and there is no need to jump into panic mode just yet. While the basic memory card management features on the modern digital camera may be useful to some, it is a rather common occurrence that the average user ends up erasing their memory card inadvertently. Fortunately, hope is not lost and it is certainly possible that those photos can be recovered rather simply.

	When you delete the pictures on a digital camera, most do not actually delete the pictures from the SD memory card permanently, whether you hit the Format or Delete All button. The pictures generally remain on the card but are no longer easily accessible. When you hit the Format or Delete All Button, the function told the memory card that the space is now available. It told the card that it is essentially free space even though the pictures are still there. As you can see, the slate has not actually been wiped clean. However, it is vitally important to the potential recovery of your photos that you stop using the camera right now. Do not take new pictures and do not transfer files to the memory card. If you continue to take pictures, any new pictures you take will overwrite the old ones, thus making it unlikely you can retrieve them. However, as long as you leave that camera alone, there is no new information to overwrite the old. Once you have put the camera down, it is time to go looking for the tool you will need to retrieve those deleted photos. A variety of photo recovery software exists to help individuals in your exact situation. The software works by scanning the formatted memory card to find the deleted photos. Some of these recovery tools are free but utilize a command line interface, thus making them less popular among novice computer users. The cost of other recovery programs varies but some incorporate a user-friendly graphical interface for simpler use. For the best chance at recovery, use a card reader instead of a USB connection for the camera and choose a recovery program that utilizes read-only access. This helps prevent the software from writing any new information onto the memory card. The recovery tools incorporate a simple step-by-step, easy to follow method of recovering the photo files. You will have them back in no time!
	PREVENTING MEASURES
	If you have found yourself worrying over deleted photos, you know the importance of helping to prevent it from happening again. Be sure to backup or export your photos regularly. When formatting your SD memory card, try to utilize a FAT file system. These are the easiest systems from which to recover photos that have been deleted accidentally so if you find yourself in a similar situation in the future, you will have the best possible chance of recovery.
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