How to Recover Lost Pictures From My Memory Card

1. Don't attempt to find the photos yourself. If you click around in the folders on a memory card on your computer, you can cause more problems. You don't want to end up deleting your pictures by accident.
2. Try the card in another camera if the error is on your camera. It is rare, but the potential that it is a camera issue and not a card issue is certainly possible. Even if you test the card in a computer and it works, you won't know for sure that it is a camera issue unless the card works in another camera.
3. Attempt to open the card on more than one computer if you can. On most Windows systems, the card can be inserted directly into the memory card slot. This slot is on the front or side of laptops, and often hidden behind a panel on desktop computers. If you have a Mac, you will likely need a memory card reader. These devices are made so that the card slides into one end and the other end can be inserted into any USB port on your computer.
4. It is highly likely that your computer will fail to recognize the files on the card and prompt you to reformat. Say "No." Reformatting the card will erase all of your pictures.
5. Download a file recovery program. There are free softwares, such as VaioSoft Recovery Manager and SoftPerfect File Recovery, available for download online. These programs will attempt to recover all of the identifiable files on your disk and save them to another location, leaving the original disk unaltered.
6. Use the file recovery program to find and restore your files. To use VaioSoft Recovery Manager, click on the memory card in the left pane, then click the "Restore" tab. Select the files that you would like to recover on the tab and click "Restore." In SoftPerfect File Recovery, choose the memory disc drive from the drop-down menu next to "Where." Click on the name of a file and click "Restore." Then choose a folder where you would like to save the file and click "Save." Not only will you find those photos currently saved to the card, but also photos that you had deleted. Deleting photos on your camera with the normal delete features deletes photos only from the file system, not from the card itself.