Last Monday, I spent the day rebuilding my Mac’s software installation after Filevault (the Mac’s data encryption system) destroyed part of OS X, leaving the machine unbootable. I didn’t lose too much data, since I’d done a full backup two weeks earlier, (and if I’d thought more before I started, I could have probably backed up my data again from Ruth’s laptop). But I did lose the pictures we’d taken in the UK the weekend before, which I’d already deleted from the camera’s memory card.
Fortunately, I remembered I’d had that problem before and had used Photorescue to restore the deleted pictures on the camera’s card. It took a while with a 1 GB compact flash card to scan, but about 20 minutes later, I had all 47 pictures that I’d lost back on the Mac’s hard disk. That’s the second time I’ve been grateful to the authors of the program, which is well worth the $29 that it cost. If you want to know whether the program can help you, download it (there are PC and Mac versions) and try it out – if it can restore your pictures, it will allow you to preview them, but not save them until you have parted with your money.
