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Question

GetDataBack Shows files in Pink $C150.JPG "We can't open?"

Sep 7, 2015 9:25AM PDT

I'm despratly trying to recover one specific file of wedding photo's. I've used Recuva and GetDataBack. Each time I run the software I find the photo's I want to recover but it won't allow me to view them. I get messages that look like this: $C150.JPG and a message below that says "We can't open this file."
I've checked the Hex and know how to read Hex but don't know what any of it means:
Offset 0 - Bytes - AB A6 8E 6B 28 EC D9 05 ect.. Chars, whatever that might be is in symbols.

Is there any hope to recover these photo's? If so, how do I go about getting them back?
Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
jpg
Sep 7, 2015 9:40AM PDT

photos in a single file? This is a zip file? Try opening the file in notepad and past the first couple lines. Sometimes there's a clue in the first line or two in that gives indication of the file, such as PK for pk zip files, MZ for microsoft program files, etc. Also look for any clear text in the file since metadata might be in it to indicate what it is. As for the hex, surely it had a hex to ascii convert to one side or the other? If not and you have a Linux bootable CD, add bless hex editor and it will convert the hex part to text so you can check for clues.

One trick I've used in past is to take part of a corrupted jpg header and footer area off, paste that portion right into the middle of another working jpg file, and save it under another name and then open it. Often it displays most if not all the image that it wouldn't previously in the middle area and I can then do a screen capture to create a new uncorrupted file of it.

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correction
Sep 7, 2015 10:14AM PDT
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Answer
You could try "Previous Versions".
Sep 7, 2015 9:46AM PDT

I assume you have no backup for this photo. In that case I'd try "Previous Versions". Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder with the pictures, then right-click the folder and click Properties. Now click the Previous Versions tab and look to see if there's a copy there that can be opened.
Another thing I wonder about is whether that photo would still be in the camera that took the photo. If possible I'd look there as well.
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Good luck.

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Answer
Be sure to not run recovery on a boot drive.
Sep 7, 2015 9:49AM PDT

Let's say we boot from drive C and we want to recover files. The first step is to remove that drive from the PC. WHY?

Because as we boot and install recovery software we can overwrite what we want to recover. Often this first step is only discovered after the owner has started recovery. They have used the drive for booting the PC and for installing more software. At best you can do is hope for the files to come back. It's never a sure thing if they didn't know what to do first.