Recuva found my files but cannot open them as the file appears to be damaged or corrupt

Recuva
1

Hoping someone can help. I have read the Recuva help/troubleshooting but have found no answer, and some of the Recuva deiscussion topics.

I used Recuva for the first time when I accidentally deleted jpeg files off my USB stick. I installed Recova The files were discovered and 'excellent'. I restored them onto my computer under a different file location. I can see the file, the size etc, although there is no preview. When I open them in the default location of Windows Photo Gallery I get the following message "Photo Gallery can't open this picture or video. The file appears to be damaged or corrupt."

I have tried to open them through Photoshop also but to no avail.

Any ideas?

2

Hi Iomac, and welcome to the forum.

This may not work but have a try opening the files with IrfanView. It can work where other programs fail, including Photoshop.

http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=36241&view=findpost&p=217842

3

Hi Dennis

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately IrfanView didn't work. "Unknown file format or file not found". :(

Back to the drawing board......

4

That's a shame.

This is probably stating the obvious, but do the files have the correct extension attached to them?

There are programs out there that claim to be able to fix some damaged files, but 99.99% of them are commercial, but I did find one some time ago which was free. I don't have it anymore, but I'll see if I can find it again. Not the magic bullet probably but you never know.

I'll post it here when I find it, and if any of the other guys know of any freeware image repair programs, I'm sure they'll let you know

5

Right-click the photo, & choose open with & select Internet Explorer.

Internet Explorer is usually able to open a picture if it is a .jpg, as well as various other formats. Also, try to drag & drop into Windows Media Player while open.

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If it still does not work, try navigating to C:\Programs Files\Windows Photo Gallery\ & open Photo Gallery & try to view your photos.

Additionally, you can try going to folder options & try running reset under .JPG extension options to see if that corrects the problem.

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One person listed this as a working solution for your type problem under Vista:

If you can open the file in another program, but cannot see it in Photo Gallery (I.e. you are getting the above error message).

Fire up Windows Movie Maker. Go to Tools/Options & select the "Restore All Defaults" option.

If you click on an image file now, it might now default to using Microsoft Photo Editor (if it's installed).

In which case, simply right click on any image file. Go to Properties & click Change (beside opens with under General Tab).

Select Windows Photo Gallery as the default viewer.

Windows Photo Gallery is a Vista program, so it appears you are running Vista.