Unsupported file

[Miglu]

I copied images from a memory card to a USB and deleted them from the memory card because it was full and I wanted to use it. I downloaded a Linux booting file to the USB, which destroyed the images. I have managed to recover them but many of the images can not be displayed in any program. In some programs the message "unsupported file type" or something like that comes up even though they are JPEG files. Recuva, too, can not display them. The ones that cannot be displayed are the newest images. (I have also tried to recover from the USB but no images were found). What do I have to do to repair the images?

[eniwetok]

Have you started to use the original memory card yet? Since moving files doesn't delete them, you might be able to recover some from there.

 

As for the corrupted files, my guess is they were party overwritten. There are jpeg repair programs but what they tend to do is make partially overwritten images visable... not that they can restore the overwritten areas of a file.

 

Have you tried the USB drive on other systems? I take it its formatted as FAT32. Is that what Linux uses?

 

Oh, don't go by Recuva's preview function. I recovered lots of "unrecoverable" photos while some that were supposed to be perfect looked like they were chopped up and reassembled.

[Miglu]

I have used the memory card a lot. It is FAT32, but I do not use Linux. It is only a part of the problem, that I downloaded its booting file on the USB, so the files were destroyed. In all other programs that I have managed to recover the files with, the preview cannot be shown. And when I recover them so that I make them into an actual file, no program that I have used can show it. Could you give an example of a program that could help me?

[eniwetok]

I downloaded its booting file on the USB, so the files were destroyed.

 

That's the part I don't understand. The photos were moved to the USB drive on a Windows PC? And this Linux program was... what? Was it an installation program moved there? Or was it installed on the USB drive? And if so from what? A Windows PC or a Linux PC? If it were a mere installation file, it should not have overwritten anything. But if were installed on the drive... I have to wonder if the drive was reformatted for Linux.

 

I don't have much experience with repairing (as opposed to recovering) corrupted jpegs. You can try

http://www.download3k.com/Home-Education/M...G-Recovery.html

 

This program works with photos already recovered. My experiences with it are few... and it tends to just display those parts of photos that were not overwritten.

 

There's another program that I'm trying to learn more about:

http://www.impulseadventure.com/photo/fix-...jpeg-photo.html

 

it doesn't look as if JPEGsnoop allows us to correct photos... it seems the site owner just repairs files sent to him. But he does give some tips on repairing jpeg file headers in a hex editor.

[Miglu]

I use a Windows and I wanted to use Ubuntu so I followed the steps on its site: I downloaded a small file and used a program which somehow created a usable series of files and folders from the small file, which could be used to boot Ubuntu. It had to be done on a USB. I did it and all previous files on the USB were destroyed.

[eniwetok]

I use a Windows and I wanted to use Ubuntu so I followed the steps on its site: I downloaded a small file and used a program which somehow created a usable series of files and folders from the small file, which could be used to boot Ubuntu. It had to be done on a USB. I did it and all previous files on the USB were destroyed.

 

I'm still not totally understanding. So the Ubuntu boot file was downloaded to the USB drive from a Windows PC... then you tried to install it there? Did it download anything else from the site? Maybe the instalation was a lot bigger a file than you thought. I'm just wondering whose job it was to say there was no room on the disk without over writing files... Windows or the Ubuntu? Unless it was formatted.

 

Is this the program you're taking about: http://www.pendrivelinux.com/usb-x-ubuntu-610/ ? This program requires a partition of your USB drive... did you do any of that?

 

So how big was the USB drive? And how much room did those photos take up?

 

I assume the files you've been able to identify but not recover were from a Recuva deep scan?

 

BTW... check your mail box.

[Miglu]

Thanks for the information in the mailbox. However, even that program could not recognize the JPG files.

 

The USB was formatted when the program downloaded the booting files on it. The program was not what you mentioned.

 

Recuva said that the unviewable files on the memory card were overwritten by newer pictures that I took. It is strange that the pictures were overwritten in descending order, yet the oldest, the viewable ones, were not the first ones that I had ever taken with a camera with that memory card in it.

 

It seems that I can not recover the overwritten files on the memory card. The last hope is that I can recover the images from the USB, which was completely formatted.

[eniwetok]

It seems that I can not recover the overwritten files on the memory card. The last hope is that I can recover the images from the USB, which was completely formatted.

 

You left that part out. Bummer.

 

I had a few last questions before I saw your last response.

 

How big is the oringal camera card... and how full was it before you transferred everything to the USB drive? How big was the USB drive? How big is the installed program?

 

I'm just wondering if there was any free space where some of the photos could survive being overwritten... or whether all that's left are their file names.

 

Are you sure you're using the JEPG Recovery program correctly? It only works on photos already recovered by a program like Recuva. You've done that, right?

[Miglu]

The original memory card is 512MB. It was so full that I could not take any more pictures. The USB is 2GB according to a text on it and 944MB according to its properties panel. The program takes 926MB.

 

I used JPEG Recovery correctly, but it does not recognise the files as they are overwritten.

 

I think that I am going to send the memory card and the USB to a data recovery company. It probably will not work, as I think that the files are overwritten in the USB, too, and overwritten files can not be gotten back. When do you think that technology that is capable of recovering overwritten data is available?

[eniwetok]

The original memory card is 512MB. It was so full that I could not take any more pictures. The USB is 2GB according to a text on it and 944MB according to its properties panel. The program takes 926MB.

 

I used JPEG Recovery correctly, but it does not recognise the files as they are overwritten.

 

While that still leaves about half of the drive free, the real problem is where it writes to the drive. Both the pics and the program were probably written in the same areas. But I'd still recover what I could from both the card and the drive even if it's not viewable. Using some of the header repair techniques described in the JPEG Snooper page, you might get some data back.

 

When do you think that technology that is capable of recovering overwritten data is available?

 

While there was talk of it when Guttman published his famous paper back in 96, it's not clear it's ever been possible. Here's an interesting article:

http://www.nber.org/sys-admin/overwritten-data-gutmann.html

[Miglu]

Where is the JPEG Snooper page? I doubt that it will help, as I can see that the files are JPEGs, but still they are not recognized. It is because they are overwritten.

 

This article is very pessimistic about recovering overwritten data. Most sources that I can find about this issue conclude that it is not possible, but I can not find any information about whether it will be possible in future. Do you know any information about this?

 

I have not recovered the data, but thanks for helping.

[eniwetok]

I mentioned JPEG Snoop in post 4.

 

http://www.impulseadventure.com/photo/fix-...jpeg-photo.html

 

Good luck!

[Miglu]

I need help on one more thing. Using JPEGSnoop is the closest that I have come to repairing the images. However, when I try to repair them, it displays "File length is zero, no decoding done."

 

When I try to repair some of the good images that I recovered but which have gray areas, the gray areas do not disappear but only change color.

 

Thanks for helping.

[eniwetok]

One last thought... when I was working with one of the owners of Recover My Files he asked for an image of the card I was recovering videos from. I said no, of course. He wanted me to image the card using this program:

 

http://www.getdata.com/download.php?FILE=EzyImager.exe

 

Maybe you can image both the card and USB drive... free them up, and then try other programs... or just wait to see what the state of the art is next year.