Recuva not seeing my digital camera "Portable Device" files

[JimLudo]

Hi,

 

I am running Windows 8 (in classic shell mode), with a Nikon Coolpix plugged into the USB drive.  (Although I have the same symptoms with my Canon digital camera plugged into the USB drive.)

 

When I start Recuva with the wizard, and select search "File type Pictures" "On my media card or iPod", Recuva finds nothing and returns the message: "No drives were scanned, because none matches with the filter."

 

When I then "switch to advanced mode" and try to pull down on the "All Local Disks" pulldown, Recuva sees only C and D, it does not see my "P300" Portable Device.

 

Over in Windows, meanwhile, using Windows Explorer, the Operating System sees:

Computer

 C:

 D:

 P300

  - Removable storage

     -  DCIM

 

In the right hand pane of Windows Explorer, the P300 Digital Camera shows up under the Portable Devices group.

 

I CAN access the P300 files, for copying etc, using Windows Explorer and also using my image editor (which happens to be Corel Photo-Paint.)

 

When I "right click" on the P300 in the Windows Explorer pane, I do not see the "Scan for deleted files" action.  (That action is, as expected, there for C: and D:.)

 

To be honest, I am having this same issue with the half dozen or so other "undelete" programs I have installed.  None of them are seeing my "Portable Devices," even though undeleting .jpg files from digital cameras seems like one of the most commonly asked about tasks on the internet.

 

 

I have attached a .png snapshot of my Windows Explorer page illustrating the device.

 

Thanks!

Jim

 

 

 

 

 

[DennisD]

Hi Jim, and welcome to the forum.

 

For any recovery program to see your device, it needs a drive letter. Some modern day storage devices such as mobile phones containing a memory card have a "Mass Storage" mode which enables them to be seen and scanned, but I obviously have no idea about your cameras.

 

Why not stick the SD card straight into a computer card reader where it will be seen as a drive, and given a drive letter.

 

If you don't have a card reader, then a USB adapter would do the trick ...

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000VY80AM/ref=pd_luc_ts_04_01

 

That's simply the type I use, but you can get multi card adapters.

 

Hope that helps.

[JimLudo]

Thanks Dennis,

I will try getting a USB adapter/card reader, perhaps from Amazon or Radio Shack, and let you know how that works out.

Sincerely,

Jim

[kroozer]

Jim, I transfer images from my Coolpix by pulling the card from the camera and inserting into the SD/MMC port, Drive (F:). Recuva will scan if commanded.

 

Recuva 1.49, Win7 x64

[DennisD]

Does your computer not have a card reader Jim?

 

I assumed it would, but my daughters little Lenovo doesn't which is why she also has one of these SD USB adapters, which are infinitely faster than my card reader by the way. It's so slow in comparison to the USB adapter I never use the card reader.

[JimLudo]

Thanks to Kroozer and Dennis.  I had simply assumed my computer did not have a card reader, as I have never used its card reader and it is a rather small and obscure port.  (Also, my old monitor had card readers built in, which I can't access w/ Windows 8 64bit.  Because my old computer had the card readers built into the monitor, I always thought of them as external devices.)

 

Anyway, as it happens, my computer DOES have a little SIM reader, and right now even as I type Recuva is doing a deep scan.  (Which is running very slowly, so as per Dennis's comment I may still pick up a USB adapter, but it won't be from necessity.)  So, thanks again!