I did something bad and now I need help fixing it.

maimezvousmaimezvous
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
This past weekend I got a digital camera for graduation. I had lots of nice pictures on it. I just tried to upload them to iPhoto, move them out of iPhoto so I could easily rename them all, put them back in iPhoto, and then delete the copies I made. Well I wasn't paying attention and I deleted the originals I guess. In iPhoto all of the thumbnails are showing up but none of the full size pictures. I have already tried rebuilding the library to no avail. I also have the memory card to the camera, but after importing I deleted them all. Does anyone know how to recover my deleted files from my hard drive or maybe from the memory card?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    icibaquicibaqu Posts: 278member
    did you remove them from the trash folder in iphoto?
  • Reply 2 of 18
    bergermeisterbergermeister Posts: 6,784member
    If you haven't emptied your trash yet, they are safe.



    Check the trash.



    I just found this, so I have no idea if it would help:

    http://www.mediarecover.com/
  • Reply 3 of 18
    maimezvousmaimezvous Posts: 802member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by icibaqu View Post


    did you remove them from the trash folder in iphoto?



    They weren't there.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bergermeister View Post


    If you haven't emptied your trash yet, they are safe.



    Check the trash.



    I already emptied it. I wasn't paying attention at all when I did this.
  • Reply 4 of 18
    bergermeisterbergermeister Posts: 6,784member
    Ouch.



    Check out

    http://www.mediarecover.com/



    (posted above but you might havemissed it as you were typing)
  • Reply 5 of 18
    bergermeisterbergermeister Posts: 6,784member
    Not cheap but here:



    http://www.binarybiz.com/vlab/mac.html
  • Reply 6 of 18
    maimezvousmaimezvous Posts: 802member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bergermeister View Post


    Not cheap but here:



    http://www.binarybiz.com/vlab/mac.html



    They had a free trial of this and I'm trying that now. Thanks for the links.
  • Reply 7 of 18
    irelandireland Posts: 17,800member
    Back up, back up, back up.
  • Reply 8 of 18
    maimezvousmaimezvous Posts: 802member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Back up, back up, back up.



    I do that but you see, I had just added these photos. So my back up doesn't have this past weekend on it.
  • Reply 9 of 18
    tankgunktankgunk Posts: 43member
    I sure hope these wern't million dollar shots of famous people...



    I wish you luck on recovering those files. You'll need it.
  • Reply 10 of 18
    maimezvousmaimezvous Posts: 802member
    Both of those programs aren't helpful unless I buy them. I found the photos with one of them and it said that they were 100% recoverable. However, I think it might be better if I try to recover these pictures from the SD card that they were originally stored on. I have a care reader and access to both Mac and PC so either type of application will work. I remember awhile ago this same thing happened to someone else here and they recovered their photos easily from the SD card. I just can't remember who that was. Thanks for everyone's help.
  • Reply 11 of 18
    @_@ artman@_@ artman Posts: 5,231member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by maimezvous View Post


    I just tried to upload them to iPhoto, move them out of iPhoto so I could easily rename them all, put them back in iPhoto, and then delete the copies I made.



    Not an iPhoto user, but isn't it easier to rename them in iPhoto?



    Also, I was just going to mention if you checked the SD card. Could be your only hope. Good luck.



    Found some more Mac sources/software for photo recovery.
  • Reply 12 of 18
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,494moderator
    You could try this demo:



    http://www.joesoft.com/products/klix.php



    I don't know if that will recover without buying either though. Most products don't.
  • Reply 13 of 18
    sammicksammick Posts: 416member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    You could try this demo:



    http://www.joesoft.com/products/klix.php



    I don't know if that will recover without buying either though. Most products don't.



    First of all--don't touch the SD card--there are ways of getting deleted photos off the card if you haven't already overwritten them---call the manufacturer of the card--ask if they sell something that will help you recover deleted photos---I know Lexar has something
  • Reply 14 of 18
    maimezvousmaimezvous Posts: 802member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by @_@ Artman View Post


    Not an iPhoto user, but isn't it easier to rename them in iPhoto?



    Also, I was just going to mention if you checked the SD card. Could be your only hope. Good luck.



    Found some more Mac sources/software for photo recovery.



    I don't know how to do that in iPhoto so I just do it in the Finder.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    You could try this demo:



    http://www.joesoft.com/products/klix.php



    I don't know if that will recover without buying either though. Most products don't.



    It didn't, but thanks.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sammick View Post


    First of all--don't touch the SD card--there are ways of getting deleted photos off the card if you haven't already overwritten them---call the manufacturer of the card--ask if they sell something that will help you recover deleted photos---I know Lexar has something



    I did not touch the SD card. My problem may actually be solved now. Turns out my mom's new husband used to do data recovery so he had me send him the SD card and if that doesn't work he'll have me send him my hard drive. I thought it was too late for that but he said since I have a lot of free space on my drive there is a good chance the bits haven't been written over yet. Thanks for everyone's help.
  • Reply 15 of 18
    skyboltskybolt Posts: 111member
    Then the next thing you need to do is to learn how to use iPhoto. You are making life much too hard on yourself by importing, exporting, naming and reimporting! Are you by chance a former Windows user? In the future, just attach your camera (or card reader), import into iPhoto and rename from the info pane on the lower left of your screen. All done!



    And, by the way, do NOTHING to your photos from within the library in finder! Doing so will likely cause corruption, loss of photos and lots of other bad stuff. Do all your renaming, editing, etc. from within the app itself. You and your photos will be thankful!
  • Reply 16 of 18
    maimezvousmaimezvous Posts: 802member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by skybolt View Post


    Then the next thing you need to do is to learn how to use iPhoto. You are making life much too hard on yourself by importing, exporting, naming and reimporting! Are you by chance a former Windows user? In the future, just attach your camera (or card reader), import into iPhoto and rename from the info pane on the lower left of your screen. All done!



    And, by the way, do NOTHING to your photos from within the library in finder! Doing so will likely cause corruption, loss of photos and lots of other bad stuff. Do all your renaming, editing, etc. from within the app itself. You and your photos will be thankful!



    Is there a way to do that for large numbers of photos? I use a simple renaming script in Finder to rename lots of files and stuff.
  • Reply 17 of 18
    skyboltskybolt Posts: 111member
    Yes, there is a batch change feature. Not at the mac right now, but think it is under the "photo" dropdown on the top menu (look around, you'll find it). You can batch change the name, date, time, etc. all at once. Just select your photos, click on batch change and go to town. Then, I suggest you organize the photos in Folders and albums to keep you straight. I also suggest renaming the "roll" to something more indicative of what it contains. Use the little info box in the lower left for this.



    Good luck!
  • Reply 18 of 18
    maimezvousmaimezvous Posts: 802member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by skybolt View Post


    Yes, there is a batch change feature. Not at the mac right now, but think it is under the "photo" dropdown on the top menu (look around, you'll find it). You can batch change the name, date, time, etc. all at once. Just select your photos, click on batch change and go to town. Then, I suggest you organize the photos in Folders and albums to keep you straight. I also suggest renaming the "roll" to something more indicative of what it contains. Use the little info box in the lower left for this.



    Good luck!



    Thank you so much, I wish I would have known this when I got my Mac last year. Uploading and then exporting, then naming, and reimporting hundreds of photos really sucks. I'm actually surprised this is the first time I've deleted something.
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