Are you using a Lexar memory card and you accidentally formatted the card and deleted some pictures? You know these pictures are still recoverable and you also learned that photo recovery software like Lexar Image Rescue can help you retrieve the photos.
However, as of this writing, Lexar Image Rescue 5 is no longer available to download or buy. It seems Lexar has taken down this product.
Contents
Is Lexar Image Rescue Free?
No, it’s not free software. I’ve tried the app on my Mac. It does offer a demo that is free to use, but you’re only allowed to recover up to three files. See this warning message.
If you have more than three files to recover, you’ll have to purchase ImageRescue and activate the program before actually saving those found photos.
It’s worth noting that if you’ve ever bought a new Lexar card, it comes with a free downloadable ImageRescue 5 software.
What Are The Best Alternatives to Lexar Image Rescue?
It’s hard to say which one is the best alternative to replace ImageRescue unless you’ve done benchmark tests which are extremely difficult due to the nature of data recovery. That said, here are a few good programs worth giving a try.
If You Are Comfortable with Using Command Line Tool
I recommend this free software called PhotoRec. You can download it here, and the step-by-step guide can be found here.
PhotoRec is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Besides images, the program can also recover many other types of files like documents, emails, videos, etc.
If You Prefer GUI Software (You Probably Do)
We have a dedicated roundup on the best photo recovery software, most have friendly user interfaces and are available for both Windows and macOS.
Note: like Lexar Image Rescue, the best recovery programs are usually not free. But they offer a trial version for you to evaluate whether your pictures are recoverable or not.
A general step-by-step recovery guide would be like this:
- Download the photo recovery program and install it on your PC or Mac.
- Connect your Lexar memory card to the computer via a card reader.
- Open the software and select the drive your Lexar card stands, and choose certain file formats (optional) to continue.
- Scan the card for recoverable items.
- Preview them after the scan is complete.
- Check and select those you want and save them.
Final Thoughts
The chances to retrieve all your pictures are not a sound 100%. This is because the data contained in your deleted pictures could have already been written over if you had continued to use the same Lexar card to store new pictures.
If that is the case, the chance of recovery is slim. And if those lost pictures are super important to you, your last resort is perhaps sending your Lexar card to a data recovery center for services, which can be very expensive and still not guaranteed that you’ll get all your data back.
deborah tesch
what if it is a card bought from micro center? i put the card in a MacBook, and then took it out. the card is not erased, i.e. i see i only have 9 pictures left to take BUT I can’t see the pictures when i try to review them on the camera. I also can’t see them on the MacBook anymore since I deleted them from the card while it was in the MacBook slot.
can I see the pics anywhere? can I erase them off the card? thanks