Are you using a Lexar memory card and for some reason, you accidentally formatted the card and deleted some pictures. You know the lost pictures are recoverable and you learned that Lexar Image Rescue is the photo recovery software to try.
New Update: Lexar Image Rescue 5 is no longer available to download or buy. It seems Lexar has taken down this product.
Photo recovery software like Image Rescue 5 may help, though it probably won’t succeed in every case.
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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 like this one, it actually 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 testings which are extremely difficult due to the nature of data recovery.
That said, I’m here to share a few good programs worth giving a try.
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)
I’d first recommend Stellar Photo Recovery, as it has a friendly user interface and it’s also available for both Windows and macOS. You can find more alternatives from our photo recovery software roundup.
Note: like Lexar Image Rescue, Stellar Photo Recovery isn’t free software either. But you can use the trial to evaluate whether your pictures are recoverable or not.
A general step by step guide is 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, 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 Words
I want to remind you though, chances to retrieve all your pictures are not 100% guaranteed. This is because the data contained in your deleted pictures could have already been written over (if you had continued to use the same card to store new pictures).
If that is the case, 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.
Also, if your Lexar card is corrupted or damaged, chances are the software won’t be much help in this case. You’ll need to fix the card first before using the above recovery program. Check out this SD card recovery guide to learn more.
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