How to Recover Deleted Photos from a GoPro Camera

Read this article to find out what to do if a photo or video was deleted from an action camera, how to connect a camera to the computer and which data recovery tool to use. GoPro devices revolutionized the way we use cameras: they can work in conditions that a regular digital camera cannot survive. From sky-jumping to diving – these cameras can become your companion in any adventure you could think of. Naturally, you wouldn’t like the idea of losing your precious memories only because of an error that strikes your camera or its memory card.

How to Recover Deleted Photos from a GoPro Camera

After all the things you have been through and the exciting photos you have taken, it would be too sad to discover they have disappeared for good. However, in this digital age where everything seems so volatile, pressing the «Delete» button is luckily not so lethal as before.

Most cameras save photos, videos and other files right to a memory card, because they don’t have enough integrated memory. The range of memory cards that can be used by a certain manufacturer is impressive: MMC, miniSd and microSD, xD, Compact Flash and Smart Media. Just as other storage devices, memory cards are prone to loss of data due to human factors or mechanical errors.

GoPro

There could be quite a number of things to cause data loss: a camera’s error, formatting, accidental removal of files, an error while copying data, or a software failure. The most popular user errors that usually cause data loss are wrong treatment or operation of the camera, turning the camera off or trying to extract the memory card while files are being copied. Unfortunately, a GoPro camera is no exception.

How to recover data from a memory card

The first thing to do if you encounter a case of data loss is to stop using the memory card. Your photos are still there – they are just marked as deleted and that is the only reason why you don’t see them. So if you keep on using this memory card, your file may get overwritten and this will certainly make them unavailable for recovery. Just turn the camera off and take out the memory card. This is the sequence of steps that we recommend:

  1. Find a good data recovery tol for your memory card. It is very important to choose a reliable data recovery product so that your situation doesn’t get worse than it was.
  2. Download and install the program.
  3. Connect the memory card to your PC. After the installation, connect the memory card to your computer. If it has a built-in card reader, use it, and if it doesn’t, get yourself an external USB card reader.
  4. Start the program. When the memory card is connected, run a data recovery tool and follow the steps as suggested by a file recovery wizard.

A perfect tool for this purpose is Hetman FAT Recovery – one of the most convenient and reliable data recovery tools to help an average user to restore files from a memory card. It features an effective scan and recover algorithm to deal with photos and other file types from memory cards and other devices using the FAT file system, which works equally well regardless of what caused the loss of data – a memory card error or unintentional removal.

The program for recovering memory cards, USB flash drives with FAT file system.

When you go on holiday next time, feel free to take as many photos and videos as you like – now you know they won’t be lost so easily.

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Vladimir Artiukh

Author: , Technical Writer

Vladimir Artiukh is a technical writer for Hetman Software, as well as the voice and face of their English-speaking YouTube channel, Hetman Software: Data Recovery for Windows. He handles tutorials, how-tos, and detailed reviews on how the company’s tools work with all kinds of data storage devices.

Oleg Afonin

Editor: , Technical Writer

Oleg Afonin is an expert in mobile forensics, data recovery and computer systems. He often attends large data security conferences, and writes several blogs for such resources as xaker.ru, Elcomsoft and Habr. In addition to his online activities, Oleg’s articles are also published in professional magazines. Also, Oleg Afonin is the co-author of a well-known book, Mobile Forensics - Advanced Investigative Strategies.

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