Ubuntu
digikam package

I deleted an album of photos in Digicam by accident. Is there any way to retrieve them?

Asked by Linda D A

I use Linux.. Deleted an album in DigiKam by accident. Is there any way to retrieve them? They are not in the trash bin.
Thanks

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Ubuntu digikam Edit question
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Harvey Muller
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Harvey Muller (hlmuller) said : 		#1

Linda,

Based on the input you provide, I would say there is no way to retrieve the deleted pictures without great effort on your part.

These are questions I would need to know to give you a better prognosis:

A. When did you delete them?
B. Are they on the same machine you are using now? (DANGER)
C. Have you emptied the trash? (DANGER - DO NOT DO THIS)
D. Have you viewed hidden files in the trash? I don't use digikam, but it may use hidden files to store albums. It may begin with a '.'
E. Are you sure it was deleted and not just moved elsewhere?

Here's what you need to know immediately:

1. First check the trash, verify there are no invisible hidden files/directories in there. If there are, pull them out of the trash and inspect them. If you find them, then problem solved.

1. Turn the machine off, if it is the one you are using right now.

    You may destroy the deleted pictures by using your machine.

2. Using another machine, get one of the LiveCDs from this page, and burn it:

    http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Livecd

3. Boot the machine with the deleted pictures with the new LiveCD.

    In a terminal, run:

    $ man photorec

    That's the program you will use to recover the deleted pictures. It will also pluck every picture on your hard drive. You will need a separate USB hard drive to send the recovered pictures to, as you don't want to touch the hard drive where the deleted pictures are, until your pictures are recovered.

Your results will depend on how long it has been that the album was deleted, and if the system has been active (downloading, creating new files, etc.)

Finally, this is a horrible time to learn about the necessity of a good backup plan. Please take a look at solutions like sbackup, which can automate the process for you.

Please report back to Launchpad and mark this question Solved, if this solves your question.

Thanks!

Harvey

Revision history for this message
Best Harvey Muller (hlmuller) said : 		#2

Hi Linda,

I am checking to see if the information I provided resolved your question. If so, please mark the question Solved.

Thanks!

Harvey

Revision history for this message
Linda D A (lda275) said : 		#3

Thank you so much. I had to wait until my grandson came over and used your solution. I found many more photos than I thought I'd lost. Wonderfully quick, knowledgeable help!
Linda Albrecht