Free CF Card Recovery Software to Retrieve Data on Windows/Mac

Once the lost data is overwritten by new content, it cannot be recovered. Hence, when data loss occurs, stop using the storage device immediately and perform data recovery as soon as possible.

CF Card Data Loss

CompactFlash (CF) is a mass storage device format introduced and first manufactured by SanDisk in 1994. It uses flash memory in a standard form factor and is one of the common types of memory cards (others including SD cards). Owing to its size, capacity, and speed, it has been used in various portable electronic devices such as cameras, DSLRs, camcorders, music players, and gaming devices.

However, with the popularity of CF cards, data loss from them is quite common due to various reasons. These include:

• Deletion of files
• Card formatting
• File system corruption (CF card showing as RAW file system)
• Virus attack

The typical capacity range for a CF card is from 2MB to 512GB. That could mean a lot of pictures (since CF cards are mostly used in digital cameras). All you need to recover all lost files from your CF card is free data recovery software – tools Data Recovery Wizard.

Free CF Card Recovery Software

Data Recovery Wizard is not just for CF card data recovery – it can do so much more. In addition to retrieving data from various brands of CF cards like SanDisk, Lexar, Toshiba, Kingston, and PNY, it can also help recover deleted, formatted, or lost files from your computer or other external storage devices.

This free CF card recovery software allows you to recover 2 GB of files for free. So if the files you want to recover are less than 2 GB, the free version can perfectly meet your needs. In addition, this software supports CF card recovery on both Windows and Mac. Get the right version now and recover data from CF card immediately.

Step 1: Connect your SD card, memory card, or CF card to the computer and launch the Memory Card Recovery tool on the PC. The SD card will be listed under “Devices.” Select the SD card and click “Scan” to start searching for lost data.

Step 2: The software will automatically start scanning for lost files. This scan is very powerful and can find all your lost files, even if they have lost their filenames. When the scan is complete, you can find your deleted items in the tree view on the left. If you're looking for a specific type of file, such as photos, documents, videos, or emails, click the "Filter" button.

Step 3. You can preview the contents by double-clicking the files. Then, select the ones you need and hit “Recover” to restore them to a secure location on your computer or any external storage device.

You may know that when you recover photos with data recovery software, some of them might get corrupted. This means that even though you can retrieve the lost picture, you cannot open it and view its content. However, this will not happen if you choose Data Recovery Wizard tool. The software will fix the damaged photos (.jpg or .jpeg) during the recovery process – quietly but effectively. When the CF card recovery tool finds corrupted images, it will fix them automatically and show you the intact pictures.

How to Prevent Data Loss from CF Card

While data recovery software can usually get your lost photos or files back in most cases, it's still best to try and avoid losing data on your CF card or any other storage device in the first place. Here are some tips to prevent data loss on your CF card:

Delete item carefully

Unlike with files deleted from a computer, data removed from a CF card does not go into a Recycle Bin or Trash folder, making it impossible to recover accidentally deleted items. As such, be careful when deleting files from a CF card.

Erase device carefully

I understand that in certain situations, you might need to format a CF card to fix errors on your device, like virus attacks or when it turns RAW. However, since formatting will erase all photos from the device, it's advisable to first perform data recovery using tools like Data Recovery Wizard to ensure the safety of your data. While this tool allows you to recover a formatted CF card, it's recommended to do data recovery first to minimize the risk.

Backup important files to another location

Develop a habit of regularly backing up important files to protect against data loss. If you lose the original file, you can still access the backup. For backup options, you can manually copy and paste files from your CF card to another device, use a free backup program, or sync your files to cloud storage. Choose the method that best suits your needs.

Bottom line

As long as it is not overwritten, you can successfully perform CompactFlash card recovery with the Data Recovery Wizard tool. As important as it is to know how to recover data after loss, learning how to prevent data loss on devices like CF cards is equally essential. Hopefully, this guide has helped you retrieve the files you need.