Frequently asked questions
Before you touch the card again: straight answers about failed cards and where ShotRevive stands.
Does an unreadable card mean the photos are gone?
Not necessarily. The directory can be damaged while some or much of the underlying photo data remains. Recovery depends on the failure and whether data has been overwritten.
Should I format the card when my computer asks?
No. Decline the prompt and avoid writing to the card. Recover or image it first.
Can software recover a physically damaged card?
Software cannot repair broken electronics or damaged flash memory. Bent, burned, wet, overheating, or repeatedly disconnecting media may need a professional laboratory.
Is ShotRevive available now?
Not yet. It is in active development. Join early access to hear about meaningful progress and private testing opportunities.
What kinds of failures is ShotRevive built for?
Logical failures on camera cards, external hard drives, SSDs and USB drives: deleted files, formatted cards or drives, media that looks unreadable, and interrupted recordings. It is not built for phones, servers, or physically destroyed media.
Does ShotRevive work on hard drives and SSDs?
Yes. Along with memory cards and disk images, it scans external hard drives, SSDs, USB drives and second internal drives. It recognizes photos, RAW files and video by their structure, so it can find them after a format or when folders are damaged. Your computer’s own system drive is never offered as a source; recovering from it safely means working from a copy. Recovering original file names and folders from Windows (NTFS) drives is on the roadmap.
Will ShotRevive write anything to my card?
It is being designed around reading, not repairing. The workflow protects the source card and sends recovered files to a different drive.
Which computers will it run on?
The current prototype runs on Windows. Tell us your setup when you join early access so we can prioritize what comes next.
If your card just failed, start with the six-step guide before you do anything else.
Want ShotRevive when it is ready?
Join the photographer and videographer testing group for development updates and private testing.
Join early access