Unable to recover DNG files with PhotoRec

Using PhotoRec to recover lost data
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Author
esselle
Posts: 3
Joined: 22 Jun 2025, 21:14

Unable to recover DNG files with PhotoRec

#1 Post by esselle »

Hi,

I think I have followed the recommendations given in previous posts on this subject, but it looks like PhotoRec did not manage to recover any of the DNG's I accidentally deleted.
The subject is not particularly urgent; I can still manage to recreate the DNG's I have lost. Nevertheless I thought to write in this forum as it might be an issue for others too.

A couple of information related to my specific case:
  • The DNG files were on an NTFS partition, mounted on Linux Ubuntu 20.04
  • They were accidentally removed with an rm command
  • The partition is the only one on the disk, a 1TB SSD
  • The DNG's were all created by DxO PhotoLab 6 starting from Nikon NEF's, and were quite large (~250MB)
  • I have used PhotoRec 7.1, with default settings.
Last but not least: Albeit DNG's were not recovered by PhotoRec, a lot of other files were. I am really grateful to the developers.
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recuperation
Posts: 3036
Joined: 04 Jan 2019, 09:48
Location: Hannover, Deutschland (Germany, Allemagne)

Re: Unable to recover DNG files with PhotoRec

#2 Post by recuperation »

Your photos were located on an SSD.
Your Linux operating system is a recent one that supports the TRIM command:
https://releases.ubuntu.com/focal/

The TRIM command notifies the SSD firmware about deleted sectors.
The SSD firmware then erases them one by one.

Thank you for delivering the case essentials!
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esselle
Posts: 3
Joined: 22 Jun 2025, 21:14

Re: Unable to recover DNG files with PhotoRec

#3 Post by esselle »

Hi,
I forgot to mention that I can make a couple of the DNG files available, just in case their content/format could give hints why PhotoRec could not recognise them.
Thanks again for your work!

.
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recuperation
Posts: 3036
Joined: 04 Jan 2019, 09:48
Location: Hannover, Deutschland (Germany, Allemagne)

Re: Unable to recover DNG files with PhotoRec

#4 Post by recuperation »

Besides, I forgot to say that you are using an outdated version of PhotoRec.
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esselle
Posts: 3
Joined: 22 Jun 2025, 21:14

Re: Unable to recover DNG files with PhotoRec

#5 Post by esselle »

I am afraid it is the last one available in the standard repository for my (quite old) version of Ubuntu.
Thanks for the hint, though. It looks like I have now one reason more to update Ubuntu to its latest LTS version.
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