Program can help in recovery of pictures

Q: My son was in Europe for six weeks and took about 500 pictures, but he had a problem with his camera. Unexpectedly, pictures would disappear. I used a free version of PC Inspector File Recovery. I was able to see all the pictures, but about the bottom 60 percent were gray. Could you recommend a product or a service for recovery?

Phillip R. Derengowski

A: A program I have used successfully can be found here: www.lexar.com/software/image_rescue3.html.

I’ve never used PC Inspector File Recovery. But it’s free and, as you discovered, did no harm and worked after a fashion.

Note: Phillip sent a follow-up saying he used the Lexar product, and it recovered and saved most of the photos. A few could not be recovered —- probably because of fragmentation on the card or an error so serious it defeats file recovery software. I recommend the Lexar program.

Q: I am very hard of hearing and wonder whether you can advise me if any cellphone manufacturer makes a phone or devices for folks with hearing loss.

Alan Royce

A: I have moderate hearing loss myself —- no aid yet —- but I had to do some research on this one. Use this Web address to see a list of cellphones compatible with hearing aids: http://tinyurl.com/6ckb9h

The same company offers amplified headsets for use with cellphones at http://tinyurl.com/6zm xwt. As always, I’m using the Web site for illustration purposes only and make no recommendation for or against it.

If any hearing-impaired readers know of phones with special features, drop me an e-mail, and I will include them in a future column.

Q: I am considering a Mac. Is it worth the price vs. PC? Store personnel tell me there is no need for virus protection or spyware and adware programs.

Joe Taylor

A: Macs do have fewer problems with viruses. I tend to think you get more power for your money with a PC, but Mac enthusiasts argue strongly and with some persuasion that I’m wrong. If you’re torn, it may boil down to what you can comfortably afford.

HAVE A QUESTION?

Please send your questions to Bill Husted at tecbud@bellsouth.net. While he reads every e-mail, not all are answered. E-mails are selected for publication based on the likelihood that the answers will be of general interest.