ORF File Recovery: What is ORF & How to Recover?

This article describes 4 simple and effective RF file recovery methods to recover deleted ORF files step by step, including using recovery tools like MyRecover. Scroll down to explore more.

By @Penny Last Updated November 19, 2024

What is ORF?

The ORF file format represents a raw image captured by an Olympus digital camera. Unlike JPEG files, ORF files maintain the original image data without losing quality due to compression. This means essential attributes like color, saturation, and contrast are preserved exactly as captured by the camera’s sensor.

In contrast, JPEG files tend to degrade in quality with each subsequent opening, limiting their editing possibilities. ORF files boast a bit depth of 12 or more per pixel, whereas JPEGs are limited to 8 bits.

Is it possible to perform ORF file recovery?

The potential for ORF file recovery depends on how the data was lost and the time interval - the longer it is, the harder to recover. Here are some of the causes of data loss. 

Accidental Deletion:

If you accidentally deleted ORF files from SD cards, these don’t vanish immediately. The memory occupied by the deleted data becomes available for new data.

It's possible as long as the deleted file hasn’t been overwritten. To maximize the chances of recovering deleted ORF files, it's crucial to cease using the device immediately. Don't use the Olympus digital camera to capture images. 

◢ Formatting:

Quick Format doesn’t erase your data; it merely creates a new file system for your operating system. In this case, data can still be recovered if they are still there. Full Format will replace the data. Please get more details on Quick Format VS Full Format if needed.

◢ Corruption:

Logical corruption of storage media can render it unusable. Your storage device containing the ORF files might get corrupted due to factors like viruses, abrupt ejection, or power outages.

How to recover deleted ORF files

To recover deleted ORF files, the most effective method is to use reliable data recovery software like MyRecover. It allows you to recover data from different types of digital cameras including the Olympus camera. 

You can remove the SD card from the Olympus camera and connect it to a working PC for data recovery. It can be Windows 7, 8, 10, 11, and servers. You can also scan the hard drive of your computer if the deleted ORF files are there.  

⭐⭐⭐Why Choose MyRecover?
  • Run Quick Scan & Deep Scan technologies automatically to search all recoverable files.
  • Recover 42 types of images, such as ORF, BMP, JPG, JPEG, PNG, etc., as well as other data types, such as documents, audios, videos, and more.
  • Specify the file name, extensions, data types, etc., to filter your needed files.
  • Preview and recover files while scanning. 
  • Recover specific files or folders instead of all.
  • Recover deleted or lost data from SD cards, USB drives, external drives, HDDs/SSDs, etc.
  • Support NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS file systems.
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Now, you can click the download button to get started. It even works for permanently deleted ORF files.

❌ Warning: After SD card recovery, you’re supposed to save your retrieved ORF files in a new path instead of the original Olympus camera SD card. Otherwise, your data may be overwritten. 

Step 1. Launch MyRecover. Hover the mouse over the SD card of the Olympus camera and click Scan.

Step 2. MyRecover will automatically scan your Olympus camera SD card to search all recoverable files.

The "Quick Scan" searches for a faster scan of recently deleted files and the "Deep Scan" searches for more thorough results.

Step 3. After scanning, expand the Deleted Files or Other Missing Files Folder, and select your needed ORF files by ticking the checkboxes or leaving them blank. Then, click the “Recover x files” button and select a new path to save them.

You can preview/filter specific files if you want to recover specific files instead of all. Once found, double-click them preview, and confirm.

  • Name/Extension: Type the relevant filenames or extension (.orf) in the search bar to quickly locate desired deleted/lost files.
  • Data type: Specify the "Images" data type in the Filter feature.
  • Date modified: Set a customized date (today, yesterday, last 7 or 30 days, etc.)
  • Size: Filter the file size (<128KB, 128KB~1MB, 1MB~512MB, etc.)

After recovery, go to the target path to see if the selected ORF image has been recovered or not. The filename is the original drive + date.

Manual methods to recover deleted ORF files

If your files are not permanently deleted, there are some manual methods to get them back quickly.

Way 1: Check the Recycle Bin

If you deleted ORF files on your computer, the first place to check is the Recycle Bin folder. Unless you delete it from the Recycle Bin, it will keep deleted files for 30 days by default.

Double-click the Recycle Bin folder on the desktop to open it. Then, locate and right-click deleted ORF files and select Restore. You can check if it's recovered in its original location.

Way 2: Check the Recent files folder

In the Windows system, there is a Recent Files folder that contains the recently used files. It allows you to restore previous versions of files easily and quickly.

⚠️You can access it through File Explore and find Recent files in the Quick Access link. Or type Win + R to open the Run window and type recent in it, click OK to execute.

Then, select deleted ORF files and click Restore previous versions (if you turn File History on). You can find the right version and click the Restore button. 

Way 3: Repair your card using CMD

If you are unable to access your SD card, it's likely to be damaged. You can try the chkdsk command to repair it manually.

Type cmd in the search box and select Run as administrator. Then, type chkdsk *: f/r and type Enter. Please replace * with the drive letter of your SD card.

How do I open an ORF file in Windows 10 or 11?

To view, open, convert, or edit ORF files, you need dedicated software designed for these purposes. Standard image-viewing applications might be unable to handle this specific file format. Here are useful tools that enable you to work seamlessly with ORF files.

Adobe Photoshop: A top-notch raster graphics editor and digital art tool to open and manipulate ORF files. It’s available both for Windows and MacOS.   

File Viewer Plus: Enables users to open ORF files and convert them to other formats such as PNG, TIFF, JPEG, or GIF.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom: A free photo editor compatible with Windows, MacOS, and mobile platforms (iOS and Android). It offers a wide range of tools for viewing and editing ORF images, including various photo filters. Please get more details on another page to recover deleted files from Lightroom if needed.

Olympus Viewer: If you’re looking for dedicated Olympus software, Olympus Viewer is a pretty good choice because it allows you to import ORF files from your camera and provides viewing and editing capabilities with a friendly GUI (graphical user interface).   

RawTherapee: Offer advanced color-handling capabilities and editing features.

Let’s show how to open ORF files on Windows 10.

» Please locate the saved path of your ORF file > right-click on it > select Open with > Photos. Or  you can choose any available software mentioned above.

In the end

You can easily perform ORF file recovery with the help of reliable data recovery software like MyRecover. It requires you to upgrade to MyRecover Pro to recover a large number of deleted files.

It has 3 editions, among them, the lifetime upgrades (35% off) edition is recommended, i.e. one-time payment for all features with no time limit. Why not try it?

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FAQs about ORF file recovery