AMRescue Photo
Repair Advanced
Recover corrupted and damaged photos from any camera, card, or device — with professional-grade results.
Step 1 — Add Photos
Click Add Photos and select your corrupted image files.
Step 2 — Repair
Hit Repair All or Repair Selected to start recovery.
Step 3 — Save
Preview results and Save Repaired images to your chosen folder.
Introduction
AMRescue Photo Repair Advanced is a professional desktop application for Windows that recovers corrupted, damaged, or partially unreadable image files. Whether your photos were lost to a storage failure, interrupted file transfer, memory card error, or software corruption, AMRescue Photo Repair Advanced gives you a reliable path to recovery — without ever touching your original files.
The software combines two complementary repair engines: a Standard Repair mode that autonomously reconstructs image data from damaged files, and an Advanced Repair mode that uses a healthy reference photo from the same camera to rebuild corrupted file headers for JPEG images.
Key Capabilities
- Repairs corrupted JPEG, HEIC, PNG, TIFF, and RAW image files in a single workflow
- Standard Repair automatically extracts and reconstructs valid image data from damaged files using latest scanning techniques
- Advanced Repair rebuilds corrupted JPEG headers using a valid reference image from the same camera model
- Thumbnail Recovery extracts embedded JPEG thumbnails when main image data is unrecoverable
- Repair All, Repair Selected, or Advanced Repair — flexible workflow for any volume of files
- Export as JPEG, PNG, BMP, or TIFF with configurable quality (1–100%)
- Live preview of repaired images before saving — no guesswork
- Batch Export with subfolders and multiple export type combinations
- Non-destructive — your original files are never modified
- Demo mode available — repair and preview for free, save with a license
AMRescue Photo Repair Advanced only reads your source files. Repaired images are always written to a destination folder you choose — originals remain untouched.
System Requirements
Verify your system meets the following requirements before installing AMRescue Photo Repair Advanced.
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows (64-bit) | Windows 11 (64-bit) |
| Processor | Intel Processor | Intel Core i5 or higher |
| RAM | 4 GB | 8 GB or more |
| Disk Space | 250 MB (installation) | 500 MB |
| Display | 1280 × 768 | 1920 × 1080 or higher |
Installation requires administrator rights. If your organisation uses software restriction policies, contact your IT administrator before installing.
Installation
AMRescue Photo Repair Advanced is distributed as a standard Windows installer (.exe). Follow the steps below to set it up on your computer.
Visit www.amrescue.com and download the latest AMRescue Photo Repair Advanced installer for Windows.
Locate the downloaded .exe file and double-click it. If prompted by Windows User Account Control, click Yes to proceed.
Read the End-User License Agreement (EULA) and click I Agree to continue.
The default installation path is recommended. Click Browse only if you require a custom location.
Click Install. Once all files are copied, click Finish.
Double-click the AMRescue Photo Repair Advanced shortcut on your Desktop, or locate it via Start Menu → AMRescue.
On first launch a splash screen initialises core components including the repair engine, format support, and license check. This takes approximately 3 seconds.
License Activation
AMRescue Photo Repair Advanced can be used in Demo Mode without any activation. In Demo Mode you can add files, run repairs, and preview results — however, saving repaired images requires a valid license. The status bar at the bottom of the window always shows your current mode.
Free / Unlicensed
Full Version
Activation key format: XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX (Case-sensitive)
Online Activation
Online activation is the fastest method and requires an active internet connection.
In the menu bar, click Activation → Online Activation.
In the dialog that appears, paste your activation key exactly as received in your purchase confirmation email. Format: XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX
The software connects to the AMRescue activation server to validate your key. A status message updates in real time.
A confirmation dialog appears. Click OK. The status bar changes to "Licensed — Full Version" and all save features are unlocked.
Offline Activation
Use Offline Activation if your computer has no internet access or if your network blocks connections to the activation server.
Click Activation → Offline Activation in the menu bar.
The dialog displays a unique Registration IDCopy this value.
Check your email for Activation key
Return to the Offline Activation dialog. Enter your Activation Key and License Key, and select the License Duration (1 Year). Click Activate Now.
A confirmation message confirms the license is now active on this machine.
Interface Overview
The main window is organised into a clear two-panel layout designed to guide you through the repair process from left to right.
| Area | Description |
|---|---|
| Menu Bar | Access to About, Help, Activation, and Buy menus across the top. |
| Photos to Repair (Left Panel) | Lists all files added for repair. Each entry shows filename, file size (KB), format tag ([JPEG] / [HEIC] / [RAW]), and an 80×80 thumbnail when available. |
| Select All Checkbox | Instantly selects or deselects all files in the list. |
| Preview Panel (Right) | Displays the repaired image for the currently selected file. Watermarked in Demo Mode; full-quality with a license. |
| Action Buttons (Bottom Bar) | Repair All · Repair Selected · Advanced Repair · Export Format · Quality · Save Repaired · Save Thumbnails · Batch Export · Clear All · Cancel |
| Export Controls | Drop-down to select output format (JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF) and a quality spinner (1–100%). |
| Progress Bar | Shows per-file repair progress when processing multiple files. |
| Status Bar | Displays the current mode (Demo / Licensed) and real-time operation messages. |
Step-by-Step Repair Guide
Add Photos
Start by adding the corrupted or damaged image files you want to repair.
Click the Add Photos… button in the left panel, or go to File → Add Photos…
In the file browser, navigate to your damaged photos. Hold Ctrl to select multiple individual files, or Shift to select a range. Supported formats include JPEG, HEIC, PNG, TIFF, CR2, NEF, ARW, ORF, RW2, DNG, and more.
Files appear in the Photos to Repair list, each tagged with format type ([JPEG], [HEIC], [RAW]) and file size.
Standard Repair — Repair All
Standard Repair is the recommended first step. The software scans each file's binary data, locates valid image segments using JPEG markers (SOI/EOI), extracts embedded thumbnails from EXIF blocks, and reconstructs a usable image. For HEIC and RAW files, it extracts the largest embedded JPEG preview.
Click the Repair All button to process every file in the list, or go to Tools → Repair.
The progress bar and status label update in real time showing how many files have been processed out of total.
A summary dialog shows the count of successfully repaired files. Each entry in the list is updated with a result indicator.
Repair Selected
Use Repair Selected when you only want to process specific files from your queue — for example, retrying a failed file or testing a subset before running the full batch.
Click individual items in the Photos to Repair list. Use Ctrl+Click for multiple selections.
Only the highlighted files will be processed.
Click the Cancel button at any time to gracefully halt the repair operation after the current file completes. All files processed up to that point retain their results.
Advanced Repair
Advanced Repair is designed for JPEG and HEIC files with severely damaged header data. It performs Advance Repair engine according to a healthy reference photo taken by the same camera model.
Advanced Repair requires a healthy, uncorrupted JPEG and HEIC photo taken by the same camera as the damaged file. The reference file is used only as a reference — it is not modified.
Click the file in the Photos to Repair list that you want to repair with Advanced Repair.
Click the Advanced Repair button in the bottom bar.
A file browser opens. Navigate to and select a healthy JPEG photo from the same camera. Click Open.
The software uses Advanced Repair Engine
If successful, the repaired image appears in the Preview panel. If not, a prompt offers contact information for AMRescue's Professional Repair Service.
Preview Repaired Files
After repair, click any file in the Photos to Repair list to load its result in the Preview panel on the right. In Demo Mode, the preview is overlaid with a watermark — activate your license to view and save full-quality output.
Save Repaired Files
Once satisfied with repair results, save the output files to a location of your choice. Requires a valid license.
Use the Export as drop-down to select JPEG, PNG, BMP, or TIFF. Set the Quality spinner (1–100%; default 95%) for JPEG output.
Click the Save Repaired button in the bottom bar.
Browse to your output folder. We recommend a folder separate from your originals. Click OK to proceed.
If a file already exists at the destination, a dialog asks whether to overwrite it. You can choose Yes, No, or Cancel to stop the batch.
Save Thumbnails
When the main image data cannot be repaired, the software may still extract an embedded JPEG thumbnail from the file's EXIF block. Thumbnails are lower resolution but can recover valuable content. Requires a valid license.
Click Save Thumbnails in the bottom bar, choose a save destination, and the software exports thumbnails as individual JPEG files named OriginalName_thumbnail.jpg.
Batch Export
Batch Export saves all successfully processed files in one operation, with control over what to export and how to organise the output. Requires a valid license.
Ensure all desired files have been repaired (Sections 6.2–6.4).
Click the Batch Export button in the bottom bar.
Choose what to export: Repaired Images Only, Thumbnails Only, or Both (Repaired + Thumbnails). Optionally enable subfolders to organise output into /Repaired and /Thumbnails directories.
Select your output folder, click OK, and the batch runs automatically. A summary confirms total files exported.
Repaired files are saved as basename_repaired.ext and thumbnails as basename_thumbnail.ext, where ext matches the selected export format.
Supported File Formats
The table below lists all supported input formats, available repair methods, and thumbnail extraction capability.
| Format | Extensions | Standard Repair | Advanced Repair | Thumbnail Extract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPEG | .jpg .jpeg | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| HEIC / HEIF | .heic .heif | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| PNG | .png | ✔ | — | — |
| TIFF | .tif .tiff | ✔ | — | — |
| Canon RAW | .cr2 | ✔ | — | ✔ |
| Nikon RAW | .nef | ✔ | — | ✔ |
| Sony RAW | .arw | ✔ | — | ✔ |
| Olympus RAW | .orf | ✔ | — | ✔ |
| Panasonic RAW | .rw2 | ✔ | — | ✔ |
| Adobe DNG | .dng | ✔ | — | ✔ |
✔ Supported · — Not applicable for this format
| Export Format | Extension | Quality Control | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPEG | .jpg | 1–100% | Default; best for photos |
| PNG | .png | Lossless | Larger file size; lossless quality |
| BMP | .bmp | Lossless | Uncompressed; very large files |
| TIFF | .tiff | Lossless | Professional archival format |
Export Options
The export controls in the bottom bar let you configure the output format and quality before saving.
| Control | Values | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Export Format | JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF | Applies to both Save Repaired and Batch Export. |
| Quality | 1–100% (default 95%) | Affects JPEG output only. Higher = better quality / larger file. |
| Batch Export Type | Repaired Only · Thumbnails Only · Both | Available in the Batch Export dialog. |
| Subfolders | On / Off | When enabled, creates /Repaired and /Thumbnails sub-directories in the export folder. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Support & Contact
AMRescue is committed to fast, professional support. If you encounter any issue not covered in this manual, or need assistance with a severely damaged file, reach out through the channels below.
Email Support
support@amrescue.comTechnical issues, license transfers, and professional repair requests.
Offline Activation Portal
www.amrescue.com/support.phpGenerate activation codes for air-gapped machines.
Professional Repair Service
Contact UsFor severely damaged files that automatic repair cannot recover.