I am not familiar with Kodak Easy Share but what I think is happening is that the images are held in one place only on your hard disk - the folder on your desktop. Kodak Easy Share does not copy them somewhere else, it probably just creates a thumbnail for it's own purposes. Once you delete an image from the desktop folder Kodak Easy Share can no longer access the image which is why it puts a line through it, but it still has the thumbnail..

If you are using a PC the first place to look for the deleted files is in the Recycle Bin. If they are not there it gets much more complicated. You will need some file recovery software to search both your hard drive and the memory cards for deleted files. You may be able to recover some of them if there hasn't been too much activity on your hard drive..

I suggest that you get more help on this on the PC Talk forum. If you have a Mac, try the Mac Talk Forum and start by asking if there is any Mac equivalent of the Recycle Bin..

In future you need to get into the habit of downloading your files into a safe place on the hard drive and never touching them. If you want to do something with the files, e.g. to edit them, always save the edited files under a new file name, and preferably in a new folder. If you want to collect some together to show your father-in-law, copy them to a new folder. Only delete files from your "safe" folder if your are sure that you are never going to want them again..

Finally, back up your files at regular intervals, preferably onto an external hard drive.Chris R..

Thanks Chris. So, if I say, dray a picture in my Kodak software over to my desktop and say it is named D234 for example, once I get it to the desktop, If I rename it to say, eagle1, then delete eagle1 at a later date from my desk top, the original picture named D234 will still be complete in the Kodak software?..

First of all, the Kodak software doesn't "contain" images, they are stored somewhere on your hard drive. There will probably be a setting somewhere in the software that specifies where they are stored..

It sounds to me as if when you drag an image from the Kodak screen onto your desktop you are physically moving the image, not creating a copy. If you rename the image and then delete it you will be deleting the only copy on the hard drive..

I am not familiar with the Kodak software, but it is probably safer to proceed as follows if you want to assemble a desktop folder for your father-in-law:.

Start by finding where the Kodak software stores the files on your hard drive. In one of the menus, normally the Edit or File menu if it follows Windows conventions, there should be a sub-menu item called something like Preferences or Options. Within this submenu there should be somewhere to specify where you want the image files stored. This will tell you where your image files are stored currently and allow you to change the location if you wish. If necessary you may need to use the Kodak Help facility..

When you know where the files are stored, go into My Computer and find the folder with the files. To move these to a desktop folder, select the files that you want to move and click "Copy" on the Edit menu. Now go to the desktop folder and click "Paste". You have now created a copy of the original image file in the desktop folder and, if you now delete it from this folder, the original will still be in it's original location on the hard drive.Chris R..

I think I should just start getting them developed on Kodak paper. I would have less headaches. When I put a card in my reader and download the photos to the Kodak program, I just assumed the Kodak program would keep them safe and sound for me and unless I deleted from that program, they should still be there. Obviously, I was wrong..

If I understand you correctly, it appears they are stored, for the most part at C:\Documents and Settings\John\My documents\my pict.\Kodak PicturesDoes this sound right?..

The My Pictures folder with the address that you have shown is the normal default folder where Windows stores images files..

You might want to read up a little on Windows files and folders. This is basic PC/Windows knowledge and nothing to do with the Kodak software.Chris R..