Problem with recovered Data

Hello all!

I decided to format and clean out my HDD last night due to my Laptop getting a little clunky. I backed up all my files and folders for work online but, having 10 years worth of media, backed the rest up on an external drive through a program called NOVABackup. However at the last minute I decided to download and add to my Itunes library and decided to add the files to the backup I'd created an hour beforehand. I decided to use an incremental back up, which assured me that only the new files would be added.
I figured this would be fine and dandy and went ahead with the backup process before using the Dell Safe backup feature to restore my XPS 17 to factory settings. Imagine my horror when I found that, instead of over 100gb of media on the external drive; there was only 5. i'd only used the basic format option and so I figured that some basic file recovery software would be able to sort out my problem.

Apparently this is not the case, as I've said I was able to find every single file and move them safely onto an alternative partition that's safely out of reach. However my problem is that each picture (even with their '.jpeg' designations, won't open. Some are viewable but the vast majority are not. This includes all the music and films I owned which It now looks like I've got to replace.

If anyone knows anything about fixing these pictures please let me know, replacing the films and music can easily be done but friend's weddings and family occasions cannot.

Renz

 

Does NOVAbackup have a support page. I sure would try them first.