Is It Possible That Deleted Photos Be Retrieved? 7 Methods on Computer

Eleanor Reed

Dec 23, 2022 • Filed to: Photo/Video/Audio Solutions • Proven solutions

Digital photos constitute a significant part of several people's lives. But you might accidentally press that delete all button on your camera or mistakenly format an SD card.

When this happens you lose all your photos. There is no need to take stress, as there are many ways to recover the lost photo on Mac or PC, and other devices.

Here you will learn the different methods to recover your deleted photos.

Part 1: Can Deleted Photos Be Retrieved?

Today, most of the photos are taken digitally and are stored on digital devices like mobile phones and computers. It allows you to save numerous pictures on an SD card plugged into your phone or on your computer's hard drive.

The most significant drawback is that these photos can be lost from these devices. Photos can be accidentally deleted while you are performing some other task. But yes, some ways can help to retrieve the deleted photos.

1. Different Scenarios of Deleted Photos from Computer

Some ways can help you to retrieve your lost images, but it depends on how your pictures are lost. Here are some possible scenarios that result in image loss.

Scenario 1: Intentional or Accidental Causes

• Photos can be lost when transferring them from one device to another.
• Photos can be lost because of a simple formatted drive.
• Deleted or permanently deleted images.

Scenario 2: Technical Errors

• Photos can be lost from the damaged hard drive.
• Forced ejection of memory card from the digital camera.
• Corrupted storage device

2. Can I Retrieve Deleted Photos in Different Scenarios?

Yes, some ways can help retrieve deleted images in different scenarios. You can adapt some methods to recover your lost/deleted images, like backup your SD cards, purchase high-quality storage devices, and regularly create a backup of your device, to prevent such a situation.

Part 2: 4 Methods to Undelete Photos on Windows Computer

No matter how your pictures were deleted from your PC or any other electronic device, thankfully, some ways can help to get them back. It is not like that if you delete a picture that it is permanently deleted. There are digital footprints of the images that still exist and might be retrievable.

But, do you know where your images go after you delete them. They are not removed immediately from your computer or any storage system. The operating system always marks the location of the deleting image as a type of reusable space, and will automatically overwrite the image file if it needs space.

Windows users have some options if they find that their photos are missing. Below are several methods to retrieve deleted pictures from Windows operating system.

Method 1: Restore from Recycle Bin

The Windows Recycle Bin is the place that you should look first for if the photos are deleted on your computer. It is a storage space used by the operating system to store recently deleted files. All the data stored in the Recycle bin remain for an extended length of time or until you empty the bin.

You can try some of the steps to retrieve deleted pictures from the Recycle Bin:

Step 1: Firstly, open the start menu and search for Recycle Bin.

Step 2: Find and select those images that you are going to recover.

Step 3: Always note down the original location because, after recovery, the files will be automatically restored there.

Step 4: To restore a file, simply right-click on the file and select Restore. Also, you can drag and drop the files directly from the Recycle Bin to your desired folder.

Step 5: Wait until the recovery process is complete and always verify whether the files are back or not.

Method 2: Restore from Windows Backup/External Drive

You should always back up your computer regularly to secure your essential data. In the event of data loss like lost photos, then you will know about the value of these backups. The Windows operating system always comes with a backup and recovery tool for such situations. So, here are the ways to recover deleted images from windows backup.

Step 1: Connect the storage device/hard disc that contains the backup of your computer.

Step 2: Click on the Windows Start button and open Control Panel. Then, click on System and Maintenance and open Backup and Restore.

Step 3: Select either to Restore all user's files or Restore my files.

Step 4: In this section, you can search for your lost files by using the Browse for folders or Browse for files option. You will be unable to see the individual files if you are browsing for folders.

Step 5: Once you locate your files, select them, and click "Restore" to retrieve them.

Method 3: Recover Photos with Recoverit

Yes, the best method to retrieve deleted photos from your computer is by using Recoverit Photo Recovery. The entire recovery process is easy and straightforward. So, here are the steps to recover deleted images from your computer using Recoverit Photo Recovery.

Step 1: Select the location to find lost images

Open the Recoverit Photo Recovery Application. To retrieve the deleted images for your computer, you must select the specific location where your pictures got lost or deleted, and then click on "Start" to start the process.

Step 2: Scan the selected location

The Recoverit application will begin to scan the drive that you have selected to search deeply for your deleted or lost images. It can take a while to search the entire PC. But if you have a hard drive with small storage space, then the scanning process will be completed within minutes.

Step 3: Preview and recover the deleted images

After the entire scan, you will see all your recovered data. Then go to preview some types and formats of images, for example, GIF, BMP, PNG, TIFF, TIF, JPEG, JPG, etc.

After that, you can select multiple photos at once and click on the "Recover" button to retrieve and save your computer files.

Note: after you have recovered your deleted photos, you must save all the retrieved photos to some other hard drive on your PC to avoid overwriting of recovered images.

Method 4: Recover Folder Photos via Command Prompt

Most people use external storage devices to store their data, including images. If you have lost your files because of viruses, malware, or accidentally, don't stress, as you can retrieve them using your Command Prompt (CMD).

Step 1: Click on the Windows icon and search for CMD or press the Windows button + R and type CMD.

Step 2: In CMD, type chkdsk "drive alphabet" /f and press Enter. This code is the first line of the recovery process. Always make sure that everything is separated from an individual space.

Step 3: After you press the Enter key, type Y to precede the commands until the command line starts again. Don't panic, as there will be a lot of commands appearing on the cmd screen. All these commands are part of the recovery process. Simply press Y for each command to proceed.

Step 4: Then, type the drive alphabet again and press Enter. The command line will begin again after scanning the entire drive and converting the files.

Step 5: Enter [E:\>attrib –h –r –s /s /d *.*]. It is the finishing line of the command, which will recover everything contained in the external drive.

After entering the code, a folder will be created on your drive, which will include all the images that are recovered from the external drive.

Step 6: Copy every file and change the file extension.CHK to.JPG. As they are the recovered files, they will be in CHK format. To make them in image format, you have to change the file extension one by one manually.

Part 3: 3 Methods of Recovering Deleted Images on Mac

You can recover your deleted images on Mac using several methods. If your files are recently deleted, then you might retrieve them instantly by looking in your Trash Bin. Apple provides multiple ways to back up your photos so that they are secured and can be recovered whenever you need them.

Method 1: Restore from Mac Trash

Your Mac's Trash Bin should be the first place that you should look for deleted files and images. Whenever you delete a file on Mac, the macOS shifts the deleted file directly to the Trash Bin, where the file is available for a quick recovery.

The files in Trash Bin are permanently removed from the system after a specific amount of time, or when the Bin gets full or when you empty it by your choice.

Here are the steps that you can use to retrieve a deleted photo from the Trash Bin:

Step 1: Firstly, open the Trash Bin by double-clicking on its icon, located on the Home Screen.

Step 2: In the Trash Bin, search for the image that you are going to recover.

Step 3: Then, right-click on the photo and select Put Back. The picture will be recovered in its original location.

Method 2: Restore from Mac Time Machine

Mac's operating system offers a built-in backup and recovery tool known as "Time Machine." If you are already using it creates backup copies of your data, and then you can easily retrieve your photos that are lost or deleted from your computer.

Use the following steps to use Time Machine for photo recovery:

Step 1: Connect your backup disk with your Mac.

Step 2: Open the Finder box in that folder where all the deleted photos were located.

Step 3: Start the Time Machine by clicking on the clock icon, located on Mac's menu bar and select the option "Enter Time Machine."

Step 4: Find the files that you are going to recover.

Step 5: Then click on the Restore button to retrieve the selected images.

Method 3: Recover Deleted Photos with App

Once you lose your image files, you always think that you have lost them forever. But, several ways can help to retrieve your deleted, corrupted, or lost files.

Recoverit is a reliable photo recovery program, which works best to deleted audios, videos, photos, and documents. It supports over 1000 formats and file types.

So, to recover your deleted photos on Mac, download Recoverit software and follow these steps:

Step 1: You can either choose your memory card or digital camera storage. Once the storage location is selected, click on the "Start" button to begin the process.

Step 2: The software will start the scanning process on your storage location to search for your deleted or lost photos on the SD card. The application will take some time to complete the entire scan.

Step 3: Once the scanning is complete, you can find all your restored pictures. Then select those that you want to retrieve and click on the "Recover" button to restore the photos.

Part 4: Good Habits of Previewing & Saving Photos

There is no guarantee that the memory card you're using will always work flawlessly. So, you must make a habit of backing up your data regularly and saving your files on a reliable storage device. You can use some tips to prevent data loss.

Create Multiple Partitions

Always keep your images separate from other files; it is the best way to protect them. Try creating copies of your pictures and store them somewhere else. This will reduce the possibility of accidental deletion or permanent deletion.

Backup Your Hard Drive

If you've kept your essential images on your computer, then you must also purchase a portable hard drive or card reader to backup the data stored in the computer disc. This will help you if you've accidentally deleted your photos.

Use Online Storage

If you stored a lot of pictures on your PC, then you can use online solutions to store your data there. You can upload your images on some platforms like Dropbox and Flickr, and they allow you to store your data at a small number of fees.

Closing Words

As you've known, there are several ways to retrieve your deleted or lost photos, and it doesn't matter what type of device you're utilizing to store them. You must consider these methods to prevent data loss. Also, Recoverit software can be beneficial in such a situation. So, you must follow all the steps to keep your photos and all other files secured.