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How to Recover Formatted Photo [2024]

Wondershare Recoverit Authors

Jan 15, 2024 • Filed to: Photo/Video/Audio Solutions • Proven solutions

Can Photos Be Recovered After Formatting

I accidentally formatted my SD card and also the photos present on it. Can anyone help me with photo recovery after format? Thanks a lot!

It's a common problem that you mistakenly format your camera memory card, hard drive, or external hard drive. Now you must be anxious to search on the Internet: "Is it possible to recover photos after format" or "How to recover formatted photos?".

Most digital cameras or hard drives these days DO NOT delete pictures permanently from your storage device (SD card or external hard drive) when you delete photos using the Format option. So you don't need to be too worried. You have a good chance to recover formatted photos.

Part 1 Could you Retrieve Photos After Formatting?

Having memorable photos and videos on your camera or SD card is like having a treasure in your hand. Sometimes by chance, you might delete the data due to any mistake or in anger as well. Many people format their photos mistakenly and panic at this moment as those deleted memories could be difficult or impossible to retrieve again.

Tips Before Format Photo Recovery

But there's one thing you should pay attention to. This is what happened to my friend Rachel.

She went to Paris this summer and took a lot of wonderful pictures. Since she's using a new camera and not so familiar with its operation, she accidentally formatted its SD card. All the photos are gone. She's searching for ways to recover formatted photos but meanwhile, she's still using this camera and the same memory card.

Then I told her this was very wrong because new photos would overwrite the space where the old ones are located. Then it appears that she can just recover parts of the photos in Paris, some of which are incomplete. That's what I want to tell you: do not keep using your photo storage device after formatting in case of the data overwriting.

Although Rachel's recovery experience is not quite successful, we can still learn the steps. So now I will give you a step-by-step guide about how to recover formatted photos.


Part 2 How to Recover Photos from Formatted SD Card

I'm using Recoverit Format Recovery. The software does help me recover my lost photos from the Canon digital camera. I do not have much professional tech-savvy. However, when using it, I can do this job within several clicks and in a minute. Here are the other features I get from the format data recovery software.

This guide conducts the format photo recovery on a Windows computer. For Mac users, please download Recoverit for Mac and follow the same steps.

Step 1. Download and Connect

Free download and install Recoverit on your computer. Make sure the memory card where your formatted photos are stored is connected to the computer and detected.

Step 2. Select the formatted memory card

Select the location where your photos are formatted. Here, it should be your camera memory card. Click the "Start" button to process.

recover formatted photos from sd card

Step 3. Scan the SD card for formatted photos

A quick scan will work immediately to search for your formatted photos. Meanwhile, you can see the real-time scanning results on the interface, allowing you to check the results at any time.

deep scan formatted photos

Step 4. Preview and recover photos after format

Once the scan finishes, you can preview the scanned photos and click on the "Recover" button to save the photos you want.

formatted photo recovery

Now, you know how to recover formatted photos. As you can see, to do the job, Recoverit Format Recovery is needed. That's because the photo recovery software simplifies the data rescue job and increases the chance of photo recovery.

Come to recover lost photos from a digital camera.

You can also resort to the video guide for vivid details.

Recent Videos from Recoverit

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Tips for Camera Users Who Formatted Photos

Many people use GoPro to retrieve their lost data. However, they may also be likely to lose the videos as GoPro follows a procedure called chaptering by splitting the videos into short videos to protect the entire video from getting corrupted.

Moreover, you should always remember that cameras do not delete your data permanently. When you press the delete button in your digital camera, the data may be stored somewhere in the camera.

To recover such data, you can use applications like Wonderrshare Recoverit. It will help you out in recovering your data within a few minutes.


Part 3 Expert Knowledge About Formatting Photo Recovery

Having memorable photos and videos on your camera or SD card is like having a treasure in your hand. Sometimes by chance, you might delete the data due to any mistake or in anger as well. Many people format their photos mistakenly and panic at this moment as those deleted memories could be difficult or impossible to retrieve again.

Right Steps to Format Your SD Card, Camera, or Hard Disc

Formatting SD cards, hard discs, or cameras have almost similar steps. You can delete the entire data from the SD card on your mobile, camera, or Windows. Follow the proper steps to format the SD card, camera, or hard disc.

Format SD Card Photos on the Computer

  • Connect the card through a card reader. Similarly, you can connect the camera or hard disc to the computer.
  • Select the SD card, camera, or hard disc folder from "My Computer".
  • When you right-click on the folder, the option 'format' will appear in the options menu.
  • Select the format option. Another option's menu will appear.
  • Click on the start button of that menu, and the computer will scan the SD card, camera, or hard disc and format it.

You can also format the SD card directly on your camera from the 'Format Card' option, or, you can also directly format the camera and hard disc from their settings.

Useful Tips to Prevent Accidental Format on Any Devices

Sometimes it is necessary to format the device for various reasons. Accidental formatting of the devices may lead to the loss of all our data, and it can also cause many other problems. Let me tell you some useful tips to prevent the accidental loss of data from the device.

  • Always make a regular backup of your device data.
  • You can also enable the appropriate protection on your device to prevent accidental formatting.
  • Always select the right file and double-check it before formatting.
  • Never interrupt the formatting process once it has started.
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Recoverit Data Recovery - The Best Photo Recovery Software

  • Recover corrupted/deleted files from the computer, USB hard drive, memory card effectively, safely, and completely.
  • Supports to restore corrupted files and loss due to virus attack, the program crashes or computer loses power.
  • Recover any data and file types with a high success rate and without any quality loss.
  • Supported OS: Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista and Mac OS X 10.10 or later.
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