How to Recover Deleted Photos on Computer

Is it always possible to recover deleted files on a computer?

Not always, but in many cases it is quite possible. Let us explain.

How To Recover Permanently Deleted Files For Free On Windows 10/8/7

recover, deleted, photos, computer

Once deleted, the files remain on the hard drive. In the file table, they are assigned a label. “0”. This means that this space is not occupied and can be used to record other information.

Thus, the file is hidden from your eyes, it is deleted only conditionally and can be restored until it is overwritten by other data. (By the way, you can recover files after overwriting, but there is a risk that they are partially damaged and cannot be returned).

How to recover deleted files on a computer

Ilya is the editor-in-chief of the softdroid.net website. He is the author of several hundred tutorials and articles on setting up Android. For about 15 years, he has been repairing equipment and solving technical problems for iOS and Android. Dealt with almost all more or less popular brands of mobile smartphones and tablets Samsung, HTC, Xiaomi, etc. For testing, the iPhone 12 and Samsung Galaxy S21 with the latest firmware version are used.

A headache for PC users is the loss of files: photos, documents and other data. We will not get into theory: this practical guide explains the basic principles of file recovery. We hope you can put them into practice.

Let’s consider three main scenarios of how to recover deleted files on a computer:

Recovery programs:

If you do not find the answer to the question. read the answers to frequently asked questions or leave a comment.

Recovering files after formatting

Let’s move on to more “difficult” cases. In particular, after formatting, not only individual files, but also an entire section of the hard disk is subject to changes. The result is permanently deleted files.

Is there a chance to recover data on a PC in such a situation?

recover, deleted, photos, computer
  • After quick formatting. yes
  • After full formatting, chances are minimal

How To Recover Deleted Pictures In Windows 10/8/7

From the working options, we recommend the Auslogics File Recovery program and this instruction:

Recovering files on a computer using Hetman Partition Recovery

Hetman Partition Recovery works the same way with existing and deleted files. Therefore, you can view ALL files on your computer through Explorer. HPR works not only with a hard drive, but also with a USB flash drive, CD / DVD and so on.

It is enough to connect the device to the computer, launch the program. and go. At the first stage, the utility scans the computer disk for traces of deleted files. Then, if the results are available, he suggests to immediately begin to restore them. Partition Recovery has a preview, so before restoring and saving to a computer, you can examine the files. how much they meet expectations (which is especially important for various multimedia information, for example, photos).

Among other things, Hetman Partition Recovery performs deep computer analysis of files located on the disk. Scan results are saved in a separate folder. These can be not only whole files, but also partially preserved ones. which is important if valuable information has been deleted. If you have formatted your hard drive, Partition Recovery is quite suitable for this purpose (which, in fact, says the name of this toolkit).

Recuva. one-stop file recovery solution

Recuva is a free and actively developing program for the Windows platform. It is very easy to restore files on a computer using it, plus it does not require money for basic functions or removing limits. By the way, on the pages of Softdroid, we have already told you how to recover a deleted file in Recuva. Read our detailed guide.

Let’s note three main features of this program.

  • Simplicity. Recuva offers the most novice users to use the Deleted Files Recovery Wizard. Here you can specify certain types of files (for example, only photos), select a location for search, set other parameters for finding deleted information.
  • Deep scan. By activating the option, you increase the chances of recovering a deleted file, even if nothing was found during a regular scan using other recovery utilities.
  • Visibility. All found files are marked. The color indicates the likelihood of recovery: high, medium, low. A quick preview is available for the images found.

What programs will help you recover files on your hard drive?

In fact, there are dozens of recovery programs. We do not recommend taking the first one that comes across: there is a risk that you will not only fail to restore your files after deletion, but also spend money for useless functions. We will list three programs that have been tested and are respected by other users.

How to estimate the chances of recovery after removal?

The likelihood of file recovery depends on many factors. The checklist looks something like this:

  • How the deletion was performed. through the Recycle Bin, bypassing it (Shift Del), through the formatting command
  • Elapsed time since deletion. the further, the higher the risk of files being overwritten
  • Type of deleted files. some files (images, videos) can be partially recovered, others cannot be recovered if even one byte of data is lost
  • Storage device type. hard drive, RAID, etc.
  • Filesystem type. NTFS / FAT / exFAT, etc.

With a successful combination of circumstances, the files can be restored in whole or in part. It is impossible to determine the probability in numbers, but it is worth trying.

How to recover deleted photos from computer?

The presented programs are considered one of the best tools for recovering deleted photos in jpg, png and other lost data from media formatted in the ntfs and fat file systems. In addition, they will be able to fix bad sectors, so as not only to recover the lost data, but also the performance of the entire PC.

Selecting erased objects

Among all the files, you need to select the target ones. It is very convenient that there is a preview window on the right side of the screen. Select the image, right-click and select “Restore Photos“. The next step is to set the save method. to your computer hard drive, CD / DVD, virtual drive, or FTP transfer. Then click “Next”.

Selecting a Section and Starting a Scan

Click the “Next” button in the lower right corner and in the next window, specify the disk or removable drive on which you want to search. If you decide to recover deleted photos from your phone, smartphone or tablet, the device must be connected in flash drive mode! We press “Start”. After the scanning process is completed, the result will appear on the screen in the form of a tree, in which, for convenience, all files will be sorted by resolution (each folder contains a certain type of file).

About the program

Partition Recovery. program for recovering photos and other deleted data. It is shareware, supports work with different types of media (will allow you to recover deleted photos from a memory card) and makes it possible to reanimate files when formatting or damaging logical partitions of the disk. Among other benefits. Russian-language interface, good performance, low weight of the installer. After installation, run the program. the main window will open with a menu and available storage media.

Procedure start

In a new window, it remains to set the path where the image will be saved. Here you can also specify other settings (when it is necessary to restore the folder structure or alternate data streams). When working with damaged text files of different types, it is possible to replace unknown characters. Finally, we press the “Restore” button and await the end of the process for a while.

An effective way to resuscitate photos through the Wondershare utility

Advantages

Data Recovery. this is another way to recover photos after accidental deletion. The program makes it possible to recover damaged or deleted videos, music, documents, can work with file systems FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, EXFAT. A wide variety of media are supported. external hard drives, USB sticks, memory cards. The software has a clear operating principle, good performance and deep scanning capability. After starting, the start window will be displayed. Here you can select the type of files you want to find. in our case “Photo / Graphics” (shown in the screenshot).

The common reason why photos are lost

To begin with, let’s take a closer look at the most common reasons for deleting images from a computer:

  • Accidental deletion by user
  • Use of unlicensed software
  • Software or system crashes
  • Malware download
  • Formatting memory
  • Changing disk partitions
  • Damage to a partition or entire disk
  • Processor failure

In addition to the above, there are other reasons for erasing photos on a computer, however, the methods below can help you in any situation.

How to recover deleted photos from computer?

Each new day is full of new events, which we strive to capture not only in memory, but also in photographs, so that later we can, looking at the picture, again experience the excitement and delight. Today, we often do not print photographs, but save them on a computer in digital format. But what if, as a result of any actions on our part (accidental deletion) or external forces (computer breakdown, virus attack, etc.), the images disappeared from the PC? If you find yourself in such a situation, do not rush to despair. in this article we will describe the most effective ways to recover deleted photos on your computer, and also present you with the best program for recovering deleted photos on a PC.

How to recover deleted photos from the computer from the recycle bin (if the data has not been deleted from the recycle bin)

On the Desktop, select the Trash item. Double-click the icon with the left mouse button to open the shopping cart.

By holding down the left mouse button or by using the combination of the “Ctrl” key and the arrows, select the files that need to be restored from the recycle bin. Preview in this case is limited to file icons. However, in the case of photographs, you can select the “View” option on the top pane of the window and select “Huge icons”. Images can be viewed at the largest possible scale (but, of course, not in full screen).

After selecting all the images you need, right-click and select the “Restore” option. All recovered files will be moved from the Recycle Bin to their original locations. If you need to restore all objects in the basket, select the appropriate option on the top panel of the window.

Note: You can also increase the size of the data in the basket by selecting the “Properties” category (right-click on the basket icon on the Desktop and select “Properties”). Here you can adjust the required size of the basket by increasing or decreasing the amount of data temporarily stored in this location. Also, make sure that the function of deleting files without moving them to the trash is not enabled. this will allow you to use this method in the future to recover lost photos from your computer.

This method is extremely simple and does not require special software knowledge or installation of special software. However, the limits of its capabilities are quite narrow, so we recommend that in a situation where you find that important photos have disappeared from your computer, the first thing to do is to try to restore them using the trash can. If this method cannot help you, you can turn to the best existing tool for recovering deleted files. the UltData utility. Windows Data Recovery from Tenorshare.

How to use the program to recover lost / deleted photos from computer

There are many programs designed to recover deleted files, including photos, from various devices. computers, phones, digital cameras, etc. All of them have a similar algorithm of work: they scan the device for files marked by the system as rewritable, and restore them. The differences of such programs from each other lie in small details, which, nevertheless, may turn out to be critical for a particular user. For example, the ability to preview files, the efficiency of the program, the percentage of data recoverable, the possibility of free use, etc. Today we will tell you about one of the programs of this kind, which we have chosen due to its most beneficial characteristics for the user. this is the UltData utility. Windows Data Recovery by Tenorshare.

To be convinced of the undoubted advantages of the program, read the brief overview:

  • Recover various types of files. audio, video, images, SMS, games, pdf, word, e-mail, system files and many other data formats.
  • Preview function for deleted files before restoring them.
  • High speed of the program and the result guaranteed by the developer.
  • Data recovery from both PC and portable devices. memory cards, flash drives, players, cameras, etc.
  • The ability to recover data even from a damaged partition or disk, as well as from damaged media.
  • Work with Windows and Mac operating systems.
  • Two scanning modes. fast and deep.
  • Simple and user-friendly interface with short instructions for step-by-step actions.
  • Availability of paid and free versions of the program.
  • The ability to install the Russian-language version of the program.

So, in order to recover deleted photos on a PC using the program, you need to follow a few simple steps.

Step 1 Download the program from the official website and install it on your computer. When installing, select a location where deleted images have not been previously saved. Otherwise, the likelihood of data recovery will be greatly reduced due to the risk of overwriting information.

Step 2 Run the utility on your PC. In the program window that opens, specify the disk partition where the photos that you want to recover were saved. In the lower right corner of the program, click the “Scan” button.

Step 3 When the partition scan is completed, the program window will display a list of files available for recovery. Sorting of images can be set by saving path, creation date or file type depending on your preference. At this stage, you can preview all files to select the necessary ones. Check the selected files and click the “Recover” button in the lower right corner of the window.

By default, the program uses the quick scan mode. If you do not find any images in the file list, select the “Deep Scan” mode. In this case, the scanning will be even more thorough, but it should be borne in mind that the time spent by the program on the process of searching for deleted files will increase.

Step 4 After selecting the files, specify the path to save them after recovery. Remember to choose a specific storage location (different from where the photos are being restored from). Confirm your choice and wait a few minutes, after which all previously deleted photos will become available again on your PC.

Thus, we have considered two options for recovering photos deleted by virtue of any circumstances from your computer: without using specialized software and with the help of it. The advantage of using the second option is its versatility. special programs can be used in any situation of data loss. One of the best programs of this type is the utility presented in our article. The program, which has proven itself in the best way, will become your reliable assistant and return lost photos in just a couple of clicks!

If you want to recover files that you accidentally deleted on your computer, we will also provide you with a solution.