How To

How To Recover Deleted/Lost Photos On Windows

Let’s face it, losing photos feels horrible. This is why we’ve curated this guide to help restore lost/permanently deleted photos on Windows.

When an important photo, video, or audio is mistakenly deleted from the PC, we panic. However, there’s nothing to worry about because there are several ways to retrieve deleted media files. And in this tutorial, we will show you how to restore permanently deleted photos.

Reasons for Permanent Loss of Data

Pressing Shift + Delete
Intentionally or accidentally emptying Recycle Bin.

Secondary Reason

Malware attack.
Corrupt hard disk.
Deleting files when Do no move to delete files to Recycle Bin is enabled.
Removing files using a command line

Can we Recover Lost/Permanently Deleted Photos?

Luckily, unless overwritten, permanently deleted photos can be recovered. To avoid overwriting data, stop using the device once you realize photos have been deleted.

How to Recover Deleted Files on PC

While working on Windows, if you have mistakenly deleted your Picture folder or selected media files, you can restore them using the File History option and Recycle Bin. However, if the Recycle Bin is emptied, the media files can still be recovered using a professional media recovery tool called Photos Recovery.

Method 1 – Restoring Photos from Recycle Bin

Recycle Bin is the most straightforward, check way to retrieve deleted photos in Windows. However, that’s not the case when the Shift+ Delete key is pressed. However, if you’ve deleted media files using this key combination, you’ll need to use Photos Recovery software to retrieve such files.

To restore the file from Recycle Bin, follow these steps:

Look for Recycle Bin on your Desktop.
Double click on it > locate the deleted photos you want to get back.
Right-click the image > select Restore

In addition, you can use Restore all items to return all deleted photos to their original location.

Method 2 – Retrieving Images with File History Option

To keep data safe, a backup is always suggested; to do so, Windows 10 offers a built-in feature. If the feature is enabled, you are in luck. Using it, you can restore permanently deleted photos.

However, if you are using an older version of Windows, there’s a different backup method. To learn how to use both ways, read further.

Retrieving Photos Using Windows 10 File History

In the Start menu, type Restore your files with File History and select the best results.
Look for the deleted media files you want to restore and click the Restore icon.
This will put back the deleted images to their original location.

Restoring Photos From Older Versions of Windows

Press Windows + R and open the Run window.
Type control and click ok.
Click System and Security > Backup and Restore (Windows 7)

Click Restore my files > select the permanently deleted images you want to retrieve and click Next.

Restore images at the location of your choice.

Method 3 – Undo Delete Permanently Deleted Images Using Photos Recovery

You can restore photos using the professional media recovery tool if the free methods do not work.

Note – You will need to pay to restore data using the recovery service, as they only allow you to run a scan.

To run Photos Recovery, follow these steps:

Download and install Systweak Photos Recovery.

Launch the tool and select the Drive you want to scan for deleted photos.
Select the scanning mode – Quick Scan and Deep Scan and click START SCAN to start the scan.

Note: To scan the external drive, make sure it is attached to the system before launching Photos Recovery.

Wait for Photos Recovery to finish scanning and preview scanned files to restore only the required images.

After previewing photographs select the images, you wish to restore.

After selecting the file to restore, click the RECOVER button. Select an alternate location to save the selected image or media file.

Select the folder to save the files and wait for the image recovery process to finish.

After completing the recovery process, check where you saved files.

This is how with and without the recovery tool, you can permanently retrieve photos, video, and audio.

Conclusion – Restore Deleted Photos

The troubleshooting article explained different ways to retrieve photos on Windows. You can use any of them to restore media files. However, if the files are not present in Recycle Bin or the File History is not enabled, Photos Recovery can quickly help recover deleted data. The tool is compatible with Windows and helps retrieve deleted audio and video files.

Preeti Seth

A UX writer who loves explaining technical details in a clear, crisp, and concise manner. She loves writing about technical troubleshooting, How-To's, product reviews, etc. In her free time, she loves reading, meditating, and traveling.