Recover Deleted Photos on Windows PC: 6 Proven Methods

Your precious photos, once gone from your Windows PC, are not really gone! Whether you accidentally hit the ‘delete’ key, or there was a technical glitch, you can still recover your photos.

Depending on when and how they were deleted, you can reclaim your cherished moments using any of the methods discussed in this blog. Here, you learn about various situations that can lead to photo loss on your Windows PC and how you can navigate through the recovery process for each one.

Before learning about the methods to recover your lost photos, let’s look at the scenarios that lead to photo loss or deletion on your Windows PC.

Different Scenarios Leading to Photo Loss on Windows PC

There can be various scenarios in which photos get lost or deleted on a Windows PC. Here we list the most prevalent ones:

• Accidental deletion using the ‘delete’ function
• Permanent deletion by emptying the Recycle Bin, using Shift + Delete key combination, or using system cleaner apps
• Formatting the disk drive
• Bad sectors on the hard disk or disk corruption
• Virus/malware attack
• Sudden power outage or system crash

From the common reasons behind losing or deleting photos, let’s move towards learning about some useful photo recovery methods.

How to Recover Deleted Photos on Windows PC?

Unlike temporary deletion, in which photos go to the Recycle Bin, from where you can quickly restore them, permanently deleted photos are much more difficult to recover. There are a few techniques, such as photo recovery from Windows file history or restoring the previous version of Windows, but attempting them is like a wild goose chase.

Yes… A sure shot way is to use professional photo recovery software. They are designed to recover lost or permanently deleted photos from your computer’s drive, regardless of the different photo loss scenarios.

Caution: It’s important to immediately stop using your PC after the photos are lost, unless you’re going to perform a recovery process. This will prevent overwriting of data and maximize the chances of photo recovery.

Method 1: Restore Deleted Photos from Recycle Bin

The first place to look for deleted photos is the Recycle Bin. If the file was recently deleted, you can probably find it here.

Note: The photos stay in the Recycle Bin folder for only 30 days, after which they are permanently removed from the system. 

Here’s how to restore deleted photos using Recycle Bin:

• Click on Recycle Bin icon to launch it.
• Look for the file you want to recover.
• Right-click on the desired file, and then choose Restore. The file will be restored to its original location.

Best Method: Recover Deleted Photos Using Professional Photo Recovery Software

If you have permanently deleted your photos and don’t have their backup, then use professional photo recovery software such as Stellar Photo Recovery to get your photos back. The tool can recover your lost or deleted photos in all data loss scenarios, including accidental deletion, formatting, virus attacks, corruption, etc.

Key Features of the Photo Recovery Software:

• Restores RAW file formats of popular DSLRs like Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc.
• Retrieves photos with the original name, date, and timestamp.
• Quickly restores hundreds of pictures of any format.
• Restores images without losing their original quality.
• Easily recovers deleted photos on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Here’s the step-by-step method:

Step 1: Download and launch Stellar Photo Recovery on your Windows PC.

Step 2: Select the location on your PC from which you lost photos. Click Scan.

Step 3: Once the scan is completed, preview your recoverable photos. If you don’t see the required images in the list, click the Deep Scan option at the bottom for a thorough search.

Step 4: Select the required photos, and click Recover.

Step 5: Click Browse and select a location on a different drive to save the recovered photos.

Method 3: Recover Deleted Photos Using File History

This built-in Windows backup utility helps you restore copies of your lost or deleted media files only if it was enabled earlier. Follow the steps to learn how to retrieve photos:  

Step 1: Type Control Panel in the Windows search box and open it. Go to File History.

Step 2: Click Restore Personal files, and choose the backup folder that may have your photos. Click Restore and save the recovered pictures at the desired location.

 

Method 4: Restore Deleted Photos from Previous Version

Recover photos deleted from Recycle Bin using the Previous Version feature of Windows that copies your files and folder. To get your files back:

Step 1: Press Windows + E keys together to open File Explorer and go to This PC.

Step 2: Open the drive and then the folder from where you lost the photos, and then right-click on the folder to open Properties.

Step 3: Click Previous Version, open the folder versions, and select the photos you want to restore. Choose the location and click OK.

Method 5: Recover Deleted Photos Using Backup & Restore

This is another built-in backup utility that retrieves your media files only if the utility is already enabled. Follow the below steps:

Step 1: Open Control Panel > Backup & Restore.

Step 2: Choose the backup folder, click Restore my files and select the file you want to restore.

Step 3: Next, select Browse for files or Browse for folders and then click Next. Finally, click Restore to save the deleted photos.

Method 6: Recover Deleted Photos Using Windows File Recovery App

You can also use Windows File Recovery, a command-line software utility, to recover your lost photos. It supports formats like FAT, exFAT, NTFS, and ReFS on both internal and external storage media. This method works for Windows 10 or newer versions. Here’s the rundown:

Step 1: Go to Microsoft Store and download Windows File Recovery on your PC.

Step 2: Once installed, search the app and select Run as administrator.

Step 3: The command prompt will launch. Use Regular or Extensive recovery modes for non-corrupted NTFS drives and other file systems.

Step 4: Open File Explorer, right-click the drive that contained your deleted photos, and select Properties. Check the file system under General.

Step 5: Use the following example to recover deleted files using the Regular mode on an NTFS drive: winfr C: E: /regular /n Users\< username> \Downloads\.

Note: The first drive letter denotes the source, and the second denotes the destination. Use accordingly to type the correct file path.

Step 6: Hit Enter to run the command and type Y to continue.

Step 7: Run the next command to show all supported file extensions and check what image files you can recover: winfr /#

Step 8: For example, for recovering PNG files on the specific NTFS drive, run: winfr C: A: /regular /n *.png /n *.docx

Step 9: You can find your recovered photos by returning to File Explorer. Simply open the destination drive and check Recovery_[date]_[time] folder.

Conclusion

There are different effective methods to recover deleted photos on Windows. With the help of a backup folder stored on an external drive or various Windows backup utilities like File History, Backup & Restore, and Previous Version, you can easily retrieve deleted photos. If you have some technical expertise, you can go for the command line method involving the Windows File Recovery app.

However, the backup folder can restore the data only if it is enabled. If there is no backup or you don’t have the required technical expertise to opt for other manual methods, use a professional photo recovery tool like Stellar Photo Recovery to restore deleted photos on your Windows PC.