Accidental deletion of photos on Windows devices, either temporary or permanent, can put you in trouble. When you delete any picture from your device, it stays in the Recycle Bin for some particular days, say 30 days. But after that, it gets permanently deleted from your device. Even when you delete any file, including pictures using the Shift + Del keys, they get permanently deleted.
Luckily there are various methods that you can apply to recover permanently deleted photos from Windows systems.
Can I Recover Deleted Photos on Windows Devices?
The only answer to this question is Yes! It is possible to recover the data only if they are not been overwritten by new files. Once a picture is deleted from the hard drive of your computer, the storage space it was occupying will be made available for new files. You can recover your deleted files only when the old data is not overwritten by the new one.
Now, check some common reasons that lead to the permanent deletion of files on the Windows system:
- You may have manually deleted photos from your device storage using Shift + Delete keys or from cloud storage services, such as Google Photos or iCloud.
- When you format any storage device, it erases all data stored on it, including photos. To avoid such instances, it is better to create a backup of your important files before formatting.
- There may be some hardware or software-related errors which corrupt your storage device and result in permanent loss of your photos.
- Certain type of viruses or malware infects your device and delete or corrupt files, including photos.
How do I Recover Permanently Deleted Photos From Windows?
In this part of the blog, we will discuss some quick and effective methods that you can apply for permanently deleted photo recovery from Windows devices. You can go with these recovery methods in any order, but we recommend going with the first one first.
Method 01: Recover Deleted Photos From Previous Versions
You can use Windows’ in-built File History backup feature to recover permanently deleted photos on your devices. This feature creates a copy of all your files stored in the documents, videos, audio, and music folder of your system and saves them for the future. All you have to do is to enable the File History feature on your device before the time of deletion. Now, go through the following steps to know how to recover deleted photos using Windows Previous Version utility:
- Firstly, locate and right-click on the folder where your deleted photos were earlier stored.
- Now, choose the “Restore previous versions” option.
- Browse the folder and select the photos you need to recover and then click the “Restore” button to save them at the desired location.
Method 02: Restore Deleted Photos from Windows Backup
Another way to recover deleted photos in the Windows system is using the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) option. If you have enabled this backup option, you can go through the following steps to restore deleted files:
- Type CP in the search box and then open Control Panel.
- Go to System and Security and click the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) option.
- Now, click the “Restore my files” option, and then go through the steps as instructed on the screen.
- Browse the backup files and select the location where you need to save them.
Method 03: Recover Permanently Deleted Photos Using Stellar Photo Recovery
If you haven’t created any backup earlier, you can use a photo recovery software, such as Stellar Photo Recovery to get your permanently deleted photos back. It is easy to restore deleted photos on both Windows and Mac computers using the Stellar Photo Recovery tool. Check the following steps for photo recovery from the Windows device using the Stellar Photo Recovery tool:
Step 1: Download and install the Stellar Photo Recovery software on your computer. Launch the software and select the storage location where your photos were stored at the time of deletion and click the Scan button.
Step 2: Wait till the program completes the scanning process.
Step 3: After the scanning is completed, preview the recoverable photos and click the “Recover” button to save recovered photos at the desired location.
Tips to Avoid Permanently Deletion of Photos on Windows Devices
Go through the following tips to avoid the permanent deletion of photos on your Windows system:
- Create a proper backup of your important photos and other files on an external storage device or cloud storage service like Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox.
- Avoid using downloading software from untrusted websites.
- Before permanently deleting photos on your system, double-check that you have selected the correct items for deletion.
- Keep your device OS, antivirus software, and other software programs up to date.
Wrapping Up
Hope the above methods to recover deleted photos from Windows devices help you to get your deleted photos back. Just go with the above methods and tips to avoid the deletion of photos on your system. Make use of the Stellar Photo Recovery tool to restore your files easily and effectively in no time.
