Photos often have an emotional value. They preserve memories of birthdays, graduations and weddings, unforgettable trips or milestones in life. In other cases, they may be records of work or study, which should be kept.
The problem is that when we organize the photos on the computer, it can happen that we accidentally delete the files and, even worse, permanently…
So we desperately try to find out how to recover deleted photos from the computer! But is it possible?
Is it possible to recover deleted photos from my computer?
Yes, it is possible to recover deleted photos from your computer! Don’t despair if you’ve accidentally deleted files, because it is possible to recover them, even if they’ve been permanently deleted.
When you delete photos from your computer, they are not yet permanently deleted. By default, the system directs the deleted files to a temporary folder, which you may already know: the Recycle Bin.
The Recycle Bin is where the files you’ve deleted recently are stored. From there, you can restore the photos back to their original folder.
But it is important to be careful with the limited storage space in this folder. When files exceed the Recycle Bin’s capacity, it starts permanently deleting the oldest ones to free up space.
In addition, you can permanently delete photos from your computer yourself when you click Shift + Delete or when you delete files from within the Recycle Bin (one by one, or with the Empty Recycle Bin function). In these cases, the deletion is permanent. However, it is still possible to recover the photos using other resources that we’ll see below.
How to restore photos from recycle bin?
Restoring photos from the Recycle Bin is a very simple solution that Windows offers to recover your files. This is exactly what this folder is for: recovering files in time, in case you need them again, have deleted them by mistake or regret the deletion.
To restore your photos, simply:
- Access the Recycle Bin folder (it’s usually fixed to the Desktop; if not, type “Recycle Bin” into the Windows search bar);
- Locate the photo files you deleted;
- Right-click and select “Restore”.
This will send the photos from the Recycle Bin directly to the folder where they were stored before they were deleted.
But remember that files only remain in the Recycle Bin as long as there is space available, because when the folder fills up, it starts deleting the oldest ones. So check the Recycle Bin occasionally to free up space so you can recover important files when you need them.
What happens after you delete photos from the recycle bin?
Let’s say you deleted some photos from the Recycle Bin to free up space and ended up deleting files by mistake. That blurry photo, but it was the only one you had with that childhood friend… It wasn’t meant to be deleted!
In this case, when you delete photos from the Recycle Bin, they are permanently deleted. But that’s what the system tells you, because the deletion isn’t actually permanent.
What happens after you delete photos from the Recycle Bin is that they disappear from the file index, and you can no longer access them as you always have. But the system only removes the references to the files.
So the photos remain on the disk, but in fragmented form, until new files are stored in that space. Basically, it tells the disk that it doesn’t want to store that file and can use the space to store other things.
Why is it possible to recover permanently deleted files?
It is possible to recover permanently deleted files because Windows only marks the space as free for use. Provisionally, the files remain on the disk, but only until the space is used to store new data.
Until the space is used up, you can use some methods (which we’ll show you below) to recover deleted files.
But it is worth pointing out: whenever you delete photos from the Recycle Bin by mistake and want to recover them, stop using your computer so that you don’t save new overwritten data. If this happens, the deletion will be permanent.
How do I recover deleted photos from the recycle bin?
There are a few ways to recover permanently deleted photos from the Recycle Bin. They’re not as simple as the process of restoring from the Recycle Bin, but they do allow you to regain access to the files if they haven’t already been overwritten.
Here are the ways to do it:
Windows backup
This is one of the simplest forms of recovery, but it requires you to have activated the Windows File History feature, which keeps a backup on an external drive or network location.This way, you can recover the files in that backup.If you haven’t activated it yet, it’s worth doing so to avoid further problems in the future.
If you have already activated it, just follow the steps:
- Type “file history” into the Windows search bar and click on “Restore files with File History”;
- Click on the “Previous” button to locate and select the deleted folder;
- Click on “Restore” to recover it.
Previous version of the folder
Another simple way to recover deleted photos from the Recycle Bin is to access a version of the folder from before the files were deleted. But to do this, you also need to take one action beforehand: set up a system restore point.
If you haven’t set one up, it is also important to know about this alternative so that you can recover other files in the future. To do this, type “Create restore point” into the Windows search bar and follow the configuration steps. But if you already have a restore point set up, try the steps below:
- In File Explorer, go to the drive or folder that stored the photos;
- Right-click and select “Restore previous versions”;
- Under “Previous versions”, click on the restore point you want to resume;
- Click on “Restore”.
Programs to recover deleted files
Data recovery software is often effective for recovering deleted files from the Recycle Bin. These programs find permanently deleted or even corrupted files and recover access to them.
They usually offer a free version with limitations, such as the amount of data recovered, and paid plans with more features. If you have a lot of photos to recover, you may need to hire the tool.
When using these programs, be careful not to take rash actions that could make it impossible to recover your photos.
Below, we’ve listed some reliable and recognized programs on the market, which usually perform well in data recovery:
- FreeUndelete (free for personal use)
- Disk Drill
- DiskDigger
- Recuva
- EaseUS
- Recoverit
How Bot can help you
Bot is a company specializing in data recovery, with over 10 years of experience. We work with the equipment and environments recommended for recovering files from storage devices.
We can therefore help you recover deleted photos from your computer or any storage drive, such as disks, external disks, USB flash drives and memory cards. You will receive assistance from qualified and experienced professionals who have resolved the most diverse cases of data loss.
Now, find out more about our services and start recovering your photos with us!
