Forum Discussion
How can I retrieve or recover deleted photos from sd card with computer?
Unfortunately, there's no foolproof, guaranteed free software that can perfectly recover deleted photos from SD card. Recovery success depends heavily on several factors:
- How the photos were deleted: A simple "delete" might leave the data in a recoverable state, while a format or overwriting operation will make recovery much harder or impossible.
- What happened after deletion: Writing new data to the SD card will overwrite the deleted data, rapidly reducing the chances of recovery.
- The SD card's health: Physical damage to the SD card can make recovery impossible.
Steps to recover deleted photos from SD card on computer
1. Backup your SD card: Crucially, if you haven't already, try to back up the SD card to another drive or cloud storage. Any recovery attempt risks further data loss if you're not careful.
2. Connect the SD card: Ensure the SD card is properly connected to your computer via a card reader or a compatible slot.
3. Run the recovery software: Follow the software's instructions to select the SD card and start the scan. Be patient, as it can take a considerable amount of time, especially with large cards.
4. Preview and Recover: The software should allow you to preview the recovered files. Carefully select only the files you need and avoid overwriting anything.
Key Considerations:
- Do not copy or move files to or from the SD card during the recovery process. This can damage the chances of recovering deleted files.
- Some software has different scan modes (quick scan, deep scan). A deep scan will take longer but has a better chance of recovering deleted files.
- Recovery success can vary depending on the file type. Photos might be easier to recover than other file types.
- If the SD card was formatted, it's harder to recover data.