How to Restore Deleted SD Card Photos Easily and Quickly
“I removed some pictures from my memory card by mistake. Afterward, when I plugged it into my computer I realized I’d removed them from there as well. So, how can I recover deleted photos from SD card, and is it possible at all?”
—A Question from Reddit
You took hundreds of perfect sunset shots and were all set to share them with the world. But, after you pop your SD card into your computer, you see that all of your captured moments are gone. Of course, you’ll panic because there is no trash bin or undo button on an SD card.
Worry not, though. In the event, you’re scouring for a way to undelete photos from SD card, we’re going to tell you if it is possible in this all-inclusive guide. If yes, it is, then you will find the best solutions you can to recover pictures from SD card for free depending on your case.
Part 1: Can Deleted Photos From SD Card Be Recovered?
If you’re wondering, “How can I recover deleted photos from SD card,” the answer is dependent on many factors. Once pictures are removed from a memory card by accident or intentionally they vanish into nether unless you have not overwritten them.
You can restore erased photos with CMD, but only if they’re hidden not deleted, or if you’ve enabled a Windows backup feature like File History. In case you don’t have a backup, a specialized recovery tool can undelete photos from SD card. You can also recover pictures from SD card for free if you have simply copied contents of your memory card on an internal/external drive or cloud storage.
Part 2: How Can I Recover Deleted Photos From SD Card?
Here’s how to restore erased pictures from SD card based on variables we’ve discussed above. Note that all of these methods might not work in all scenarios. So, pick one that’s suitable for your situation:
Option A: Undelete Photos From SD Card for Free
A free data recovery tool like 4DDiG is probably the best option out there if you don’t have a backup or have enabled File History. It can reclaim photos from various data loss scenarios like accidental deletion, formatting, corruption, virus attacks, lost partitions, and many more. Here are this tool’s primary functions:
- Can recover erased pictures from memory cards, USBs, hard drives, and more.
- Suitable for various data loss scenarios, such as accidental deletions, formatting, virus attacks, and more.
- Allows you to choose only photos to recover from a memory card.
- Compatible with various memory cards like SDHC, SDXC, and microSD.
- Can reclaim 2000+ file types, including images, audio, video, images, documents, and much more.
Here’s how to restore erased pictures from SD card with this tool:
Step 1: Download, and install this SD card recovery tool on your computer. Then, plug in your memory card to same PC and execute this tool. Select “SD Card.” Tap “Scan.”
Step 2: Choose “Photo” to scan. Pause when you find pictures you need. Then, preview “Photo” beneath “File View” or “Deleted” beneath “Tree View”.
Step 3: If satisfied with results, next, save recovered photos to a different location, like your computer or cloud storage.
Option B: Undelete Photos From SD Card With File History
On Windows 10 and 11, if you’ve enabled File History to back up your memory card files, you can recover pictures from SD card for free. It automatically backs up files in your Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music, and Desktop folders on Windows. You can also add other folders to be backed up.
However, you can’t use this method directly as File History doesn’t recognize memory cards. So, this only works if you’ve backed up your SD card pics in a folder on PC prior to deletion, then included it in File History. If you’ve done that, here’s how to restore deleted SD card photos with this feature:
Step 1: In Windows search field, write “File History.” Run it. Then, click “Restore personal files.”
Step 2: Find backed-up pics from your memory card and select ones you want. Right-click “Restore” button.
Step 3: Then, choose either “Restore” to send them to original location or “Restore to” to pick a new destination.
Option C: Undelete Photos From SD Card Using CMD
Sometimes, the pictures are hidden instead of deleted but they look as if they’re erased. In such a case, you can use CMD for SD card photo recovery. It’s a Windows-built command line tool that allows you to unhide various attributes of images that make it hidden in first place. Here’s how to restore erased pictures from SD card that are hidden actually:
Step 1: In Windows search field, write “cmd”. Find “Command Prompt” then execute it with admin privileges.
Step 2: Next, input following command. Hit “Enter” afterward:
- “attrib -h -r -s /s /d X:\*.*” (Here you must exchange X with letter of your SD card).
Option D: Undelete Photos From SD Card Through Windows File Recovery
Windows File Recovery from Microsoft is another command line tool to recover pictures from SD card for free. Designed for Windows 10 version 2004 and newer, it supports NTFS, ReFS, and FAT file systems and can reclaim deleted, formatted, or corrupted files. The tool follows this format: winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches]. Choose mode and switches based on your memory card file system and data loss situation.
You can use /regular mode for recently deleted pictures on non-corrupted NTFS drives. For photos deleted a while ago, after formatting, or from a corrupted NTFS disk, use /extensive mode. For FAT and exFAT systems, always use /extensive.
In addition, you can also specify file names, paths, and types, or use wildcards with /n, and recover special file extensions with /y. However, all these instructions can be overwhelming for a beginner.
Option E: Check for Available Backup
In the event, that you haven’t enabled any Windows backup feature check whether you’ve retained a copy of your memory card pictures on an internal/external drive. If you haven’t, you might have uploaded your SD card photos to a cloud storage like Google Drive from where it would be easier to get them back. Here’s how to restore deleted SD card photos from Google Drive:
Step 1: Open “Google Drive” on a computer. Then, pick pictures or image folder you uploaded from your memory card.
Step 2: Hold Ctrl (on Windows) to select multiple photos or picture folders.
Step 3: Next, click three-dot menu and choose “Download.” Right-click an image and select “Download” again to export it to your computer.
Option F: Reach out to SD Card Recovery Services
As a last option, reach out to a reputable data recovery service if pictures were erased due to a hardware problem or you’ve overwritten them. These kinds of services might be expensive based on damage level and data size but they’re worth it in situations where not even a specialized third-party tool is capable of SD card photo recovery.
Part 3: How to Choose the Right Way of Recovering SD Card Files?
Before you learn how to restore erased pictures from SD card, you must know which method is suitable according to your skills and data loss situation. You’ll also need to understand the restrictions of each method, its difficulty, and time required. Here’s a comparison table with a breakdown of all these variables you must take into account to choose the right solution for reclaiming deleted pictures from a memory card:
| Name | Description | Time | Difficulty | Price |
| Tenorshare 4DDiG | Recovery tool for various scenarios like deletion, formatting, corruption, and more. Ideal if no backup or File History is enabled. | Fast | Very Easy | Free/Paid |
| File History | Free recovery for backed-up SD card photos if included in your PC’s File History. | Moderate | Easy | Free |
| CMD | Uses command line to unhide photos marked as hidden. Effective if photos are hidden, not deleted. | Moderate | Moderate | Free |
| Windows File Recovery | Command-line tool for recovering deleted or formatted photos from NTFS, FAT, and exFAT systems. Supports extensive options. | Slow to Moderate | Hard | Free |
| Internal/External/Cloud Backup | Recover photos from an internal/external drive or cloud storage (Google Drive). | Fast | Easy | Free |
| SD Card Recovery Services | Professional SD card recovery service for hardware issues or overwritten files. | Slow (Days to Weeks) | Varies | Expensive (Varies) |
Part 4: How to Maximize the Chances of SD Card Photo Recovery?
Many times recovering deleted SD card files isn’t achievable due to overwriting, severe corruption, or physical damage. However, you can maximize your chances of successful memory card recovery by following certain steps such as following:
- Act Fast – Once files are erased from memory card, stop using it at once and recover files as soon as possible to increase success. Files deleted long ago might be harder to recover, even with top recovery software.
- Avoid Overwriting – Stop writing new files to your memory card, as they can overwrite deleted files, making recovery harder.
- Eject Properly – Take out your SD card safely to prevent corruption.
- Disable TRIM – TRIM improves SSD performance but can make file recovery impossible. Therefore, disable it if recovery is more important than performance.
- First Fix Cause of Data Loss – Resolve issues like malware or drive problems before recovering files to prevent future loss.
- Choose a Suitable Recovery Method – Assess the situation by identifying the cause (deletion, formatting, or damage) and noting card details. Then, choose a recovery method based on your skills and issue. Use recovery software like 4DDiG Data Recovery for retrieving deleted memory card files. Opt for professional help if card is damaged or data loss is severe.
- Consider Costs – Built-in Windows backup and recovery tools are free, but professional softaware though paid is reliable for complex cases and when you don’t have a backup.
So, there you have it, there’s everything about how to restore erased pictures from SD card.
Closing Word
If you’re searching for an answer to “How can I recover deleted photos from SD card,” hopefully, we were able to provide it. Recovering erased SD card photos is not impossible. But you must act quickly, avoid data overwriting, and use the right recovery method. Free Windows built-in tools can help, but they have certain limitations.
Moreover, for complex cases or no backups, a dedicated tool like 4DDiG Data Recovery improves your chances of recovering photos from an SD card. It can reclaim pictures whether they were removed by accident, or due to formatting, corruption, virus attack, lost partition, or system crashes.