How to recover deleted images

This article will guide you through the process of recovering deleted images from your computer, smartphone, or tablet. Keep in mind that unless you restore the images immediately after deletion, some images may not be recoverable.

Check the Recycle Bin. Before downloading and using any data recovery software, double-click the Recycle Bin icon to open it and check for the deleted images.

• If the deleted images are found, you can restore them by selecting the image, right-clicking on it, and choosing Restore from the displayed menu.

Download Recuva on another computer. Avoid downloading any data to your computer until the images are restored, so use a different computer for this step. Download Recuva by following these steps:

• Visit https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva/ in your browser.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Free Download.
• Click on the CCleaner.com link on the left side of the page.
• Click on Start Download.

Install Recuva on a USB drive. Plug the USB drive into the computer where you’ve downloaded Recuva, and follow these steps:

• Double-click the Recuva setup file.
• Click Yes when prompted.
• Uncheck the box that says "No thanks, I don't need CCleaner".
• Click Customize.
• Uncheck the options on this page.
• Click on More at the bottom of the page.
• Click Browse.
• Scroll down and select your USB drive name.
• Click OK.
• Click Install.

Remove the USB drive when Recuva installation is complete. You can now launch Recuva from the USB drive, allowing you to scan the computer without overwriting or adding data to the space of the deleted images.

Launch Recuva. Double-click the recuva64 program in the USB window to open it.

Check the "Pictures" box, then click Next (Continue). You will see the "Pictures" checkbox near the top of the window.

Click Next. This action allows Recuva to scan the entire computer in search of deleted images.

• If you know the folder where the image was deleted, check the "In a specific location" option, click Browse..., and select the folder.

Click Start at the bottom of the window to begin the scan for deleted photos on your computer.

• The scan process may take a few minutes to complete.

View the results. Any file with a green circle next to it is considered "good," meaning you can recover it without losing any data.

Recover the recoverable photos. Click the box next to each image you want to restore (or click the box in the top left corner to select all), then proceed as follows:

• Click Recover...
• Select Desktop
• Click Make new folder
• Click OK
• Wait for the photo recovery process to finish and the images will be saved to the new folder.

Try restoring from backup. If you created a File History backup, you can restore images from it. Connect File History and follow these steps:

• Open Start
• Type restore your files
• Click Restore your files with File History
• Find the folder where the image is stored.
• Select the version of the folder containing the image.
• Click Restore.

Check the Trash (Recycle Bin). Before restoring deleted photos using Time Machine, the first thing you need to do is open the Trash and look for files inside it.

• If you find the photos in the Trash, you can right-click on the selected photo and choose Put Back to restore it to its original folder.

Type time machine to search for the Time Machine app on your computer.

Click on the Time Machine app with the green box icon featuring a white clock on top. This action opens Time Machine.

Navigate to the folder where the photos are stored by clicking on the folder that contained the photos, which appears on the left side of the window.

Access backup data from a time when the photo was still on your Mac. Click the upward arrow in the top-right corner of the Time Machine window to scroll through backup times until you spot the deleted photo in the main window.

• If you scroll past the photo's creation date and still can't find it, Time Machine cannot be used to recover the photo.

Select the file you wish to restore. Drag your mouse over a group of files to select them all, or hold down the ⌘ Command key and click on each individual file to select them separately.

Click the Restore button (gray) at the bottom of the Time Machine window. This will restore the selected photo to its original folder.

• You might need to repeat this process for each folder within Time Machine.

Check the "Recently Deleted" folder on your iPhone. If your iPhone has iOS 10 or later, deleted photos are moved to the "Recently Deleted" folder, where they are kept for up to 30 days. Follow these steps to check the folder:

• Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
• Tap Albums in the bottom-right corner.
• Scroll down and tap on Recently Deleted.
• Look for your photo.
• To restore it, tap Select, then tap the photo you wish to recover, and select Recover at the bottom-right corner of the screen.

Connect your iPhone to the computer. Plug the USB end of the iPhone charging cable into one of the computer's USB ports, then connect the other end to the charging port on your iPhone.

Back up your iPhone. Click on Back Up Now in the "Backups" section, then click Transfer Purchases when prompted. This will create a copy of the files and settings currently on your iPhone.

• The backup process can take anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour to complete.
• After restoring the backup that contains your photos, you can save them and return to the most recent version of your iPhone.

Click on Restore Backup… next to the "Backups" section. A new window will pop up.

• You may need to disable the Find My iPhone feature before continuing.

Select backup data. Click the selection box in the newly opened window, then choose a date from the displayed list.

• Select the date when the photo was still stored on your iPhone.

Wait for the restoration to complete in a few minutes. Once the restoration is done, you can open your iPhone to view the photos.

• If you want to restore to the most recent version of the iPhone, make sure to upload the deleted photos to Google Drive or iCloud before proceeding. Otherwise, the photos will be removed from the iPhone when the backup is restored.

Download the Recuva installation file. Recuva is a free recovery software that you can use to restore deleted files from an Android device on your computer. To download it, follow these steps:

• Visit https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva/ using your browser.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Free Download.
• Click on the CCleaner.com link on the left side of the page.
• Click on Start Download.

Follow these steps to install Recuva:

• Double-click on the installation file rcsetup153.
• Click Yes when prompted.
• Uncheck the box that says "No thanks, I don't need CCleaner" (No, thank you. I don't need CCleaner).
• Click Install to proceed with the installation.
• Tick the box for "Reboot now" (Restart now).
• Click Finish to complete the process.
• Wait for the system to finish restarting.

Connect your Android device to your computer. Plug the USB end of the charging cable into one of the computer's USB ports and connect the other end to the charging port of your Android device. A notification will appear on the Android device.

• If you don't see the notification after a few seconds, try using a different USB port.

Set your Android device to MTP mode. Tap on the notification saying "Connected as a media device" or similar, and then select MTP.

• On some Android devices, you may first need to open the Notifications section by swiping down from the top of the screen.

Launch Recuva. Double-click the Recuva application to open it.

Check the box for "Pictures", then click Next. You'll find the "Pictures" checkbox near the top of the window.

Select your Android device as the destination for file recovery. Check the box for "In a specific location", then click Browse..., locate your Android device, click on it, and hit OK.

• If your Android device doesn't appear, direct scanning is not possible. To recover deleted files, remove the SD card from your Android device, insert it into a USB card reader, and plug the reader into one of your computer's USB ports. Then you can scan the SD card.

Click on Start at the bottom of the window. Recuva will begin scanning your computer for deleted photos.

Wait for the scanning process to complete. This may take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your Android device and the amount of photos you are trying to recover.

Check the box for "Filename". Once the scanning process is complete, you'll find this option at the top-left corner of the Recuva window. This will allow you to select all the recovered photos.

Recover your photos to your computer as follows:

• Click Recover...
• Click Desktop
• Click Make new folder
• Click OK
• Wait until your photos are fully recovered to the folder.
• You might be asked to click Yes or OK before the recovery process begins.

Remove the SD card from your Android device. Most Android phones or tablets have a removable SD card that stores photos and other files.

• The location of the SD card slot may vary by device, so refer to the user manual or online documentation for the exact position.
• You cannot recover deleted files from the internal storage of the Android device unless you scan the device directly.

Insert the SD card into your computer. You'll need a USB card reader for this.

• You can purchase a USB card reader online or at an electronics store for under 200,000 VND.

Download and install Mac Data Recovery. Visit http://www.recovering-deleted-files.net/recovery-software/mac-data-recovery/, scroll down, and click Download. Double-click the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions.

• You may be prompted to verify the download when asked.
• Mac Data Recovery is a paid program, but you can use the free version to check if your files can be recovered.

Tick the "Deep Scan" option at the bottom-right corner of the window. This will enable the full scan process, increasing your chances of recovering deleted files compared to using the "Quick Scan" option.

• The full scan may take several hours.
• You may choose "Quick Scan" if you're in a hurry or have recently deleted files.

Wait for the scan to finish. This process may take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, so ensure your computer is plugged into a power source during this time.

Search for the deleted images. You can now browse the recovered files as you normally would in Finder. If the deleted files are still located in the same folder as before they were deleted, they can be restored.

• If you can't locate the deleted images, recovery is not possible.

Select the files to recover. Click and drag to select the images you want to save, or hold down the ⌘ Command key while clicking on each individual image.

Follow the registration prompts on the screen. If the file is essential and you need to purchase software to recover it, proceed with the purchase on this page. After purchasing, you will be able to recover your deleted files.

• The Professional version of Mac Data Recovery costs $99 (approximately 2,300,000 VND).

• Deleted photos are not truly erased from your computer’s hard drive until new data is written over their space. So, as long as you haven’t saved new data onto the drive, your photos may still be recoverable.

• As soon as you realize that you've deleted a photo, stop moving, downloading, or installing any files.