All My Screenshots Are Gone | Screenshot Recovery on Windows 10

Why did all my screenshots disappear?

If you are using Windows 10, press the Windows key + Shift + S, and you can take a screenshot to seize the moment.

Many users, especially players, will take screenshots frequently to save their precious memories with friends in the game. And also, users may store their working records in the screenshot folder.

With a bunch of essential screenshots kept in the screenshot folder, losing them will be a disaster. But plenty of users already anxiously report that "All my screenshots are gone".

We could find multiple common reasons.

Deletion. You may have accidentally deleted files from Windows or removed the wrong folders. 

Virus. Virus will deliberately move/delete/hide/encrypt users’ personal files. 

Update issues. Software or OS updates bring new features and improvements but sometimes get bugs, causing data loss. 

System crash. Unexpected shutdowns, power surges, etc., may interrupt the data write-in process, causing data corruption or loss.

If you have recently updated your operating system or programs, e.g., some users have complained about Windows 10 update missing files issues, then perhaps you need to get some help from the software support team.

This article aims at giving solutions to help users achieve screenshot recovery from PC & iPhone.

How to fix the "All my screenshots are gone" issue on PC?

Now you can learn how to retrieve deleted screenshots/lost screenshots from your PC. We will introduce two quick tricks and three practicable methods in this part.

Quick trick: search for your screenshots in the File Explorer/Recycle Bin

Firstly, searching for your screenshots thoroughly on your computer first is suggested. In general, users won't rename the screenshots, so it will be easy to search for all the screenshots at once.

>> Press the Win + E to access the File Explorer > input screenshot in the search box.

The search covers all the subfolders on This PC by default; you could specify the search range according to your needs. You could also find all photos on your computer in this way.

If no needed screenshots are found, check if your files are in the Recycle Bin.

>> Open the Recycle Bin > input screenshot in the search box > right-click the founded screenshots > Restore.

If deleted files are not in the Recycle Bin, that is to say, your screenshots have been permanently removed. Let's check the following solutions to help you achieve screenshot recovery.

Method 1. Recover lost screenshots via File History

File History is a helpful feature for storing file copies. When the files get lost/corrupted/deleted, users can recover them from the File History.

But please note that it requires users to enable it in advance, which could be regarded as a backup to some degree. If you don't possess backups, please head over to Method 3.

Step 1. Control Panel > System and Security > File History.

Step 2. Restore personal files.

Step 3. Go to the original location > select the screenshots you have removed > click Recover. You could tap the arrow to view earlier versions as well.

Not only to recover photos but you could use it to retrieve deleted Excel files not in Recycle Bin.

Method 2. Restore the previous version of the screenshots folder

The Previous Versions feature is another backup tool pre-installed in Windows machines.

It stores the files from the drive that has enabled System Protection (often the C: drive) using the restore points or File History.

Every time you make big operations or changes on your computer, e.g., an OS or software update, the system will generate a restore point, facilitating users to revert to the previous version if errors occur.

If you find "all my screenshots are gone" and you haven't activated File History, you could also restore the previous version of files/folders to get the deleted/lost/corrupted/damaged screenshots back.

Step 1. File Explorer > locate the screenshot folder.

Step 2. Right-click the folder > Restore previous versions > choose the latest or a recent version you like > Restore.

In addition, you could use it to find the previous version of Word documents.

Method 3. Perform screenshot recovery without backups

To make a comparison, the File History only recovers data from the C: drive, not to mention it requires backup in advance; previous versions of files are only available for C: drive data.

What if the lost screenshots are stored on the other local drives and external drives? How about users who don't possess any backups? How to retrieve deleted screenshots without backups?

Using a professional Windows data recovery app is the correct answer. With the help of an efficient app, you don't need to worry about backups or difficult operations.

MyRecover will be satisfactory software. It is equipped with advanced scanning tech and valuable features.

Now, follow the steps to fix the "screenshots disappeared" issue.

Step 1. Install and run the app > Hover the mouse over the drive saved deleted files before, and click Scan.

Step 2. View/sort/search the wanted files using filters: filenames, Size, Type, Date modified, etc.

Step 3. Go to Deleted files > check the original location > select the screenshots you need > click Recover x files. If failed to find the screenshots, refer to the Other missing files > select Photos to restore.

This helpful app can also help you fix game errors related to data loss, e.g., Terraria Load failed no backup found error.

FAQ

Users bothered by the problem of "all my screenshots are gone" can refer to this tutorial and solve this issue with five feasible methods.

In addition, a FAQ corner is ready as well, in case you may need extra help.

>> Why did my screenshots disappear from my iPhone?

Similar to the causes for screenshots missing issue on PC, this issue may result from:

• Accidental deletion. You may have recently deleted photos from iPhone, but the screenshots exceeded 30 days and were permanently deleted.
• Software update. iOS updates sometimes bring bugs a lot. Some users have reported issues as iPhone notes disappeared after the update.
• Backup overwriting. If you have recently restored a backup from iCloud or iTunes, the screenshots you took after the backup was made will be overwritten and gone forever.
• Sync issue. If you have enabled iCloud Photos, the screenshots will be synced between multiple devices and might have been removed no another device.