4 Tested Ways: How to Recover Permanently Deleted Photos for Free

Can you recover permanently deleted photos?

How to recover permanently deleted photos for free [4 options]

Here in this section, we’ll introduce 4 methods of how to recover permanently deleted photos for free.

Case 1. How to recover permanently deleted photos for free without backup

Let's see two options on how to recover permanently deleted photos for free if you don't have a backup.

Option 1. Recover permanently deleted photos via free software

The first method of how to recover permanently deleted photos for free is to use the free data recovery software MyRecover. There are many good reasons why you should choose it among many other data recovery tools: 

Apply to different data loss situations. No matter how you have lost data from hard disks, like accidental deletion, disk formatting, system crash, virus attack, and so on, MyRecover can offer you help.

Support to recover 200+ types of data. MyRecover can regain practically every form of data. It can recover images, documents, movies, music, compressed data, etc. Furthermore, it will return the data in its original format.

Scan hard drives quickly and deeply. MyRecover embeds an advanced scanning algorithm, which enables you to recover data with no effort in a short time.

Be perfectly compatible with Windows systems. It is compatible with Windows systems, including Win 11, 10, 8, 7, and Server. No matter what brand of computer you’re using, you can make full use of MyRecover to recover deleted and lost data. 

Download, install and launch MyRecover on your computer.  

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

Step 2. Then the scanning process will start automatically. You don’t need to wait for the process to complete if you find the pictures you want to recover. You can also type in the file name and search for it in the search box in the right-top corner.

Step 3. Choose the pictures that you want to recover. Click Recover xx files and choose a destination path to save the restored pictures.

Option 2. Restore lost photos without backup using CMD

You can also use CMD to restore lost photos if you don’t have a backup. we’ll use a tool called Windows File Recovery.

Notes:✎...

This tool only supports Windows 10 2004 and above.

If Windows File Recovery failed to create destination folder, please get help.

Preparation work before using Windows File Recovery:

To use this tool, check out your File System first. Go to This PC > right-click on the drive that contains the photos you want to restore before > click Properties.

In addition, you need to use recovery mode and switches to get back your photos. To decide which mode to use, refer to this table.

File system	Scenarios	Mode
NTFS	Deleted recently	Regular
NTFS	Deleted for a while	Extensive
NTFS	Formatted disk	Extensive
NTFS	Corrupted disk	Extensive
FAT and exFAT	Any	Extensive

Switches are used to filter the scanning range, thus can save the scanning time.

Switches	Meaning	Supported mode(s)
/n	Filter the scan range: scans for a specific file with its file name/path/type, etc.	All
/y:	Recover specific extension groups.	Signature
/k	Recovers system files.	NTFSSegment
/u	Recovers undeleted files, for example, from the Recycle Bin.	NTFSSegment

Step 1. Download and install Window File Recovery on your computer from Microsoft Store and then open it.

Step 2. Open Powershell or Command Prompt (run as administrator). In the Command Prompt, enter commands in the following command format:

winfr source-drive: destination-drive: [/mode] [/switches]

For example, if you need to recover deleted photos from C: drive to D: drive, then the command will be like:

winfr C: D: /n *.png

 Case 2. How to recover permanently deleted photos for free with backup

Let's see two options on how to recover permanently deleted photos for free if you have a backup.

Option 1. Get back lost photos from file history

If you have made backup copies of your files with File History, a built-in Windows backup tool that will regularly backup your files in Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Desktop folders, as well as OneDrive files on your computer that are available offline, you can get back lost photos for free as well.

Step 1. Search for Control Panel and then open it.

Step 2. Click System and Security.

Step 3. Click File History.

Step 4. Click Restore personal files.

Step 5. Select the files you need to recover and then click the Restore button.

Option 2. Retrieve permanently lost photos from a Windows backup

The third option to how to recover permanently deleted photos from laptop for free is to use the Backup and Restore, also a utility provided by Microsoft that could back up your Windows system or other important files and let you restore them in case something unexpected happens.

Step 1. Navigate to Control Panel > System and Security > Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

Step 2. Selectively recover lost photos by clicking Restore my files. You can also select Restore all users’ files to recover all photos.

Step 3. Search for your deleted photos by using the Browse for files or Browse for folders option.

Step 4. Choose a location to save the backup, select your photos and click Restore to recover them.

Bonus tip: How to recover permanently deleted photos from phone for free [2 cases]

The methods mentioned above only apply to computers. What can you do if you've inadvertently deleted photos from your phone? Don't worry; here, we provide ways to help you recover permanently deleted photos from your phone for free.

Case 1. How to recover permanently deleted photos from iPhone for free

Want to know how to recover permanently deleted photos from iPhone without backup for free? You can first check your Recently Deleted album. If the images you're looking for are not there, you are recommended to use an iPhone data recovery tool, for example, AOMEI Phone Data Recovery.

Step 1. Download, install, and launch AOMEI Data Recovery for iOS on your PC. Connect your iPhone to the computer properly.

Step 2. Then click Scan Now.

Step 3. All recoverable data will be listed in the left column. Go to Photos, and select the photos you want, then click Recover.

Case 2. How to recover permanently deleted photos from Android for free

If you are using an Android phone, don’t worry, there’s also a way to help you recover permanently deleted photos from Android for free. It requires you to have Google Drive installed on your Android device. If you do, Google Drive will automatically sync your phone photos. You can then recover deleted pictures from the backup Google Drive made for you.

Step 1. On your Android device, open the Google Drive app.

Step 2. Log in with the account that you use to back up photos.

Step 3. Now you’ll see all the photos you backed up or uploaded photos. Then select the photos you need and download them to your device.

Conclusion

This post primarily introduces 4 options on how to recover permanently deleted photos for free. We highly recommended you choose MyRecover. It is a professional data recovery tool that could help you get back your photos easily and quickly. Using it could save you a lot of time and energy. 

Besides, we avoid unexpected photo loss, we advise you to back up your photos via backup and restore tools, for example, AOMEI Backupper. It is the professional backup freeware that assists you in backing up essential images on your computer and then restoring these photos whenever you need them.