Symptoms/Introduction
SD cards are one of the everyday things when it comes to storing photos, data, and other things. There are times when SD cards get corrupted or become inaccessible. As a result, you end up losing all your data.
And if the same happened to you, then there is no need for you to panic. I will be talking about how to restore deleted photos from the SD card in this article.
There are a plethora of methods to restore deleted photos from an SD card. Like you can use Command Prompt, Data recovery software, and so on. Anyway, to make it easy for you, let me just explain the methods to you:
Solutions
Solution 1 – Using Command Prompt(attrib commands)
Microsoft ships Windows with a robust set of tools to keep things in order on your Windows operating system. The front-end requires the command prompt (CMD), a command-line-based interface for virtually everything that MS has in store in the utility toolbox.
The command prompt is amongst the best ways to recover deleted photos from HDD, Flash drives, or SD cards. Specific commands are available, allowing you to recover any deleted files from a storage device in seconds.
CMD can be intimidating for some users to use because of the unintuitive interface and commands based operations. We kept is simple and straightforward for people of all levels of computer proficiency to follow the tutorial with ease.
Nevertheless, before you go ahead, you should know that it does not guarantee that you will get your data back.
To get started with this option, you can follow these steps:
1. At first, press Windows + R to launch the Run dialog box.
2. Over here, type down CMD and hit the enter button to launch Command Prompt.
3. Once you are on Command Prompt, you have to run these following commands:
| chkdsk ‘drive letter:’ /f |
Here the drive letter denotes the SD card drive name. For example, if the drive name is H, you have to run chkdsk H: /f.
4. After the CHKDSK process has been completed, you will need to run the following command:
| attrib -h -r -s /s /d G :\*.* |
Over here, the G refers to the drive letter of your SD from which you want to recover your deleted photos. Once the scan is completed, a new folder will be created and with recovered files in chk format.
Also, you should know that CHK is the file extension used for temporary files on Windows. Plus, if you are wondering what that command was all about. Then here is a quick breakdown of it:
· -h: It provides hidden attributes to the files.
· -r: It is a read-only attribute.
· -s: With this, you will get system attributes of a specific file.
· /s: Instructs the tool search for recovery in specific sub-folders, directories.
· /d: All the process folders are covered with this command.
Solution 2 – Using Wondershare Recoverit
While CMD seems like a promising tool shipped along with Windows OS, it does not really assure you that you will get your data back. So if CMD fails to recover your deleted photos, the only option we have is to use a third-party data recovery solution.
There are a lot of options for data recovery in the market. However, among them, Wondershare Recoverit seems like an exciting prospect to try.
Note – Recoverit is a premium tool with a 30 days trial, along with a limit of how much data you can recover in the trial version.
To use this too, you can follow these steps:
1. First of all, go ahead and download Wondershare Recoverit.
2. Once the setup file is downloaded, run the installation file, follow all the screen instructions, and complete the installation procedure.
3. Next, you have to connect your SD card to your computer using an SD card reader, if you are on a computer. Desktop computers generally do not offer a card reader.
Alternatively, if you are on a laptop, you will most likely have an MMC reader slot.
4. Launch Wondershare Recoverit from your computer and select the SD card drive you want to recover files.
5. Click on the Start button given on the bottom right corner of the window.
6. Now, let the application run a scan, and soon, you will get to see all your deleted photos.
7. After that, you have to select all the images that you wish to recover.
8. Once selected, hit the recover button from the bottom right corner. Then it will ask you to select a folder to store your recovered files.
9. Soon, you will get a notification, and your recovered files will get saved in your chosen location.
So that was how the way to restore deleted photos from the SD card. Apart from the SD card, you can also use the software to recover files from any storage device. Besides, there is an advanced method to recover deleted files.
Things to Keep in Mind
1. If your files get deleted by accident from a specific location, do not transfer any kind of data to that location.
Data is recovered from the traces present on the SD card in the particular sector from where the photos were deleted.
Overwriting the sectors with new data will reduce the chances of recovering the deleted photos. Therefore proceed with caution.
2. For backup purposes, you have options like Google photos or Google Drive. Google Photos allows unlimited photo storage for resolution up to 16 megapixels.
Alternatively, you can try out any other free cloud storage services such as Dropbox.
Conclusion
Misplacing, losing your photos can be a cause of a sudden panic attack. There is no doubt that recovering deleted photos can be a headache. Hence, it would be best if you used the right tools/applications to do the job.
Therefore, it is recommended to keep a backup of your important photos on the cloud storage and another soft copy in a portable media, such as an SD card, external drive, amongst several others.
