Data storage was a big deal in the ages before hard drives. With the many photos from parties to other important events. However, today’s external hard drives make it extremely easy to store files such as photos outside your computer.
However, even with the many data storage options available, the loss of data from drives and the need for external hard drive recovery is still inevitable. That is why we must continue learning some of the best and most accessible ways to recover files from internal and external drives.
Fortunately, there are several ways to recover unintentionally deleted photos from external drives. One of the most common and successful methods is the use of photo recovery apps. You should, however, choose the proper method to use depending on the circumstances in which you lost your photos, the period between deletion and recovery, among others.
We focus on some of the most effective and commonly used methods to recover photos and images from an external hard drive, focusing on photo recovery software. Read on and choose the right one for your situation.
Method 1: Recover Deleted Photos And Images With A Photo Recovery Software
If you need guaranteed results with your data recovery trials, we recommend using third-party software. Disk Drill by CleverFiles has been designed to resolve even very tough photo loss scenarios.
With Disk Drill, you can recover photos and images from an external drive very quickly. Besides, the software supports many other file formats.
If you accidentally deleted photos from an external hard drive, you should first think of whether you have preinstalled the software or not. If not, download and install it and follow the steps below to recover photos on Windows 10 and more.
Step 1: Link the external drive to your PC.
Step 2: Launch Disk Drill.
Step 3: Select the disk where you deleted from the photos.
Step 4: Click the “Search for lost data” button to begin the scanning process.
Step 5: Preview the images in the scan results and select the ones to be recovered.
Step 6: After making your selection, click “Recover.”
Step 7: Choose a new location for the photos.
Step 8: After the recovery process ends, go to the folder and confirm that all the photos you selected have been restored.
We have outlined the steps above to help you recover deleted photos on Windows quickly. Besides, the software is versatile and will recover other file formats that you accidentally deleted on your PC and external hard drive.
Method 2: Use The Command Prompt
If you have not installed the photo recovery software and want a quick way to get back your photos without involving third-party applications, the command prompt will be handier. The command prompt, also known as CMD and can recover lost files through a text command. It is more effective when you lose photos or images due to malware, as this will majorly affect the attributes of the files on the external hard drive.
A single command prompt will help you fix the attributes without attempting to fix every file individually. Follow the procedure outlined below to recover deleted photos and images from an external hard drive using the command.
Step 1: Link the hard drive to your computer.
Step 2: Press “Win” + “R” keys to launch the Run program.
Step 3: Type “cmd” and click “OK.’
Step 4: Type the “ATTRIB -H -R -S /S /D X:*.*” command in the CMD window and hit enter. While typing this command, replace the “X” with the actual drive letter of your external hard drive.
Method 3: Restore A Previous version
File History is a Windows feature that helps you return in time and restore the previous file versions, even after the original versions have been deleted. The File History must, however, be activated for it to work in Windows. To activate it, open “System and Security” and go to “File History.”
While at the file history, select the “Turn on an option” and include your external hard drive among the active file history locations.
To use this method to restore previous file versions in an attempt to recover deleted photos, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Locate the folder where you stored the photos before deleting them.
Step 2: Right-click inside the folder and select “Properties.”
Step 3: Open the “Previous Versions” tab.
Step 4: Choose the previous version of the photos you want to restore.
Step 5: Click the “Restore” button to initiate the process.
Bonus Tips
When you lose important photos and are so desperate, you may also use digital photo recovery to get quick help. You can recover pictures deleted from digital cameras and cloud storage with powerful tools such as Disk Drill. However, be sure to back up photos and images to make the recovery process less time-consuming.
