Has it ever happened to you that you deleted a picture a few years ago and felt the need to recover old photos? Although, there is no sure way to recover lost or deleted photos. However, with the help of recovery tools like Photos Recovery, photos, videos, and audio files that were permanently deleted years ago, can be restored.
You cannot restore deleted images because the new data you store on the disk overwrites the lost data, so you can only recover the photos you’ve already saved. But you can still try Photo Recovery and see if you’re able to retrieve your old photos.
Can you Recover Photo Deleted Years Ago?
You can restore old data if you keep a backup of your pictures. However, if you don’t have a backup, you can use an old photo recovery tool like Photos Recovery to retrieve photos, video, and audio deleted a year ago unless the data is not overwritten.
Now that you have got the answer, what are you waiting for? Let us see how to recover old deleted photos.
The solutions explained in this article will not only help recover deleted images but will also answer the following questions:
- How do I recover deleted files from a long time ago?
- How can I restore photos deleted 2 or 3 years ago?
- How do you retrieve permanently deleted photos?
How To Recover Permanently Deleted Photos?
Below we enlist the best methods to restore permanently deleted photos.
Method 1. Recover Deleted Photos From Recycle Bin
One of the easiest ways to restore deleted photos, audio, video, documents, and other files are from the Recycle Bin. This is because when a file is deleted, it goes to the Recycle Bin. So, before going into technicalities, you should check the Recycle Bin for deleted images.
To use this method following requirements must be met:
1. The file size must be smaller than the Recycle Bin can keep. This is because Recycle Bin cannot keep files larger than the size it is set to keep.
2. Never enable the option to delete files without shifting them to the Recycle Bin.
3. Avoid emptying the Recycle Bin without cross-checking.
If the above conditions are true, restoring long-term deleted pictures is impossible. However, if the abovementioned requirements are fulfilled, follow these steps to recover deleted photos.
Step 1. On your desktop, look for the Recycle Bin icon. Double-click to open it.
Step 2. Search for images you want to restore.
Step 3. Select them > right-click > Restore.
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This will restore selected pictures to the original location.
Tip : iOS & Android users also have a feature similar to the Recycle Bin & it is called the “Deleted Items.” You can find it under Gallery App and can use it to search for deleted images.
Method 2. Use Photos Recovery – The Best File Recovery Software to Retrieve Years Ago Deleted Pictures
Unfortunately, if you don’t have a backup & the Recycle Bin is also empty, don’t get disheartened.
Before you plan on giving up, try using Photos Recovery. As the name explains, along with recovering permanently deleted photos, the tool will also help get back videos and music files. Moreover, the tool helps unlock drives locked by BitLocker.
This recovery tool is simple, and anyone from a beginner to an advanced user can use it.
Why use Photos Recovery?
To use the Photos Recovery tool, you don’t need to have a backup of your pictures. The image recovery program works without a backup and lets you restore all types of media files. Moreover, by performing a Deep Scan, you can retrieve as many pictures as possible from your PC.
Here’s how to use Photos Recovery to restore deleted photos.
Step 1. Download and Install Photos Recovery
Double click the prsetup_systweak-default.exe file > click Yes and follow the on-screen instructions to install the image recovery tool for your PC.
Step 2. Scan the Drive for the Years Ago Deleted Pictures
Once installed, launch Photos Recovery. You will now see a welcome screen divided into two tabs – Hard Drive & Removable Drive.
To scan Hard Drive, select the Hard Drive tab > select the driver to scan.
Note : If you want to scan a USB flash drive, ensure it is connected and readable. Next, click the Removable Drive tab select the drive and scan. If the system does not detect the USB drive, the Removable Drive section will be greyed.
Step 3. Select the Scan Type
After selecting the drive to scan, you need to select the scan type. Photos Recovery offers Quick Scan and Deep Scan options. Since we are looking for pictures deleted years ago, we suggest using Deep Scan.
Step 4. Wait for the Scan to Finish
Once the drive to scan is selected, hit the Start Scan button to start the process and wait for the program to find the recoverable photos. You can minimize Photos Recovery and let the scan run in the background.
Step 5 – Recover Permanently Deleted Images
Find your pictures deleted years ago in the scan results, select them, and click “Recover” to restore your pictures to your device.
Step 6 – Select the location to Recover.
Select the location where you would want to restore permanently deleted pictures. Remember not to pick the same location you are scanning to save the images. This reduces the chances of photograph recovery.
Step 7 – Summary
Once the process is done, you will get a summary of the files recovered. This is how you can get old picutres back.
Must Read:- How to Recover Deleted DNG Files
Method 3. Recover Photos via Backups
If you have a backup of your images, music, and videos, you can restore all of them on your device. You may use an internal backup tool on Windows to restore data, or you can use third-party software such as Photos Recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Bottom Line – How to recover old photos
Primarily, recovering old deleted photos may seem impossible. However, should you have an image recovery software program such as Photos Recovery, you could recover many years old photos, videos, and audio information. You can also try out the Recycle Bin to find deleted files. We hope you can restore all the images you’ve lost over the years using these steps.
Read This:- How to Recover Photos After a Data Loss
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