I accidentally formatted my laptop and lost all important photos, including precious family memories and work-related pictures. Is there any way to recover them? I didn’t create a backup, and I’m worried they might be gone forever.”

Losing important photos due to formatting can be a distressful experience. Whether the deleted photos capture special moments or professional milestones, these digital assets hold immense value. Luckily, with the right photo recovery software or manual workarounds, you can easily recover deleted photos.

In this guide, we’ll explore step-by-step instructions, best practices, and tools to help you restore photos after formatting your laptop. By the end, you’ll have the knowledge to maximize your chances of recovery. So, keep reading!

Can Deleted Photos Be Recovered After Formatting?

When you format your laptop’s hard drive, its operating system marks all the files on the drive as deleted and the storage space will be marked available for new data. However, unless new data overwrites the old files, the deleted photos remain intact on the physical storage medium. You can easily recover deleted photos within this time span using a professional photo recovery software. The key is to act swiftly and avoid actions that may overwrite the data.

Quick Methods to Recover Deleted Photos After Formatting the Laptop

So, it’s time to proceed with adequate photo recovery methods to recover lost images from the laptop after the format.

Method 01: Use a Professional Photo Recovery Software

Let’s start with the simplest approach first. Recovering lost photos using Windows built-in functionalities can be time-consuming, especially if you don’t have technical expertise. So, it’s better to try a photo recovery software to recover lost photos without any hitch. Stellar Photo Recovery is an all-in-one photo recovery tool which supports recovery of deleted photos, videos, and audio files in no time.

You can use the Stellar Photo Recovery software to restore photos lost or deleted due to several reasons, including accidental deletion, corruption, formatting, virus attacks, etc. It supports the recovery of media files deleted from multiple internal and external storage devices, including the laptop’s hard drive, SSDs, HDD cards, and so on. The software is 100% safe and secure, and also allows you to restore photos with no risk of data damage and leakage.

The Stellar Photo Recovery software is compatible with both Windows and Mac devices. It is available in multiple versions, varying in features and prices. You can check and compare their features and select the one that best fits your requirements.

Here’s how to recover deleted photos from the laptop after formatting:

Step 1: Firstly, download and install the Stellar Photo Recovery software on your laptop. Launch the software, select the storage drive where your deleted photos were earlier stored and click Scan to initiate the scanning process.

Step 2: Wait till the scan is done. After that, preview the recoverable files and choose the photo(s) you need to restore.

Step 3: Click the Recover button to save selected photos back to the desired location on your laptop.

Note: To ensure you don’t accidentally overwrite the deleted photos, always install recovery software on a separate drive or an external device. This prevents any chance of overwriting the sectors where your lost photos are stored.

Method 02: Recover Deleted Photos on Formatted Laptop Using File History

If you’ve enabled the File History backup feature on your laptop, you can check the available backups to restore your deleted photos. For this:

• Firstly, connect the backup drive to your laptop. Go to Settings > Update & Security > Backup. Then, click More Options located under Back up using File History.

• Now, click Restore files from a current backup.

• Go through the available backups and select the backup containing your lost photos, and click the green Restore You can also click Settings > Restore to option to save recoverable photos to another location.

Method 03: Use Command Prompt to Restore Lost Photos

In many cases, Windows built-in Command Prompt, i.e., CMD utility can be used to recover hidden or deleted files. To recover deleted photos using CMD, you need to:

• Open Command Prompt on your laptop as an administrator.

• Type the command: attrib -h -r -s /s /d C:*.* (replace C with the corresponding drive letter).

This command basically removes hidden, read-only, and system attributes from all files and folders on the selected drive, making them visible and editable.

Method 04: Recover Deleted Photos From a System Backup

Another backup alternative that you can try to restore your deleted photos on the laptop is via the built-in Backup and Restore option. To get your deleted pictures back using this method, you need to:

• Launch the Settings app, go to Update & Security > Backup > Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

•  Click on the Looking for an older backup? section and then tap the Restore my files

• Now, different dates containing the latest backup version will appear will appear on your screen. You can change it by clicking the “Choose a different date”

• Then, click on Browse for files or Browse for folders option and go through the available backups. Select the photos you need to restore and click Next.

• Lastly, select the storage location where you need to save the recoverable files and click Restore.

Try Other Backup Alternatives to Restore Photos after Formatting

In addition to the above methods to recover deleted photos from laptop after formatting, consider the following backup alternatives for easy and quick photo recovery:

• Cloud Services: Platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive often automatically sync photos. You can check these cloud services to find your deleted photos, if backed up.

• External Drives: You may have previously backed up your files to an external hard drive or USB stick. Just connect these drives to your laptop and check if photos are available for restoration.

Final Thoughts

Losing valuable photos due to accidental formatting can put you in trouble. However, with the right photo recovery software, quick action, and informed strategies, you can often recover your lost images. This guide has provided a comprehensive roadmap for recovering deleted photos from a laptop. Remember, data recovery success largely depends on acting promptly and using reliable tools. So, don’t lose hope—start your recovery journey today and reclaim your precious photos.

FAQs on Recovering Deleted Photos After Formatting

Can I recover photos after formatting my laptop?

Yes, if you have enabled the backup option before photo loss, you can easily restore your deleted photos using it. If not, use a professional photo recovery software such as Stellar Photo Recovery for quick and easy restoration.

How soon should I attempt recovery after formatting?

Acting quickly and avoiding saving new files on the formatted drive can prevent overwriting the deleted files and keep the photo recovery process simple and easy.

Can permanently deleted photos be recovered on a PC?

Permanently deleted photos can often be recovered using data recovery software, provided the storage sectors haven’t been overwritten.

Where deleted pictures go after formatting the laptop?

After formatting a laptop, deleted pictures remain on the hard drive until overwritten. They’re inaccessible but recoverable with data recovery tools.