How to Recover Deleted Photos from an SD Card

By: Theodomentis Lucia

A while back, all the photos stored on my Sony camera’s SD card were wiped off entirely. Needless to say, it was a nightmare as the SD card had pictures of my last vacation. This got me digging into data recovery for SD cards – as I was not ready to let go of my precious memories under any circumstances.

Thankfully, after some unsuccessful attempts, I was able to get back my lost photos.
I took the assistance of a reliable data recovery tool and followed a stepwise process to recover my lost photos from the convenience of my home.

Is it possible to recover data from SD cards?

Before we get into the details, it is important to answer this million-dollar question.
In a nutshell – yes, you can get back your lost data from an SD card, hard drive, or any other data source.
This is because when you delete data from a source, it isn’t wiped away entirely. Instead, the address allocated to it becomes accessible to be overwritten by something else.
This is where a data recovery tool comes to the rescue. It can help you extract this inaccessible content before it gets overwritten by any other operation.

How to recover deleted photos from SD sards

To get back your lost or deleted data from an SD card, consider using a reliable data recovery tool. Personally, I encountered a few gimmicks and imposters on the web that didn’t yield expected results. Overall, I found Recoverit to be a very good data recovery tool out there. Since it was pretty easy to use Recoverit 8.0, I didn’t have to seek the help of a professional. I downloaded its Windows version. However, you can also get the Mac recovery application as well.

Here’s how I got back my lost photos from my SD card using Recoverit:

Step 1: Download Recoverit on your system

Needless to say, you need to start by downloading the data recovery tool on your computer. Just download Recoverit data recovery software on your Mac or Windows. You can get the free basic version if you wish. Although, to enjoy its unlimited features, you can purchase the pro or ultimate subscriptions too.

Step 2: Install and launch Recoverit

When the setup file is downloaded, simply open it and click on the “Install” button to get things started. Follow a basic click-through process to complete the installation and launch Recoverit on your computer.

Step 3: Connect your SD card

Carefully, unmount your SD card from your digital camera or camcorder and connect it to your system. If your computer doesn’t have an inbuilt card reader, then use a dedicated card reader unit to connect it. As soon as it is detected, you will be notified by the system.

Step 4: Select your SD card as a source location

Once you launch the Recoverit data recovery application on your computer, you can view different location options on its home page. This includes internal drives, partitions, and even connected external devices. You can select the drive of your SD card (under external devices) or browse to a specific folder to scan as well.

Step 5: Start the scan

After selecting the SD card as a source location, click on the “Start” button to initiate the data recovery process.

Step 6: Wait for the scan to be over

Sit back and wait for a few minutes as Recoverit Data Recovery scans the connected SD card in an extensive manner. Since it might take a while, make sure that your SD card stays connected to the system during the entire process. There is an on-screen indicator to depict the progress of the scan.

Step 7: Preview the extracted data

Upon the completion of the recovery process, the extracted content gets displayed under different categories. Here, you preview your photos, videos, documents, etc., and select the files you wish to save. The search option allows you to look for specific files in no time.

Step 8: Recover and Save your photos

On the native interface of Recoverit, you can select multiple files as per your convenience. In the end, just click on the “Recover” button to save the selected files. A browser window will open, letting you save these files to a secure location of your choice.

Tips for getting better recovery results

• Recover the extracted content to a trusted location. Preferably, it should not be your SD card from where you have just recovered your lost photos.
• After losing your photos, stop using your SD card or digital camera right away. If you restart it a few times, or use it for other reasons, then it might overwrite your old photos. This will make the chances of getting your photos back pretty bleak.
• If there is no inbuilt card reader slot in your system, consider using a dedicated third-party unit to attach your SD card.
• Don’t format the SD card or change its file system, hoping to get better results. Simply use a reliable recovery tool as soon as you can get positive results.

That’s it! By following this simple drill, I was able to get back my lost data from my SD card in no time. You can also try the same and perform an SD card recovery from the convenience of your home.
If you have also gone through a similar situation to recover deleted photos and would like to share your experience, feel free to let us know in the comments below.
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