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5 June 2019  Ashley S. Miller  Specialist of Customer Service Dept.
 

Summary
Most of us may accidentally delete photos when viewing them. If you want to recover these deleted photos from the SD card, a piece of data recovery software can help you. In this essay, we will tell you why photos can be recovered and how to be recovered.



Part 1: Why Deleted Photos and Videos can be Recovered from SD Card

Through data recovery software, deleted photos and videos can be recovered from the SD card. Take photo files as an example. Most of software will adopt the header data when they are recovering the photos. So, what header data is?
In fact, each file is composed of header and payload, and the header records different data that defines the file type. That is to say, a header can be regarded as the unique “fingerprint”of a file.

If you view photos with the binary viewer, you will discover that “FILE0”, “IE C1” (marked on the below img.) are always seen but the arrangements and forms of these files are completely different. That can also approve that the headers are different between files.

check deleted photos headers from sd card binary viewer to recover
The data recovery software can scan the fixed features of files to separate the deleted data from the existed data, and then it can recover the deleted one.

Part 2: Does and Don’t when SD Card Data is lost

Clicking “Delete” in the SD card does not mean the file will disappear forever. If you use the disk management software to scan the card, the software will scan out many blocks where data is be stored.
Like this image, green blocks indicate the data marked as deleted but not overwritten; normal data is placed in red blocks; blank blocks are free space for data storage.
sd card show deleted photos blocks from sd card
Of course, we can copy, delete and format data in the SD card. These ways are merely to change the blocks to be writable. Once the files are deleted, we cannot get access to them along with the path on the operating system, but they still exist in the SD card. That is to say, deleting and formatting the SD card will make room for storage but not erase the written data.
However, if you overwrite data on these blocks, the original data will be covered and spoiled. Even though the partial data can be recovered, most of them are damaged or unable to be opened, shown as below:
how to recover overwitten files in sd card
All in all, you can recover data from the SD card as long as you never overwrite with new data. How to recover data from SD card safely and effectively? Go to the next part!

Part 3: How to Recover Deleted Photos and Videos from SD Card on PC

PhotoRec

PhotoRec is recovery software for disks and zips. It works well on SD card, too. PhotoRec can skip the file system and recover data from the blocks. Even though the file system has been severely damaged or formatted, it still works. It can also scan the known header to recover the complete file.
use photorec to recover deleted photos from sd card
Besides, PhotoRec allows the built-in script files to run (.cmd or .batin MS-DOS/Windows). The operation is easy and effective.
select disk in photorec

Renee Undeleter

Renee Undeleter is professional data recovery software. Various deleted files, such as photos and videos in the SD card, can be recovered completely. There are three modes, fast partition scan, whole partition scan and whole disk scan. One will be right for you.
In the process of scanning, you can preview files in any types, which allows you to quickly select the target files. Meanwhile, the user-friendly interface can be accepted by any newbies. Use Renee Undeleter, then recovering data is only a piece of cake!
Renee Undeleter - Powerful Data Recovery SoftwareRenee Undeleter data Recovery software

Easy to use Only simple steps to recover data from storage devices.

Multiple scan modes Fast partition scan, whole partition scan and whole disk scan for different recovery needs.

File types Support to recover pictures, videos, audios, documents, mails, etc.

Supported storage devices Recover data from recycle bin, SD card, external disk, etc.

Supported systems Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000 and Mac OS X10.6, 10.7, 10.8.

Easy to use Only simple steps to recover data from storage devices.

Multiple scan modes - 3 scan modes for different recovery needs.

Supported storage devices Recover data from recycle bin, SD card, external disk, etc.

Free TrialFree TrialFree Trial

3000 users have downloaded Renee Undeleter and found data back!

1. Download and install Renee Undeleter.
press to the download button
mac download button gif
2. Launch the software and select a scan mode (Fast Partition Scan, Whole Partition Scan and Whole Disk Scan). In this case, we select Fast Partition Scan.
data recovery in renee undeleter
3. Select the target SD card and click [Next].
4. Select a scan mode right for you, fast or deep scan. It only takes a few minutes to scan the disk in fast scan. In deep scan mode, it takes a longer time to scan but goes through the entire disk.
select fast scan mode in renee undeleter
5. Wait for scanning. In this process, search and preview the scan results, and then check the target files to recover.
select the target files to recover in fast partition scan