Restore files deleted a long time ago

This page contains effective methods to help you recover deleted files that were removed a long time ago from your Windows hard drive, SSD, external hard drive, USB, or Android phone SD card.

How can I recover a file that was deleted a long time ago?

Is it possible to recover photos and videos that I deleted from an SD card about two years ago? Most of the files are family photos, and some are videos from my wedding. I remember transferring these files to an external hard drive before deleting them from the SD card.

Last week, I searched my house high and low for an external hard drive. I have an SD card, but it was empty. So I am hoping against hope that the precious memories on it can be recovered.

The need to recover deleted files is not something new. If you find yourself in the same situation, seek help from the solutions provided on this page.

If you don't have a backup of the file from before you deleted it, skip to Method 1 for help using a reliable file recovery program. If you do have a backup of the file from before you deleted it, proceed to Method 2 for instructions.

Method 1: Recover deleted files from a long time ago with file recovery software

Applies to: Restoring files deleted a long time ago without a backup.

Note: As long as the deleted files on the storage device have not been overwritten by new data, they can potentially be recovered.

The key is whether new data has been saved to the device where the deleted files were stored. It doesn't matter if you deleted the files a week, a month, a year, or more ago.

A professional Data Recovery Wizard tool allows you to easily scan and recover files that were deleted a long time ago. Simply install this software on your Windows PC, and you can instantly retrieve lost memories and valuable documents.

Then you will begin the process of recovery.

Step 1: Choose a location and start scanning

Launch the Data Recovery Wizard. Hover the mouse over the partition/disk where the deleted files were stored and click “Scan” to look for lost files.

Step 2: Select the files you want to recover

Once the scan is complete, select the deleted file you wish to recover. You can click on the “Filter” to display only the file type that you want. If you remember the name of the file, you can search for it in the “Search for files or folders” box – this is the quickest way to find your target file.

Step 3: Preview and recover the deleted files

Preview the recoverable files, select the ones you want to restore, and click “Recover” to save them to a new location instead of the disk where the data was lost.

Method 2: Restore a File You Deleted a Long Time Ago from a Backup

Applies to: Restoring lost files that were deleted a long time ago from an individual backup, Windows Backup, or a mobile phone backup.

Note: If you didn't back up the lost files, go back to Method 1 and seek help from file recovery software. If you have the habit of backing up important files, congratulations. You can effectively recover lost files from the backup.

Here, we'll show you how to recover missing files from a personal backup, a Windows backup, and a cloud backup:

# 1. Restoring from a Personal Backup

Advantages: Free and quick recovery.

If you have manually copied and saved the lost file to another storage device, you can effectively retrieve the lost file from the copy.

Step 1: Connect the storage device containing the lost file backup to your computer.

Step 2: Open the storage device in File Explorer, find and copy the lost files.

Step 3: Paste them and save them in a secure location on your computer.

# 2. Restoring from a Windows Backup

Advantage: Free

If the missing files were saved on a Windows PC and you have backed them up using Windows Backup, congratulations. You can restore them by performing a

The steps below are for Windows 10.

Step 1: Open the Control Panel, go to System and Maintenance, and then choose Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

Step 2: Click "Restore my files."

Step 3: Click on “Browse File” or “Browse Folder,” and select the backup you created earlier.

Select the backup you want to restore.

Step 4: Choose where to save the backup: “Original location” or “The following location.”

If there's a conflict, choose Replace Copy, Don't Copy, or Copy and Keep Both as needed.

Step 5: Wait for the recovery process to finish.

Once you've done this, return to the location where you saved the deleted files. You should be able to view and use them again.

# 3. Restore from a phone backup

Advantage: Free

If you're an Android user and you've backed up your device, you can try the following:

For Android users:

Go to 'Settings' > 'Tab Backup and Restore' > select the latest backup file, and tap 'Restore from Backup' to recover all lost data.

For iPhone users:

Since restoring from an iOS backup will erase your current device, we recommend using a third-party iOS data recovery tool for assistance. Tools like MobiSaver can easily recover iCloud backups.

Additional tip: Back up your files regularly to protect them.

Keep in mind that the best way to recover lost files from any disaster is to create a full backup in advance. To make the backup process easy, we recommend trying the Todo Backup tool.

It lets you selectively back up your files in just 3 simple steps:

< strong > Step 1. < /strong > Launch Todo Backup and select “File Backup” or “Disk Backup”.

Step 2. Select the disk partition you want to back up. Then, choose a location to save your backup file.

Step 3: Click “Start” to begin the backup process.