Photo Recovery Software for PC & Mobile

Photo Recovery Software for Any Scenario

Disk Drill is designed to help you recover lost photos in a wide range of data loss situations, from accidental deletion to file system corruption and inaccessible drives. You don't need technical expertise or complicated instructions. It can help you in situations like these:

Accidental deletion

Accidentally deleted important photos or emptied the Recycle Bin? Disk Drill can scan your drive for deleted images and help recover them, even after they've been permanently deleted, as long as their data hasn't been overwritten.

Formatting (to the same file system)

Accidentally formatted your SD card or hard drive without changing its file system (for example, NTFS to NTFS)? Photo recovery software like Disk Drill can scan the device and recover photos that haven't been overwritten. Even if the original file names and folder structure are lost, signature-based recovery can still find your images.

Formatting (to a different file system)

Changed your drive's file system, such as from NTFS to exFAT, and lost your photos? Disk Drill can search for both image signatures and remnants of the previous file system. If enough metadata survives, it may even recover photos with their original file names and folder structure.

Device not accessible

Can't access photos on your camera's memory card or drive? They may still be recoverable. It's possible that the device is using a file system your OS is unable to read, but image recovery software like Disk Drill can.

Partition table damage

Disk Drill can detect lost partitions and recover photos from them, even when the partition table is damaged. In some cases, it can also restore the original file names and folder structure if the file system metadata remains intact.

Mechanical damage

If your storage device has suffered physical or mechanical damage, photo recovery software alone may not be enough. In such cases, stop using the device and contact a professional service like the CleverFiles Data Recovery Center.

Photo Recovery Software with Cutting-Edge Features

Lost your Photos? Disk Drill is free image recovery software that combines industry-leading photo recovery algorithms with a user-friendly interface to help you get your pictures back. Its features include:

Recover up to 100 MB of data for free, which is a solid batch of photos.
Support for RAW image formats used by a variety of digital cameras.
Create a disk image of an unstable storage device and recover photos from the image instead of repeatedly scanning the original media.
Preview found photos while the scan is still running and track the recovery process in real time.
Sort and filter found photos according to file type, file size, date modified, and more.
No technical expertise is required to recover lost photos.

Recover Lost Photos From Any Storage Device

Disk Drill is a versatile photo recovery software solution that can restore a deleted picture from virtually any type of disk-based storage device. This includes the internal disk of your PC, external hard drives, SD and memory cards, micro SD cards, USB drives, and many other storage devices, as well as disk image files created with Disk Drill or other applications. Simply connect the device to your computer and let the application scan its storage and recover your images.

PC / Mac

Dell®, HP®, Acer®, Asus®, MacBook Pro®, MacBook Air®, Apple iMac® and more

HDD / SSD*

HP®, Samsung®, Seagate®, Toshiba®, WD®, LaCie®, Intel®, Adata® and more

USB Drive

SanDisk®, Samsung®, Kingston®, Corsair®, Patriot®, PNY®, Verbatim®, Silicon Power® and more

Memory Cards

SanDisk®, Transcend®, Toshiba®, Lexar®, Integral®, SP®, PNY®, Kingston® and more

Digital Camera**

Samsung®, HP®, Sony®, GoPro®, Canon®, Sigma®, Nikon®, Epson®, Panasonic® and more

iPhone / Android (Mac ONLY)***

Samsung Galaxy®, iPhone®, Lenovo®, Huawei®, OnePlus®, Google Pixel®, LG® and more

Supported Photo and Image Formats

Disk Drill is one of the best image recovery tools because it supports the major file systems commonly used by the storage devices we listed above. When file system records are intact, it recovers any photo format using the original directory information. Even if this data is damaged, overwritten, or erased, advanced algorithms reconstruct standard image and camera RAW formats based on unique file signatures. Take a look at all the recoverable picture formats to find the one you need. We think you will.

Image Formats

APM, BMP, DNG, DPX, EXR, FH11, GIF, HEIC, JNB, JPEG, JPG, JP2, PCX, PGM, PNG, PSP, TGA, TIFF, WEBP, WMF

Camera Raw Photo Formats

Polaroid/Sigma: X3F. Pentax: PEF. Fujitsu/Fujifilm: RAF. GoPro: GPR. Leica/Panasonic: RW2, RAW, RWL.

Leica X2: DNG. Leica M (typ240, typ246): DNG. Leaf/Aptus: MOS. Leaf and Phase One: IIQ. Sony: ARW, SRF, SR2. Samsung: SRW. Canon: CR2, CR3. Epson: ERF. Kodak: DCR, KDC. Konica Minolta: MRW. Nikon: NEF, NRW. Olympus: ORF. Mamiya: MEF. Hasselblad: 3FR, FFF

Graphics Picture Formats

After Effects Project: AEP. Adobe: AI, APM, INDD, INDL, INX, LRCAT, PSB, PSD. ARRIRAW images: ARI, ARX.

Blender 3D Data file: BLEND. ArchiCAD Backup: BPN. Cinema 4D Model: C4D. CorelDRAW: CDR. FreeHand Drawing file: FH3, FH8, FH10, FH11. Maya Project: MA, MB, MP. Enhanced Windows Metafile: EMF. Encapsulated PostScript file: EPS. Mac OS X Icon: ICNS. Windows Icon: ICO. Luxology Modo: LXO. Autodesk 3ds Max Scene: MAX. ArchiCAD Project: PLA, PLN, TPL. PostScript File: PS. SketchUp: SKP. Scalable Vector Graphics: SVG. Visio Drawing file: VSD. VectorWorks Design File: VWX. FlipaClip 2D Animation creation: GZ, TGZ, ALS. Pixologic ZBrush 3D/2.5D modeling: ZPR, ZBR. Altium Designer: PCBDOC, PCBLIB, SCHLIB, SCHDOC. Flipnote Studio Animation: PPM.

All supported file types

4 EASY Steps

How to Recover Deleted or Lost Photos

The recovery of deleted or lost photos is usually a straightforward process with the right software, but it's important that you don't jeopardize your recovery chances.

1. Download and Install Disk Drill Free Photo Recovery Software

Download and install Disk Drill on a different storage device than the one from which you want to recover your photos. For example, if your lost photos were located on your computer's main drive, then you can safely install Disk Drill on another internal or external drive. If they were on an SD card, then it's safe to install Disk Drill on the system drive (C: on Windows). The installation process is simple: just follow the standard prompts.

2. Choose the Location and Start Scanning for Lost Pictures

When you launch Disk Drill, it will automatically display a list of storage devices (and their partitions) available for recovery. Choose the storage device that was home to your lost photos and click the Search for lost data button. For the most complete results, scan the entire storage device rather than an individual partition. (Depending on the type of storage you select, Disk Drill may ask you to choose between Universal Scan and Advanced Camera Recovery. Select Universal Scan for photo recovery.)

USB flash drive recovery hints and tips

Choose the location and start scanning for lost pictures

3. Select the Photos You Want to Recover

Disk Drill will inform you about the progress of the scan, showing you exactly how many files have been found across different file categories. You can pause/resume scanning if you need to, see the results with scanning continuing in the background, or just let it finish before moving on to selecting the photos you want to recover.

3.1 Streamline Your Search with the "Pictures" Filter

For a more efficient recovery, select the "Pictures" filter in Disk Drill's left pane. This narrows down your scan results to only include recoverable images, saving you time by eliminating irrelevant file types.

3.2 Preview Images Before Recovery

Select individual images to preview them. This lets you confirm you're recovering the right photos while showing you exactly what condition they're in. You can also toggle between tree and icon view to preview all your found photos more conveniently.

3.3 Check All Three Recovery Folders

Disk Drill groups recoverable files into three folders—Deleted or lost, Existing, and Reconstructed—depending on how exactly they were recovered. You should always check each of these folders so that you don't miss any recoverable photos.

4. Recover the Deleted Photos to a Safe Destination

Select photos by checking the box next to each image and then click the Recover button. Alternatively, you can click the Recover all button right away to restore everything at once. Choose a suitable recovery location on your computer or an external storage device. It's important to avoid saving the recovered photos back to the same device where they were lost as this could potentially overwrite the image data mid-recovery.

Recover the deleted photos with image recovery freeware after you have made your selections

Popular Photo Recovery Software Compared

Not all photo recovery software for a PC or laptop offers the same capabilities or supports the same image formats. We have created this chart that illustrates the features and capabilities of some popular photo recovery solutions. The goal is to help you choose the best photo recovery software that will get back images in a variety of formats in the most effective and user-friendly manner. Choosing the wrong tool can lead to a frustrating data recovery session.

	Disk Drill	Stellar	Recuva	Photorec	Easeus
.heic (Apple)	✔	✘	✘	✔	Partial support
.raw (Kodak, Leica, Panasonic or any other camera)	✔	Partial support	✘	Partial support	Partial support
.tif (Canon, Hasselblad, Kodak, Nikon, Phase One)	✔	Partial support	Partial support	Partial support	Partial support
.jpg (any mobile or camera)	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
.dng (any mobile or camera)	✔	Partial support	Partial support	Partial support	✔
.cr2 (Canon, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, Zeiss)	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
.nef (Nikon, Tamron, Zeiss)	✔	Partial support	✔	✔	✔
.arw (Sony with different lenses: laowa, Samyang, Sigma, Tamron, Voigtlander, Zeiss)	✔	✔	✘	✔	✔
.cr3 (Canon)	✔	✔	✘	✔	✔
.orf (Olympus)	✔	Partial support	✘	✔	✔

If the comparison table feels too technical, we've also summarized each photo recovery tool below to help you better understand its strengths and limitations.

1. Disk Drill Photo Recovery Software (Windows / Mac)

Disk Drill includes everything you need in a photo recovery solution. It has the ability to scan your drive and recover an impressive number of lost or deleted photo file types without difficulty. The table above shows its extensive support for all tested formats, from modern HEIC files to professional RAW formats. Additionally, it includes data protection features like Recovery Vault that keep your photos safe in the event of a data loss situation.

2. Stellar Professional Photo Recovery Software (Windows & Mac)

Stellar is another popular photo recovery tool that can recover deleted photos. It includes a preview function that allows you to see the photo before recovering it. However, you may be disappointed to find that it doesn't offer full support for photo file formats used by professional-grade cameras, like CR2 and ARW. Stellar does offer a separate paid tool called Stellar Repair for Photo that can fix corrupted or damaged photos after recovery, but it’s an additional expense beyond their recovery software.

3. Recuva (Windows)

Recuva is a free data recovery tool for Windows users who want to recover unlimited photos at no cost. However, its limited support for newer image formats is a drawback. In our tests, it failed to recover HEIC, RAW, ORF, ARW, and CR3 files. Another important limitation is that Recuva requires a working partition to scan, so it cannot recover photos directly from RAW drives or lost partitions.

4. PhotoRec (Windows, Mac & Linux)

PhotoRec is another free data recovery tool that can be used to recover large quantities of photos without spending any money. It features a powerful signature scanner capable of recognizing hundreds of photo file formats, but the tool operates via an unintuitive command-line interface. An optional graphical interface, called QPhotoRec, is available to Windows users, but it lacks polish and more advanced features.

5. EaseUS Photo Recovery Software (Windows & Mac)

EaseUS is available on Windows and Mac. It supports over 300 different file types and recovery from a multitude of data recovery scenarios. Despite its impressive range of supported file types, our tests showed less-than-impressive recovery results for photo formats such as RAW, TIF, and HEIC.

The Keys to Successful Photo Recovery

Here are some tips on how to use image recovery software for the best chance of success. Failure to follow these suggestions puts your recovery effort at risk.

Stop using the device immediately

The most important thing you can do when you realize that your storage device has experienced a data loss affecting your photos is to immediately stop using the disk. Continued use of the device risks overwriting or corrupting the files before you have a chance to retrieve them. This is a general precaution that should be taken whenever you have any type of data loss.

Use a disk image as an extra safety measure

If the storage device is operating properly and the only issue is that you have accidentally deleted the photos, you can proceed to the recovery stage. As extra insurance, you should consider using Disk Drill’s ability to create a byte-level image which can be used to restore the deleted files if the original device fails or experiences problems.

Do not repair, format, or modify the device before recovery

Avoid making any changes to the affected storage device before you recover your photos. Do not format it, run CHKDSK or another repair utility, defragment it, or copy new files to it. These actions can modify the file system or overwrite recoverable photo data, which may reduce your chances of a successful recovery.

Recover photos to a different device

Always save recovered photos to a different storage device from the one being scanned. Writing the files back to the same SD card, USB drive, or HDD can overwrite other recoverable data before Disk Drill has a chance to restore it. Use your computer’s internal drive, another external drive, or a separate memory card as the recovery destination.

Use a reliable photo recovery tool

The quality of the tools you use impacts your chances of success in any field. Disk Drill is high-quality image recovery software that makes it easy for users with any degree of computer knowledge to quickly and effectively restore lost and deleted photos. The app employs an intuitive interface and advanced scanning techniques to reliably recover your lost pictures.

Protect your photos with Recovery Vault

Enable Disk Drill's Recovery Vault feature before data loss occurs to dramatically improve your future recovery chances. It is useful on frequently used internal drives where files may be deleted accidentally, such as photo libraries or work folders. Recovery Vault keeps a record of deleted files' metadata to make recovery faster and more reliable. It's a free data protection feature that runs in the background and doesn't impact system performance.

How to Check Your Photo Recovery Chances

Disk Drill estimates the recovery chances of each photo and displays them using intuitive labels. (However, don't rely on these estimates alone. Always check the file preview, as even photos marked with low recovery chances may be perfectly intact and recoverable.)

Here's what the labels mean:

High file recovery chances are marked filled star;

Average recovery chances are marked half-filled star;

Low recovery chances are marked empty (white) star;

The question mark label is used when the recovery chances are unknown.

estimate photo recovery chances disk drill

Frequently Asked Questions

Updated on Nov 10, 2026 by Disk Drill Team

How to recover deleted photos?

Install picture recovery software like Disk Drill on a different device than the one where your deleted photos were located. Use the software to scan the storage device. If they haven't been overwritten, they should be recoverable. If the recovery software can't find them, then you can also check the Recycle Bin/Trash, cloud, and manually created backups, and even your email client or instant messaging apps (if you remember sharing the photos with other people).

What is the best free photo recovery software?

That depends on what your priorities are. For many Windows users, Disk Drill is the best photo recovery software because the Windows version can recover up to 100 MB of image data for free. That's enough to bring back key photos, and sometimes the whole set. Mac users have it slightly worse because the free Mac version of Disk Drill can only preview recoverable photos, so they should also consider PhotoRec, which is completely free but limited by its text-based user interface. There's also R-Studio, which runs on all major operating systems, but won't let you recover images larger than 1024 KB without paying.

How can I restore deleted photos from my computer for free?

Start by checking the Recycle Bin or Trash as deleted photos often wait there before permanent deletion (if you deleted photos from an external device like an SD card, connect it to your computer first). Also, check any enabled backups like File History or Time Machine. If these recovery options don't help, use free photo recovery software like Disk Drill to scan your computer.

How do I recover permanently deleted photos on Windows 10?

Despite its age, Windows 10 includes two data loss prevention features that you can use to recover your permanently deleted photos. The first one is File History, and you can access it from the Control Panel. There's also OneDrive, which backs up files located in the OneDrive folder to the cloud. You can also use third-party picture recovery software with support for Windows 10, such as Disk Drill.

How do I recover permanently deleted pictures without software?

Without software, your options depend on existing backups. On Windows, check the File History feature. On Mac, use Time Machine if enabled. Cloud backup services like OneDrive, Google Photos, or iCloud may have copies. Last but not least, think about where you might have shared or copied these photos (check your email attachments, social media uploads, or messaging apps like WhatsApp and Messenger).

How to restore lost pictures from a USB flash drive?

On Windows, files deleted from USB drives bypass the Recycle Bin and are permanently removed, so they can be recovered only with the help of picture recovery software like Disk Drill. On Mac, each USB flash drive maintains its own Trash folder, which you can access by connecting the flash drive to your Mac and clicking the standard Trash icon in the dock.

Is it possible to recover deleted RAW image files?

Yes, RAW image files, such as CRW CR2 CR3 (Canon), ARW, SRF, SR2 (Sony), or NEF NRW (Nikon), can be recovered using any data recovery software that supports them. Disk Drill is a good choice because of its easy-to-use user interface and preview capabilities.

I can’t find my photos in the scan results. What should I do?

Check the "Reconstructed" folder in Disk Drill's results, which contains files recovered through deep scanning. Files here may appear as numbered items (like file0001.jpg) or have names pulled from metadata. If there are a lot of items in the folder, then it's best to switch to icon view in Disk Drill to see thumbnail previews of all images.

Is it safe to use a photo recovery app?

That depends on which photo recovery app you choose. Reputable photo recovery apps like Disk Drill operate in read-only mode during scanning (they don't modify your original storage device), don't contain any malware, and don't compromise your privacy, so they're completely safe if downloaded from official sources. Unfortunately, cybercriminals have in the past attempted to distribute malware by disguising it as free (or cracked) recovery software through third-party download sites, so caution is necessary when exploring what the world of photo recovery apps has to offer.

Which file formats can Disk Drill Photo Recovery recover?

Disk Drill Photo Recovery can recover about 400 file formats in total, including all photo, video, and audio file types commonly used by mirrorless, action, and drone cameras, among others.

Supported file formats:

Photos: JPG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, AI, CR2, DNG, ICO, GIF, PSD, WEBP, and more
Videos: AVI, MP4, MOV, MPG, 3GP, MKV, MLV, RM, TS, WEBM, WMV, and more
Audio: MP3, OGG, FLAC, AAC, M4A, RA, WAV, WMA, MID, AIF, AIFC, AIFF, and more

How do I recover permanently deleted photos on Windows 11?

On Windows 11, your two main native options for the recovery of permanently deleted photos are the File History backup feature and cloud backups created by OneDrive. If no local or cloud backups exist, you can use third-party photo recovery software like Disk Drill.

How do I find lost pictures on my computer?

Use File Explorer's search function to look for common image extensions (*.jpg, *.png, *.raw) on all storage devices where you suspect the photos might be hiding. For faster, more thorough searches, try Everything by voidtools, which is a free Windows search tool with many advanced features and excellent performance. If standard searches come up empty, use Disk Drill to scan your drives for both existing and deleted pictures.

Photo Recovery Software

Photo Recovery Software for Any Scenario

Accidental deletion

Formatting (to the same file system)

Formatting (to a different file system)

Device not accessible

Partition table damage

Mechanical damage

Photo Recovery Software with Cutting-Edge Features

Recover Lost Photos From Any Storage Device

Supported Photo and Image Formats

How to Recover Deleted or Lost Photos

1. Download and Install Disk Drill Free Photo Recovery Software

2. Choose the Location and Start Scanning for Lost Pictures

3. Select the Photos You Want to Recover

4. Recover the Deleted Photos to a Safe Destination

Popular Photo Recovery Software Compared

1. Disk Drill Photo Recovery Software (Windows / Mac)

2. Stellar Professional Photo Recovery Software (Windows & Mac)

3. Recuva (Windows)

4. PhotoRec (Windows, Mac & Linux)

5. EaseUS Photo Recovery Software (Windows & Mac)

The Keys to Successful Photo Recovery

Stop using the device immediately

Use a disk image as an extra safety measure

Do not repair, format, or modify the device before recovery

Recover photos to a different device

Use a reliable photo recovery tool

Protect your photos with Recovery Vault

How to Check Your Photo Recovery Chances

Preventing future photo loss

Disk Drill Testimonials By Other Users

Frequently Asked Questions

How to recover deleted photos?

What is the best free photo recovery software?

How can I restore deleted photos from my computer for free?

How do I recover permanently deleted photos on Windows 10?

How do I recover permanently deleted pictures without software?

How to restore lost pictures from a USB flash drive?

Is it possible to recover deleted RAW image files?

I can’t find my photos in the scan results. What should I do?

Is it safe to use a photo recovery app?

Which file formats can Disk Drill Photo Recovery recover?

How do I recover permanently deleted photos on Windows 11?

How do I find lost pictures on my computer?

Use Cases and Tips for Photo Recovery Software